Categories
History WW1

The Third Battle of Krithia – Gallipoli

“After the Second Battle of Krithia in May 1915, the average distance of the Allied trenches on the Helles front from the main landing places at W and V beaches was little more than three miles. Almost all the British area was overlooked by Turkish positions on the forward slopes of Achi Baba, and the British were consequently very anxious to capture these positions at the earliest possible opportunity.”

This report by Bryn Hammond (IWM) was really useful in helping me get a detailed picture of what happened. The link takes you to the main page but once you get there click on the ‘Download a fuller account….’ option.

Categories
History

Douglas Milroy – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (Pt 2)

I wrote this last year using iWeb and MobileMe which will eventually disappear. I don’t want to lose the material so here it is again!

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Categories
History

Douglas Milroy – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (Pt 1)

I wrote this last year using iWeb and MobileMe which will eventually disappear. I don’t want to lose the material so here it is again! There are photos and other parts of the account to follow.

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Active History Education

Lasting Memories – A worthwhile trip for Henry and Henrietta

Declining Interest?

I’ve just returned from a trip to Ypres with a small group of Y9 pupils. I wonder if anyone has found recently that it has become a bit more difficult getting pupils to come on trips out? I suppose until about a year ago I never really had any problem filling a coach to go on any day out or, for that matter, overnight or longer visits. Well, over the last academic year I’ve begun to notice that it’s getting more and more tricky to fill the number of places needed to keep the overall cost of the activity at a reasonable level. This year despite our usual ‘push’ we attracted only 26 pupils to take part in what I consider to be a really worthwhile investigation into the history of the Great War.

Maybe there are just so many different extra curricular activities on offer that the ‘market’ is now too crowded or perhaps the financial downturn is finally starting to force parents to think much more carefully about what to spend their hard earned cash on. Whatever the real explanation it means that now more than ever I need to be clear about the justification for taking time out of the school day and ensuring that what is on offer represents good value for money. Of course we always ensure that parents are invited to attend an evening meeting where they can get a more detailed picture of their son’s or daughter’s trip. But sometimes the content can be a little heavy on the admin and light on the educational justification or indeed the interesting details that their children are going to enjoy; result, parents are understandably puzzled and wonder if they’ve spent their hard earned cash wisely when on return from their trip little Henry or Henrietta, when asked what they’ve done, reply that the burger and chips on the ferry were very nice!  So it’s probably wise to make sure that parents get a very detailed picture of exactly how the trip enriches the curriculum and why it is worth investing in.

Selling Trips

My presentations to parents now are structured under four headings:

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Categories
Education

Which side are you on boys? (With apologies to Billy Bragg)

Who is society? There is no such thing!

Politicians are frequently misquoted. People often say it was Margaret Thatcher who said that ‘there is no such thing as society’. In fact in her 1987 speech for Woman’s Own she actualy said “…who is society? There is no such thing! There are individual men and women and there are families and no government can do anything except through people and people look to themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then also to help look after our neighbour and life is a reciprocal business…”

Fast forward to a speech David Cameron gave in 2010 when he described the ‘Big Society’. Cameron said “We need to create communities with oomph – neighbourhoods who are in charge of their own destiny, who feel if they club together and get involved they can shape the world around them.”

With a little cross pollination you could end up with, “no government can do anything except through people….” who “club together and get involved”.

Self Help – A call to arms!

So today we learn that ahead of planned industrial action this Thursday headteachers and communities are being called upon to look after themselves, minimise disruption and keep their schools open. This call to arms may see those neighbours who are able and who hold the necessary qualifications help their community by making sure hard working parents are able to get to work as normal without worrying about their child’s school being closed. Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron would surely approve of such self help.

But here is the kicker. This has nothing to do with bringing communities together. Nothing to do with making a more robust, cohesive society. It’s not even really about making sure pupils get a good education.

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Categories
Books

The Element


Short of Time?

I’m sure that I shouldn’t but I’m afraid I really do find it hard to find time to read many books during the school term and what I do read is pretty closely tied to lesson preparation. Of course I have a novel on the bedside table but I usually manage maybe two pages before I lapse into unconsciousness at the end of a busy day. Needless to say it takes me a long time to complete a book. So the idea of settling down and reading a book you find in the Practical & Motivational/Self Help categories on Amazon would not ordinarily be that appealing! Anyway, ‘The Element‘ was recommended to me by a friend and I’m glad she did.

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Categories
Books

Sources of the Holocaust

There are countless texts available for students of the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. However of all the books on the market the series edited by J. Noakes and G. Pridham have been my most regular source of primary material for A level classes over the last ten years. The documents and commentaries are first class. Always on the lookout for alternative materials I was pleased recently to come across a similarly formatted and, in my opinion, equally impressive book devoted entirely to the Jewish Holocaust (1939-1945). Sources of the Holocaust edited by Steve Hochstadt is rapidly becoming my first stop when looking for documents that provide a clear insight into the chilling events of the 30s and 40s. Particularly interesting are the sections on ‘The Context of Christian Antisemitism’ and ‘The Creation of Monsters in Germany: Jews and Others’. In twenty eight pages of fascinating documents the reader is guided through the development of antisemitism from the writing of the Gospel According to St. Matthew to the murder of a Polish labourer named Konrad Pietzuch in August 1932. A gripping introduction to an excellent study that should be on the shelves of every history department.

Hochstadt, Steve. Sources of the Holocaust. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Print. (£19.99)

ISBN 978-0-333-96345-6

Categories
Revision

Using sporting analogies to improve essay writing at GCSE – insanity?

It must be something about the way I learn I suppose but I find myself routinely using analogies of one kind or another in my teaching. Indeed I sometimes catch my VI formers rolling their eyes as I cough up yet another possibly spur of the moment offering – they are very patient! Anyway they are sitting their final paper tomorrow and will not have to put up with my madness any longer. Not so fortunate are my Y11 class who have recently completed one paper and have their final exam in a couple of weeks time. We have one more revision day, yes a whole day, in which to polish their skills. We have already done a good revision programme with the pupils so my partner in crime and I are busy planning a series of activities for our last day with them to get over some key points in a memorable fashion, after all, familiarity breeds contempt. One of the activities I have up my sleeve involves Playmobil figures and blindfolds but more of that in another post in the near future. For now I thought I’d share a Prezi that I’m going to use (in a slightly modified format) when we talk about essay writing skills.

I’ve had real trouble trying to embed the presentation so for the time being I’m afraid a link is the best I can do. However I’ll pop the presentation on here when I crack the problem!

Link to Prezi
Categories
Learning Platforms VLEs

Thinking in a deck chair- what to do with Y12 after study leave?

I’m always amused by conversations that start with someone telling me, “It’s alright for you teachers you get such long holidays!” I can’t help smiling as generally  the conversation comes to a rapid halt when I acknowledge they are right and then, after a short pause, point out that it is always possible to change professions (as I did some ten years ago now), embark on a PGCE, SCITT etc. take a cut in salary and then sit back and enjoy the long holidays! Anyway, as another half term evaporates as quickly as rain in the east of England, thoughts turn to the next seven weeks of teaching safe in the knowledge that there is yet another “long holiday” on the horizon.

In very short order Y12 students across the country will be back from their AS exams, champing at the bit, looking forward to more study and thinking about starting their UCAS applications. My Y12 students have had a great year and I have really enjoyed helping them get to grips with the Civil Rights movement in the USA (1945-1968) but I’m not so naive as to believe that, as things stand, they are all looking to continue studying history next year. It’s also inevitable that even the most motivated students will start to run out of steam ahead of their own well earned rest come the end of July. However I expect that along with many other teachers I’m looking to start elements of our A2 course and to steal a march on the pressures on time that will, in the normal course of things, develop during Y13. So what’s on the menu to keep the students engaged and making the most of the remaining weeks?

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Categories
Active History

Sharing Resources

After saying I’d put up some of the pictures and resources for the History Games post I’ve been wondering how on earth to do it efficiently. So I was really chuffed when, while browsing the widgets available, I found BoxNet! You should be able to get some of the resources for the Welcome to Ostia activity and I’ve also added something that could be useful for hard working GCSE/GCE pupils. More to follow….fingers crossed it works. Comment please if any problems.