With millions of users all over the world, there is no doubt that social media has had a massive impact on the way people communicate with each other and how companies conduct their business.

With the majority of students (aged 13 and above) and their parents already signed up to Facebook, it’s an excellent way to get to know students in a completely different light. Really knowing your students, their likes and hobbies results in a better experience in the classroom and a greater ability to reach every student effectively.

How can teachers use social media to connect with their students and enhance what they are teaching in their lessons?

The first and most important thing to consider if you want to start using sites such as Facebook in the classroom is that all the appropriate privacy settings should be used. There are some very strict controls that users can set up so that only people they want can access information, photos and send messages.  This greatly reduces the risk of unwanted individuals contacting students. 

Skype, Twitter and Facebook can all very easily be used as platforms to discuss and share materials from the classroom. Lesson plans, homework, notifications and letters to parents can all be posted online so that students can access them at any time.

Lessons can be recorded and then posted as online videos and podcasts on YouTube. This is excellent for students who have missed a lesson, as they can catch up online by watching the video.

Establishing an online community for you and your students can create an open and supportive environment. This can be very beneficial for students who are too shy to participate in the classroom as they may find it easier to engage with their classmates online. This can slowly help to build their confidence and eventually they will feel able to participate more and more in class.

Having an online facility can even help students in the evening if they have a question or are stuck on their homework. Rather than having to make yourself available in your free time, you can specify that you will be available online for questions during certain times.

Finally, social media websites can also help teachers keep in touch with students years after they have left school. This is great for teachers who like to know what their ex pupils end up doing later in life.

What do you think about teachers using social media in the classroom? Is it a good idea or will it end up causing more problems for schools and parents?

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From ‘flashdance’ teachers becoming an online hit, to boys being put off by ‘long’ books, plans for extra years to study for core subjects and parents being reprimanded for wearing nightware to school meetings – what’s making the headlines in the world of education? We take our monthly poke around the papers to find out what’s got people talking.

Two years more studying for English & maths

Education Secretary Michael Gove has announced plans to tackle the number of pupils leaving school without a basic grasp of English or maths, says The Guardian.

Addressing MPs, Mr Gove said pupils who fail to achieve a good GCSE in English and maths will be made to study these subjects for a further two years, or to take a high-quality alternative qualification, until they leave school at 18.

The plans are part of the government’s response to a specially commissioned review into vocational qualifications. The review found that up to 400,000 teenagers were “wasting their time on college courses that did not lead to jobs or further training”.

Boys put off by long books

A survey into boys’ reading habits has found many teachers may be avoiding longer texts, as they believe boys ‘switch off’ if a book is too long, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The poll questioned 500 teachers of 11-13 year olds and found around a quarter believe that boys’ interest is often lost in the first few pages. Around one in five (22%) say it can happen within 50 pages and a further 24% at around the 100-page mark.

The research was conducted to mark the launch of Heroes, a school reading series aimed at boys. Of 260 boys aged 11-13 questioned, one in five said they prefer books with 100 pages or less.

Teachers become YouTube hit

Teachers at a high school in Fife have become a YouTube hit since they surprised pupils with an impromptu ‘flashdance’ performance, reports the Daily Mail.

Around 40 teachers at Bell Baxter High School in Cupar broke into a medley of cheesy pop songs in the school’s busy canteen, in honour of older pupils who were due to leave the school. Stunned pupils watched as teachers sang and danced to classic hits such as ‘YMCA’ and ‘Thriller’ before erupting into rapturous applause for the unexpected display. The YouTube hit has now racked up over 350,000 views.

The long and short of it

A 12-year old pupil from Cambridge decided to tackle a rule he thought was discriminatory, by wearing a knee length skirt to school in protest, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Aspiring politician Chris Whitehead decided to wear the skirt in protest that boys are banned from wearing shorts during the summer months, while girls can wear skirts. He marched to school while a group of pupils waved banners, before addressing over 1000 pupils in morning assembly wearing the skirt.

Teacher in the mire over Facebook comments

A teacher in Cornwall has apologised after branding a pupil’s coursework as ‘s**te’ on Facebook. The teacher, from Falmouth School, made the comments after working late into the evening marking year 11 coursework. They were immediately contacted by the pupil who said the comments were a ‘bit harsh’.

Unions have warned that the line between private and professional life is blurring and that teachers need to be very wary, says the Daily Mail.

In a similar case, a group of primary school teachers, including a deputy head, have been criticised by parents for posting photos of themselves on Facebook. The photos show the group on a night out, wearing army gear and posing ‘provocatively’. Privacy settings were not used to keep the images out of the public view, again reports the Daily Mail.

Pole dancing classes spark outrage

Meanwhile a dance school which is running pole dancing classes for children as young as twelve has caused outrage among residents, Christian groups and a local MP, says the Daily Mirror.

The Art of Dance pole dance and burlesque school in Plymouth is reportedly offering the classes for children aged 12 to 15 for £5-an-hour, saying it is a ‘gymnastic art, helping pupils get fitter, stronger and more confident’.

Kent school excludes eight pupils a day

The head teacher of a school where more than 400 pupils have been excluded in the space of six months has quit, reports the Daily Mirror. Christopher Sweetman has left Bishop of Rochester Academy in Kent, a school where 738 incidents of bad behaviour were logged by teachers in just one week.

And finally….

Parents reprimanded for attending meetings in nightwear

It seems it’s no longer just naughty pupils who are getting into trouble with head teachers; the parents of pupils at 11 Middlesbrough primary schools have been asked to improve their ‘decency and respect’ by ensuring they come to the school gates properly dressed, reports The Daily Express.

Parents have been issued with letters making the request following an increase in the number of parents turning up to drop off and collect pupils, and even attending meetings with teaching staff, wearing pyjamas or nightwear.

But, claims the Express, wearing pyjamas outdoors is ‘common in the town’, it quotes one pyjama wearer as saying: “I can’t be bothered getting dressed.”

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In a bid to prevent schools hiding bad pupil behaviour, Education Secretary Michael Gove has said he wants Ofsted to start performing more surprise checks. This could help to get a more accurate picture of what is actually happening in schools on a day to day basis as opposed to when they have had time to prepare for an inspection.

According to reports, when schools know they have an upcoming inspection, some of them ask unruly pupils to stay at home to prevent any disruption on the day. As well as this, weaker teachers have been invited to stay at home so the strong teachers can be used to represent the school in the best possible light.

Whilst these actions paint schools in a very favourable manner, they can be detrimental to staff and students as it means that serious behavioural issues occurring at the school are being covered up and are never dealt with.

Mr Gove is arguing that if Ofsted is aware of what is really happening in schools, then any problems can be tackled and it will help to bridge the gap between the levels of performance in the best and the worst schools.

Do you think that more no-notice inspections should be carried out by Ofsted or would this be unfair on teachers and put increased pressure on them?

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The children’s commissioner for England has said that more schools should involve pupils when it comes to recruiting new teachers.

A survey has revealed that 87% of children feel they know what makes a good teacher and two-thirds would like to be more involved in the recruiting process. Despite these figures, at the moment only 18% of pupils are reported to be involved when a new teacher is selected for their school.

Those in favour of pupils playing a more active role in teacher recruitment argue that young people are a school’s customers and see lots of different teaching styles over the course of their education. Taking this into consideration, it makes sense to make use of this experience when recruiting staff.  

However, groups who are opposed to putting pupils on the interview panel fear that this would undermine the authority of teachers and think it’s another example of how teachers are given fewer rights simply because they work with children.

If students did become part of the recruiting process, it has been assured that they will be given proper training and support and it would be less about putting them in charge and more about simply bringing a different and valuable point of view to the process.

Do you think that involving pupils in the process of recruiting teachers will help schools to find quality staff or will this move completely undermine the authority of teachers?

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Why did international schools spring up, who do they serve, and what on earth does it mean to offer an ‘International Education’? In the first of two articles for Eteach, Steven Mark, educational director of the International Primary Curriculum, reflects on what makes an international school truly international, and how we can best help children and adults to develop the key skill of ‘international mindedness’ for the 21^st century.

Back in the 1990s, much as I was enjoying teaching in my hometown in Scotland, if I’m honest I was getting a bit of itchy feet syndrome. Sound familiar?

Sadly there weren’t any recruitment companies like Eteach at that time specialising in international schools. So each week I would faithfully browse the back pages of the job sections with pen at hand, ready to circle the job ads that caught my eye. After a few applications and knock-backs, word came through that my recent interview in The Hague had been a success, and a new life in the Netherlands was beckoning.

Time to pack the bags and head to Hull for the ferry!

Something familiar on the first day at school

I have many memories of arriving in the school on my first day, but one rather mundane one stands out: I remember looking in the classroom cupboards and finding my Ginn 360 Reading Scheme. For those of you unfamiliar with Ginn 360, it was the Oxford Reading Tree of the 1990s.

I’ll come back to Ginn a little later as there’s more to that famous name than meets the eye, but on that first day there was something that was instantly recognisable and familiar: just what you need when you land on foreign shores! It highlighted to me then – and, as I would find out further in the next few years – that there were many similarities between international schools and the school in Scotland where I’d previously worked. Similar resources. Similar routines. Timetables that looked roughly the same. Same issues being discussed in the staffroom. Lots of similarities but, as I discovered as time went on, lots of differences too.

What is an international school?

So what’s the difference between an international school and schools such as the one I’d left behind? What is it that makes an international school an international school? There are probably two main answers to that.

The first is pretty straightforward, in that they were in large part developed to serve international families: often quite mobile families who are living away from their home country for a few years and then either returning home or moving on to the next country. In such cases, the parents want their children to receive an education that will not only equip them well for the future, but one which will allow the children to transfer easily to other international schools or to schools back in their own country.

One of the earliest examples of such a school was the International School of Geneva, set up in 1924 to accommodate the needs of the growing international population of the city. With families from around the world moving to Geneva to work at the global organisations being set up in the city, such as the League of Nations and the International Labour Organisation, the need for a school which could cater for a range of cultures and languages was evident. Similar schools soon emerged in Japan, the Netherlands, Wales and many other countries. All were designed to cater to the needs of a range of students from across the world.

Explosion in demand

The success of these early schools has led to an explosion in recent years in the demand for international schools. Today there are almost 6,000 English-medium international schools around the globe. Beyond the sheer growth of these schools, what is particularly interesting is that the biggest group of students overall is no longer the expats, but those from the local, wealthy population.

What might be attracting those families? Well, lots of reasons of course – wanting their children to learn English being an obvious one. But for many families it is the chance for their children to have an ‘International Education’ that is so attractive. That for me is the second answer to the question of what is an international school: it provides this ‘International Education’. But what on earth does that mean?

What is an ‘International Education’?

Let me share an example: a few years back I had the good fortune to spend some time in South East Asia. I was invited to visit a small international school and have a look around. It was a lovely school in many ways: dedicated teachers; enthusiastic children; strong leadership team.

The children were a mix of international and local students. Walking around looking at the displays, I was struck by the content of them: Florence Nightingale, The Great Fire of London, The Tudors and The Stuarts and not forgetting the ubiquitous ‘Slipper’. Now there’s nothing wrong with children from Asia learning the story of Florence Nightingale or the Great Fire (by the same token, there’s nothing wrong with kids in the UK learning about famous people and events from Asia); they’re great stories. But for these children it was at the exclusion of learning about their own culture, and that strikes me as wrong.

So here was a school that to all intents and purposes fitted the historic profile of an international school: international and local families; international and local teachers; and flags from around the world bedecking the entrance area. But something was missing. Something that Edwin Ginn would have recognised.

Remember him from earlier? Edwin Ginn of publishing fame was one of the earliest proponents of international education and set up the International School of Peace in Boston in 1910. Long before terms such as ‘global citizen’ and ‘global dimension’ became popular, international-mindedness found many of its roots back in the early 20^th century.

Following the many terrible conflicts that had recently taken place throughout the world, people like Edwin Ginn, who were committed to the cause of global peace, set about trying to develop an education that was more international in outlook.

For the school I visited then, the boxes that defined the school as international were certainly ticked, but the learning in the classroom didn’t because the ‘international’ in ‘international school’ isn’t only about the intake of families to the school: it’s about something more profound. It’s about a deep commitment to the development of international-mindedness in our students.

In the second part of this blog about developing international-mindedness, coming soon to Eteach, Steven offers information about where to begin, and points to some of his favourite classroom resources that will help children to start thinking internationally.

Steven Mark is the educational director of the International Primary Curriculum (IPC). His education experience includes many years as a teacher and school leader in Scotland, Netherlands and Germany. He has a Masters degree in Educational Management from the University of Leicester and is about to embark on his doctorate with the University of Bath, England.

Steven has a great range of experiences working with both national and international schools. He has spoken at conferences and delivered professional development for educators throughout many parts of the world.  He is currently writing a book about how we can best help children and adults to develop international mindedness, which he thinks may well become the key skill for 21^st century citizens.

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