“I have to write 500 words on why I want to be a teacher.  Any things I should say?”

I was asked this by my sister this afternoon.  As well as being a crucial part of the first sentence above, the word ‘why’ also happens to be one that Beth hears a supernumerary amount of times a day from my toddler nephew.  As infuriating as that can be, ‘Why?’ is ( Read more... )

Have you ever had a revelation that seems so obvious with hindsight that you’re not sure if it was something you once ‘knew’ but had long since forgotten?

I was thinking today about George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Winston Smith lives in a world in which the larger-than-life Big Brother (who Winston sometimes doubts is a real person) is always ( Read more... )

A new article by me: http://lipmag.com/culture/why-girls-learn-faster-than-boys-and-how-to-level-the-playing-field/