The Observer: Back to basics: the simple lessons I learnt about good schooling

Interesting piece in Sunday's Observer penned by one of Blair's former aides, Peter Hyman, who quit to become a teacher.

This paragraph in particular struck me

While wanting total freedom himself to get on with things and without the local education authority or the government breathing down his neck, Alan's policy within the school is not based on letting go, but on tight control. Consistency is one of Alan's big themes. Homework set at the start of each lesson rather than in a rush at the end of a lesson, seating plans for every class, books marked regularly and using the same format to show students how to make progress, a consistent approach to pastoral support that picks up early on students with problems. All this may sound obvious, but too often it does not happen. 'Consistency is not dull, it's liberating,' says Alan. 'If you get the baseline right you can start being creative.' He believes that all of his rules have an intellectual basis - they have been shown to support learning.

Read the whole article here: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/focus/story/0,,2110198,00.html