Are you more intelligent than a Chimpanzee?
Here are some facts: Paris is the capital city of France; Chimpanzees are native to Africa and Birmingham City won the League Cup in 2010. The last fact might seem a little surprising, but it is still an indisputable fact. It is the truth. There are other things that we often assume to be ‘facts’,…
The Importance of Culture
Durham Johnston’s 6th Cultural Festival begins next week and we are very proud of both its longevity and the varied nature of the activities and events that we have hosted in that time. We also act as a venue for the Durham Book Festival and this year both Dave Shelton and Kate Pankhurst will be…
Rubbish!
The above photograph is from this year’s World Cup in Russia. They show Japanese supporters, ‘The Blue Samurai’, cleaning up discarded rubbish – plastic cups, bottles and food waste – from one of the stands in the Mordovia Arena after they had, unexpectedly, beaten Argentina in one of their group…
Trust. But Verify.
‘I don’t trust them, they’re kids.’
Is an interesting opening gambit for an article which is meant to outline the positive impact your school is having. But that is what Katharine Birbalsingh chose to do in an article published in the Times Education Supplement in July of this year. She is the…
Bat, Butterfly, Moth? Or Wolf Mask?
What can you see in the image above? What you see, theoretically, reveals quite a lot about your personality type. It is one of 20 images designed by Herman Rorschach in 1921 to indicate personality types and is still widely used. Rorschach was very interested in the art produced by psychiatric…
Big Picture, Small Details.
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The above painting was completed by the Dutch artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1562 and is called ‘The Triumph of Death.’ It is a large, detailed painting and is also, clearly, quite disturbing. Not, therefore, the type of image that you would normally use to convey an uplifting message in the…
“Let thy speech be better than silence. Or be silent.”
In the 1932 American election Franklin Roosevelt was challenging the incumbent, Herbert Hoover. The two men were encouraged to engage in debate. From a technological perspective, the most obvious place to do so was via the radio; 50% of American households owned a radio by 1932. Both men were…
All you Punks and all you Teds, Mods, Rockers, Hippies and Skinheads………*
I used to complete morning duty on the school yard with a world weary colleague in his late forties. He would survey the students as they came into school and say, each week, ‘Where have all the mods gone?’ His question always seemed to be a plaintive cry, bemoaning the lost tribes of the past;…
Serendipity
I was lucky enough to be in Sorrento last week. A beautiful part of Italy, but ferociously hot. Being, by descent, from the West coast of Ireland I am not genetically predisposed to cope with intense heat. Overcast with possible light drizzle is my favoured climate. As we plodded slowly through…
This Time, More Than Any Other Time, This Time.....
The first football match I attended was 40 years ago. I grew up very near to Birmingham City’s ground, St. Andrews, and never countenanced supporting another team. My first game was an away game, at Wolverhampton’s Molineux stadium, on 1st April 1978. Birmingham won 1-0 and Trevor Francis scored,…
Is it easier to take things apart, or to put them back together?
This question has been integral to my time as a teacher, both in the classroom and as a school leader. I have asked the question of almost every class that I have taught, because a significant aspect of history relates to the nature of change, whether revolution or reform. The British Empire, the…
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye
What can you remember about 2013? What will you remember about 2018?
If you are a Year 11 student you might well look back on your first ever day as a Durham Johnston student. Nervously walking onto the school yard in your ill-fitting uniform, keen to meet up with friendly faces from your…