Paul Blum

Following the success of the first edition, this revised second edition, brings the reader up-to-date with what it is like to be a teacher in a difficult class, and regularly faced with apathy, defiance and aggression. Sadly, numerous government initiatives since the 1998 publication of the first edition have not transformed the situation for teachers in difficult classrooms. Here, Paul Blum explores the impact and consequences of the changes made in the intervening years. Like its predecessor it offers sensible, practical advice, for all classroom teachers, on how to survive and succeed in the face of tremendous difficulty, and this updated edition includes new sections on teaching pupils with low reading ages, and on making the most effective use of teaching assistants.

This highly practical guide shows how learning support teachers and assistants can work effectively with secondary school pupils who are struggling with their reading. It relates directly to the working practices of teachers, steering them through issues such as:assessing the low-age readerworking with reading withdrawal groupsfinding and creating resources for low-age readersconstructing spelling strategies to support readingunderstanding the emotional dimension to being a poor readerhow to effectively involve parents.Paul Blum offers valuable advice on how to make challenging mainstream subject textbooks accessible to low-aged readers and help on where to find good free resources as well as commercial materials to suit them. Exploring the vital relationship between the mainstream and learning support function, he also outlines the ways in which the two can be harnessed to make a significant difference to reading improvement.

This lively, practical account explores the vital aspects of the assistant or deputy headteacher’s role, which often means playing piggy-in-the-middle to a variety of school stakeholders, including the headteacher, other senior managers, the teaching staff, parents and local authority advisors, governors and pupils. The author gives practical tips on how to organise yourself well when the pressure to perform multiple tasks simultaneously is high, such as how to lead and manage major strategic changes, do a good presentation to staff on a training day, and give a rogue pupil an effective telling-off. The book also covers how to apply for a senior management job and successfully get through the stringent written selection criteria and complex interview process.This is a highly informative text for any aspiring subject leader or middle manager in the primary or secondary sector. It will also be of interest to existing senior managers who want to reflect on the way they are doing their job already.

This lively, practical account explores the vital aspects of the assistant or deputy headteacher’s role, which often means playing piggy-in-the-middle to a variety of school stakeholders, including the headteacher, other senior managers, the teaching staff, parents and local authority advisors, governors and pupils. The author gives practical tips on how to organise yourself well when the pressure to perform multiple tasks simultaneously is high, such as how to lead and manage major strategic changes, do a good presentation to staff on a training day, and give a rogue pupil an effective telling-off. The book also covers how to apply for a senior management job and successfully get through the stringent written selection criteria and complex interview process.This is a highly informative text for any aspiring subject leader or middle manager in the primary or secondary sector. It will also be of interest to existing senior managers who want to reflect on the way they are doing their job already.

Following the success of the first edition, this revised second edition, brings the reader up-to-date with what it is like to be a teacher in a difficult class, and regularly faced with apathy, defiance and aggression. Sadly, numerous government initiatives since the 1998 publication of the first edition have not transformed the situation for teachers in difficult classrooms. Here, Paul Blum explores the impact and consequences of the changes made in the intervening years. Like its predecessor it offers sensible, practical advice, for all classroom teachers, on how to survive and succeed in the face of tremendous difficulty, and this updated edition includes new sections on teaching pupils with low reading ages, and on making the most effective use of teaching assistants.

This highly practical guide shows how learning support teachers and assistants can work effectively with secondary school pupils who are struggling with their reading. It relates directly to the working practices of teachers, steering them through issues such as:assessing the low-age readerworking with reading withdrawal groupsfinding and creating resources for low-age readersconstructing spelling strategies to support readingunderstanding the emotional dimension to being a poor readerhow to effectively involve parents.Paul Blum offers valuable advice on how to make challenging mainstream subject textbooks accessible to low-aged readers and help on where to find good free resources as well as commercial materials to suit them. Exploring the vital relationship between the mainstream and learning support function, he also outlines the ways in which the two can be harnessed to make a significant difference to reading improvement.

As schools are making efforts to include children with emotional and behavioural problems, teachers are having to deal with angry and violent pupils almost every day. Paul Blum's latest book offers a recognisable, blunt and truthful account of widespread and often quite horrendous problems affecting teachers today, and offers practical strategies and solutions. He provides basic day-to-day guidance as well as help for the longer term PSHE planning for schools, based on his own adaptation of the highly successful 'Everyman' project. Issues discussed include a practical survey for teachers on the types of incidents they have to deal with, where anger comes from, the problems that anger causes, and strategies which can be used to help individual pupils. A teacher's inability to deal with difficult pupils can affect their professional and personal life, as well as their ability to successfully teach all their pupils. This essential book offers guidance when they need it most, offering a life-line to teachers in difficult circumstances.