There are some interesting-looking books at the top of the to-be-reviewed pile. This is one of them.
Click to see this on the publisher’s website
I’m very much looking forward to reading this, because according to the blurb:
“No Excuses charts an extraordinary principal’s journey in diary form from the moment she took over at a failing secondary school in a deprived area of the country, where less than a quarter of children attained five or more A*–C GCSEs, and how she set about the gruelling task of transforming its reputation using her zero-tolerance, tough-love approach.”
The modern trend, if social media is anything to go by, is to treat your students as if they’re your best mates and show them “lurv”. Oh do please give it a rest. As I wrote recently:
“I still agree with the old adage, “Don’t smile until half-term”. If the students even suspect you’re a soft touch, you’ve had it.
All this lovey-dovey, we’re all in it together nonsense can be dispensed with. Over time, it will become obvious anyway that you care for your students, so you don’t need to actually say it. It’s called “tough love”, and it works.”
No Excuses: Turning Around One of Britain’s Toughest Schools, by Alison Colwell.
I will be reviewing this book for Teach Secondary magazine, and will publish my review here soon after it appears there.
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