The short answer to the question that forms the title of this article is “Yes”. Strictly speaking, if a teacher declines to carry out an instruction, he or she can be reprimanded – even if the instruction is dreadful. In my first day at one school I had the following conversation with my Head of Department:

HoD: Regarding the Year 10s (15 years old), just spend the first couple of lessons giving them a list of terms and their definitions to write down.

Me: But the terms will be meaningless unless we explore the concepts behind them.

HoD: Don’t worry about all that; just write the list on the board and get them to copy it down.

Me: But what’s the purpose of doing that? They won’t learn anything.

HoD: No, but it’ll keep them quiet. 

Sorry, but that’s pretty appalling if you want my honest opinion – on at least four levels.

Firstly, I think a lesson should be more than about keeping kids quiet.

Secondly, I’m not sure I want kids to be quiet: I want them to discuss and challenge, not sit there like sponges.

Thirdly, if by “keeping them quiet” the HoD meant ensure there were no behavioural issues, then the best way of achieving that is to make the lesson interesting, not to try to bore the kids into submission.

Fourthly, I believe in providing people with learning hooks – something they can hold on to, mentally, when learning new terminology. How can people learn things in a deep way if all they’ve done is learn a list of words by heart? But if they understand the concepts which underpin those words, they won’t even have to make a conscious effort to learn them.

Disobeying the HoD wasn’t a strategy that was guaranteed to gain me kudos or promotion within the school, and it could have landed me in hot water. But I at least I thought I’d able to look at myself in the mirror each morning.