The Teachers

Liam Harris

I am very curious. I can’t help it. I just like asking questions.

The problem is that with most questions (the ones that are worth asking, anyway) you never really get a completely fulfilling answer. In fact, I often find that one question will usually lead to another. A ‘when’ transforms to a ‘how’ that leads to a ‘why’ which inevitably finds its way to a ‘what if…’.

And those are the most dangerous types of questions. That’s partly because they make my head hurt but mostly because it means that we could do something differently, or treat someone differently or see the world in different ways. That’s the real problem with questions: when we investigate the answers we find that we are usually wrong and then we have to change the way we see things. That’s the hardest part.

In my classroom, whether in English or in Drama, I like to investigate big questions with my students. That means that we might often leave the classroom feeling more confused than when we entered it. But that is okay, because we are willing to work hard to see things differently and to make sure the rest of the world listens to what we have found.

Holly Dearden

Words, words, words. Where would we be without them? Words and stories have always played a big part in my life – that’s one of the reasons I decided to become an English teacher. I believe that it’s worth reading a thousand books to find one that changes us.

Sometimes it’s to do with language: some writers use their words so skillfully that the dots and symbols on the page become like a piece of music when they are read out loud, transporting us somewhere else. More often it’s about what those narratives or characters mean to us, how we can relate to them. Or it’s about timing – when we read something that really resonates with what is happening in our lives. Every now and then, all of these things happen at once. When it does, you are hooked.

We always have a choice about which words we can use in any given situation, and over how we decide to express them. One thing we can’t control, though, is how others receive them. I find it helpful to remember this when people don’t react in the way you want them to!

Thinking about this in terms of texts, the reader – or audience – becomes as, if not more important than the writer. How cool is that? That’s the thing I am most interested in, how each student may respond differently to something they read or watch, breathing new life into the material as they bring their own experiences to it.

Put simply, your voice matters. The meaning of a book or poem or play changes according to whoever is reading it.

So, you see, it’s all up to you… time to get reading! You won’t regret it.

JP O’Brien

I’m a fan of words. It’s probably the main reason I became an English teacher. And not just words in books, but everywhere: in hip-hop, newspapers, conversation, advertising. I think for us to live a fulfilling life, we need to understand how words can mean different things in different mediums. Why is it that the slogan of McDonalds is ‘I’m lovin’ it’ instead of I’m loving it? Or why do we so often misinterpret each other through texts?

You probably know a lot about these things already. That’s why I love English; we can find the answers in our own lives and beliefs. Which leads me onto another thing I enjoy, asking questions. You do it all the time in your own lives, I’m sure. The thing about asking questions, though, is that we get more answers – if we get answers any at all –  when we do so together.

We better get going, then! There’s a world to interpret. Let’s not fall behind..

Danny Curran

Mr Curran teaches with a genuine quiet passion, using traditional practices, where you can expect to engage in steady routines. In his classes the literature sets the tone and individual scholarship is highly valued. He sets high expectations of his students and demands a commitment to learning that extends beyond the classroom. The writing programmes will have a strong emphasis on developing in you a unique writer’s ‘voice’.

Chris Waugh

Originally from a small place called Vauxhall on a peninsula in the southern coast of New Zealand, the un-originality of the fact that I still call Vauxhall home does not escape me. Still, the name is where the similarity ends and I have to admit to still finding it a thrill when I head out for my Sunday morning run or ride and find myself waiting at the lights outside the RVT with an array of the locals: invariably a worse-for-wear drag queen totters next to a family dressed for church. I love that limbic moment when worlds drift past each other in real time. London feels as if it were made for this.

Even though I don’t agree with the idea of having a favourite book, I have one. “The Vintners Luck” by Elizabeth Knox is it. I have more than one copy signed by the author and it was the only physical book I packed when I emigrated over 5 years ago. I fell in love with the lead character and I suspect I’m in love with him still. While I do love reading – I also love swimming, running and cycling. I’ll often be seen on my bike, patiently observing all red lights on the Albert Embankment each morning – and if you’re standing at the Lambeth Palace stop as I pedal by, by all means say hello.

Having come to teaching in my early thirties after careers in radio broadcasting and the fitness industry, I have a unique perspective on the job of the teacher. To me the classroom must be a place of vivid engagement.

Through a bold merger of established texts, my 20th century sensibility and new media, I believe I meet you as my students half-way in the job of ensuring your educational success. I believe that authenticity is an absolute key to success in the secondary school environment. This applies to everything. The relationships we develop in the classroom must be honest, the work we do  must be authentic – we’ve really got to be interested in it. The feedback that I give must ‘ring true’ and I must be prepared to engage in the process of learning myself – explicitly – in order to lead by example. I must learn from my students as you learn from me. I must also act in ways that are consistent with my expectations of you. If I won’t do it, I won’t expect you to either.

› Read more of my thinking about teaching and learning in my professional journal