Esme Myers
@esmeteaches.bsky.social
English Teacher. (New) HOD. University of Birmingham grad. Book lover. MSc in Learning and Teaching from the University of Oxford.
Reposted by Esme Myers
40% of people in the UK haven’t read a book the past year, according to a YouGov poll. Pretty grim. At a time when it feels like reading and literacy has never been more important in my adult life.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...
New poll finds 40% of Britons have not read a book in the past year
The median British adult has read or listened to three books in the past 12 months with reading habits also split along gender, class and political divides
www.theguardian.com
March 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM
40% of people in the UK haven’t read a book the past year, according to a YouGov poll. Pretty grim. At a time when it feels like reading and literacy has never been more important in my adult life.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...
Reposted by Esme Myers
‘Why should we read aloud in class?’
“The teacher reading aloud and expertly modelling fluency (pace, expression, volume etc.) is likely a better bet than selecting underpractised pupils to read.”
alexquigley.co.uk/who-should-r...
“The teacher reading aloud and expertly modelling fluency (pace, expression, volume etc.) is likely a better bet than selecting underpractised pupils to read.”
alexquigley.co.uk/who-should-r...
Who should read aloud in class?
There are fewer more important acts in all of education than reading in the classroom. From what is read, to the specifics of when, why, and by whom, the how of reading in the classroom can prove a vi...
alexquigley.co.uk
February 20, 2025 at 7:58 AM
‘Why should we read aloud in class?’
“The teacher reading aloud and expertly modelling fluency (pace, expression, volume etc.) is likely a better bet than selecting underpractised pupils to read.”
alexquigley.co.uk/who-should-r...
“The teacher reading aloud and expertly modelling fluency (pace, expression, volume etc.) is likely a better bet than selecting underpractised pupils to read.”
alexquigley.co.uk/who-should-r...
If you are looking for a new novel to teach Year 7 I cannot recommend ‘Safiyyah’s War’ enough. It’s rich for analysis, hopeful and based on real historical events that deserve attention. A real tonic for a dark world for students and adults. I’m half way through with my classes and they love it.
January 24, 2025 at 3:59 PM
If you are looking for a new novel to teach Year 7 I cannot recommend ‘Safiyyah’s War’ enough. It’s rich for analysis, hopeful and based on real historical events that deserve attention. A real tonic for a dark world for students and adults. I’m half way through with my classes and they love it.
Live near Reading? Come and work with me and join the River Academy team as we move into Year 2. You’ll be joining a fabtastic founding team, teach brilliant students alongside supportive SLT. You really can just focus on teaching! Please share! mynewterm.com/jobs/150728/...
English Teacher - River Academy, Reading, Berkshire
Closing date: 9:00am, Sun 9th Feb, 2025. View full details and apply online at MyNewTerm.
mynewterm.com
January 22, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Live near Reading? Come and work with me and join the River Academy team as we move into Year 2. You’ll be joining a fabtastic founding team, teach brilliant students alongside supportive SLT. You really can just focus on teaching! Please share! mynewterm.com/jobs/150728/...
Reflecting on a great year of books ✨📚
Particularly loved:
- Good Material by Dolly Alderton
- Road Ends by Mary Lawson
- Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfield
- Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
- Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan
Here’s to another year of tackling my tbr pile.
Particularly loved:
- Good Material by Dolly Alderton
- Road Ends by Mary Lawson
- Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfield
- Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
- Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan
Here’s to another year of tackling my tbr pile.
January 1, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Reflecting on a great year of books ✨📚
Particularly loved:
- Good Material by Dolly Alderton
- Road Ends by Mary Lawson
- Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfield
- Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
- Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan
Here’s to another year of tackling my tbr pile.
Particularly loved:
- Good Material by Dolly Alderton
- Road Ends by Mary Lawson
- Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfield
- Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
- Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan
Here’s to another year of tackling my tbr pile.
Coming to the end of our class novel with my tutor group and I am not emotionally prepared!
December 17, 2024 at 6:49 PM
Coming to the end of our class novel with my tutor group and I am not emotionally prepared!
Reposted by Esme Myers
If your students struggle with GCSE English Language because they don't have the wider reading experience and the mental library to draw on, you need to bring that wide reading INTO CLASS in KS3.
Breadth over depth at KS3. Shared experience of texts that everyone can draw on. 1/
Breadth over depth at KS3. Shared experience of texts that everyone can draw on. 1/
December 10, 2024 at 8:14 PM
If your students struggle with GCSE English Language because they don't have the wider reading experience and the mental library to draw on, you need to bring that wide reading INTO CLASS in KS3.
Breadth over depth at KS3. Shared experience of texts that everyone can draw on. 1/
Breadth over depth at KS3. Shared experience of texts that everyone can draw on. 1/
Survived (and enjoyed) taking 184 Year 7s to the panto for some festive fun ✨
December 11, 2024 at 5:49 PM
Survived (and enjoyed) taking 184 Year 7s to the panto for some festive fun ✨
Survived (and enjoyed) taking 184 Year 7s to the panto for some festive fun ✨
December 11, 2024 at 5:48 PM
Survived (and enjoyed) taking 184 Year 7s to the panto for some festive fun ✨
Reposted by Esme Myers
Tutor Group Think. TGT. Daily slide to broaden the horizons of tutees, introduce cultural capital and stimulate low states discussion that has no right answers.
bit.ly/TutorGroupThink 👇
bit.ly/TutorGroupThink 👇
November 28, 2024 at 7:36 PM
Tutor Group Think. TGT. Daily slide to broaden the horizons of tutees, introduce cultural capital and stimulate low states discussion that has no right answers.
bit.ly/TutorGroupThink 👇
bit.ly/TutorGroupThink 👇
This afternoon, I found out I’ve achieved a Distinction in my MSc in Learning and Teaching from the University of Oxford and I’m feeling pretty proud of myself. 🎓
November 27, 2024 at 7:05 PM
This afternoon, I found out I’ve achieved a Distinction in my MSc in Learning and Teaching from the University of Oxford and I’m feeling pretty proud of myself. 🎓
Going to school is starting to feel a bit like working in a Petri dish.
November 26, 2024 at 5:30 PM
Going to school is starting to feel a bit like working in a Petri dish.
Reposted by Esme Myers
My first blog post - all feedback welcome (but be gentle to a first timer 😉)
On curriculum and teams… my thinking heavily influenced by @samgibbs.bsky.social @saysmiss.bsky.social @samcrome.bsky.social and @lekhasharma.bsky.social
leadingfromthefrontoftheclass.blog/2024/11/23/i...
On curriculum and teams… my thinking heavily influenced by @samgibbs.bsky.social @saysmiss.bsky.social @samcrome.bsky.social and @lekhasharma.bsky.social
leadingfromthefrontoftheclass.blog/2024/11/23/i...
Is your curriculum centralised or shared?
It’s more than a matter of semantics… Recently at the Second Festival of Education in Thailand, I had a conversation with @engteacherabro2 that got me thinking about curriculum leadersh…
leadingfromthefrontoftheclass.blog
November 23, 2024 at 9:42 AM
My first blog post - all feedback welcome (but be gentle to a first timer 😉)
On curriculum and teams… my thinking heavily influenced by @samgibbs.bsky.social @saysmiss.bsky.social @samcrome.bsky.social and @lekhasharma.bsky.social
leadingfromthefrontoftheclass.blog/2024/11/23/i...
On curriculum and teams… my thinking heavily influenced by @samgibbs.bsky.social @saysmiss.bsky.social @samcrome.bsky.social and @lekhasharma.bsky.social
leadingfromthefrontoftheclass.blog/2024/11/23/i...
Reposted by Esme Myers
This is a brilliant blog by @teresacremin.bsky.social If you followed the debate this week on volitional reading/reading for pleasure, do read this. For KS3 the bit on verse novels is great, with reasons why they can switch on readers + fab recommendations. childrenspoetrysummit.com/2024/11/21/t...
Teresa Cremin: Narrative Poetry – Creativity at Play
I’m a big fan of narrative poetry for young people – are you? It entices me in, holds me secure in a story, eager to read on, yet also enables me to enjoy the savours and flavours of poetry…
childrenspoetrysummit.com
November 21, 2024 at 10:12 AM
This is a brilliant blog by @teresacremin.bsky.social If you followed the debate this week on volitional reading/reading for pleasure, do read this. For KS3 the bit on verse novels is great, with reasons why they can switch on readers + fab recommendations. childrenspoetrysummit.com/2024/11/21/t...
Sounds dreamy.
I don't know who needs to hear this, but if all you accomplish this weekend is reading a riveting novel cover-to-cover whilst drinking multiple kettles of tea and consuming a scandalous amount of croissants, then you will have accomplished more than enough.
November 22, 2024 at 6:13 PM
Sounds dreamy.
Reposted by Esme Myers
State schools have closed the gap with private schools in GCSE results, once we adjust for socioeconomic differences in their intakes.
New findings in our paper published today in Cambridge Review of Education: https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2024.2420611
New findings in our paper published today in Cambridge Review of Education: https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2024.2420611
Private school pupils’ performance in GCSEs (and IGCSEs)
Using rich longitudinal data from the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), the authors compare the performance of private and state school pupils in age 16 national examinations (GCSEs) in England, ...
doi.org
November 21, 2024 at 7:35 AM
State schools have closed the gap with private schools in GCSE results, once we adjust for socioeconomic differences in their intakes.
New findings in our paper published today in Cambridge Review of Education: https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2024.2420611
New findings in our paper published today in Cambridge Review of Education: https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2024.2420611
Reposted by Esme Myers
Hello, new BlueSky followers. In April, I was proud to be asked to chair the Oracy Education Commission.
You can read our final report ('We Need to Talk') here: tinyurl.com/yr9pp9af
And there are dozens of podcast conversations exploring #oracy in its many forms: open.spotify.com/show/5UwEJKk...
You can read our final report ('We Need to Talk') here: tinyurl.com/yr9pp9af
And there are dozens of podcast conversations exploring #oracy in its many forms: open.spotify.com/show/5UwEJKk...
The Commission Conversations
Podcast · The Oracy Education Commission · Commission Conversations are short dialogues, discussions, and debates compiled by the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England. They are desig...
open.spotify.com
November 19, 2024 at 8:11 PM
Hello, new BlueSky followers. In April, I was proud to be asked to chair the Oracy Education Commission.
You can read our final report ('We Need to Talk') here: tinyurl.com/yr9pp9af
And there are dozens of podcast conversations exploring #oracy in its many forms: open.spotify.com/show/5UwEJKk...
You can read our final report ('We Need to Talk') here: tinyurl.com/yr9pp9af
And there are dozens of podcast conversations exploring #oracy in its many forms: open.spotify.com/show/5UwEJKk...
Interesting insight into the depressing decline of students taking English Lit at A-Level. It’s a complex issue, but I like Daisy’s suggestion that we need to ‘position the humanities, and their difficult texts, as valuable because they are difficult.’
A lot of discussion lately about the reasons for the decline of Eng Lit A-level.
Are the Gove curriculum & exam reforms to blame?
I don't think so, because the decline of Eng Lit / the humanities more broadly is a global trend.
More here.
Are the Gove curriculum & exam reforms to blame?
I don't think so, because the decline of Eng Lit / the humanities more broadly is a global trend.
More here.
The fall of Eng Lit
What is the cause, is it a problem - and if so, what can we do about it?
buff.ly
November 19, 2024 at 4:25 PM
Interesting insight into the depressing decline of students taking English Lit at A-Level. It’s a complex issue, but I like Daisy’s suggestion that we need to ‘position the humanities, and their difficult texts, as valuable because they are difficult.’
There’s been lots of chat on *the other place* about what we teach in English. I recently listened to David Harewood’d brave and insightful book about mental health and race. But this book is also a pertinent reminder that ALL children deserve to learn hard stuff.
November 19, 2024 at 4:06 PM
There’s been lots of chat on *the other place* about what we teach in English. I recently listened to David Harewood’d brave and insightful book about mental health and race. But this book is also a pertinent reminder that ALL children deserve to learn hard stuff.
Fantastic day talking all things assessment in English at @engmediacentre.bsky.social. Oh, and can we have a moment of appreciation for this children’s library of dreams?
November 19, 2024 at 3:44 PM
Fantastic day talking all things assessment in English at @engmediacentre.bsky.social. Oh, and can we have a moment of appreciation for this children’s library of dreams?
Reposted by Esme Myers
The Nat Literacy Trust survey on Reading for Pleasure shows a big dip! 4 recommendations (my paraphrase):
1. Prioritise reading not as a means of evaluation
2.Include texts that resonate with children
3. Make time for independent reading
4. Make reading a 'social' not just an individual thing. 1/
1. Prioritise reading not as a means of evaluation
2.Include texts that resonate with children
3. Make time for independent reading
4. Make reading a 'social' not just an individual thing. 1/
November 17, 2024 at 7:33 AM
The Nat Literacy Trust survey on Reading for Pleasure shows a big dip! 4 recommendations (my paraphrase):
1. Prioritise reading not as a means of evaluation
2.Include texts that resonate with children
3. Make time for independent reading
4. Make reading a 'social' not just an individual thing. 1/
1. Prioritise reading not as a means of evaluation
2.Include texts that resonate with children
3. Make time for independent reading
4. Make reading a 'social' not just an individual thing. 1/
Reposted by Esme Myers
Fresh booklets for a fresh unit. Gothic settings, here we come 💪🏼
November 19, 2024 at 7:50 AM
Fresh booklets for a fresh unit. Gothic settings, here we come 💪🏼