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whatonomy

@whatonomy

A teacher with the photocopier drum burns to prove it. Blogging at https://whatonomy.wordpress.com English teacher, Head of Department, TOK teacher and latterday educational technologist. Pretends to be optimistic about AI on LinkedIn.

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13.11.2023
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Latest posts by whatonomy @whatonomy

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A year’s work coming to fruition.
Delighted to see Discover Geography now publishing. This is more than a textbook series. It’s a complete KS3 / lower secondary curriculum package designed for both UK and international contexts.

09.02.2026 14:34 👍 13 🔁 6 💬 1 📌 0

No. The week after. This is the one I really wanted.

04.02.2026 19:31 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Yes, the Doom Bar is talking. I'm elated at the prospect of return. I'll calm down. A bit.

04.02.2026 18:57 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Whoop!

04.02.2026 18:51 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0

Yes. Whoop, indeed.

04.02.2026 18:52 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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a close up of a man 's face with the word woo in green letters ALT: a close up of a man 's face with the word woo in green letters

After 17 years of teaching in private schools, I taught 30 minutes in a state school today. And. It. Felt. Goooood.

04.02.2026 18:49 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

So... When I am ensconced as an English teacher in the UK, what is the very first conference I should go to? #whatfest

04.02.2026 18:46 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Hello Hayley! It has been too long. Lovely to hear from you. ♥️

04.02.2026 18:44 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The teacher who came in from the cold. That's the 1st blog in almost 3 years. There's a new game in town: reigniting the dream of social mobility.

04.02.2026 18:40 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Ha! Milton Keynes Free House. Doom Bar. 🤞

04.02.2026 18:38 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The best bit? I got to spend time in a great staffroom with a wonderfully diverse and intellectually vibrant bunch of teachers. A good staffroom is a thing to cherish. It is a glorious box of the most nutty cats.

04.02.2026 18:37 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Thrilled for you. I hope all the Bluesky advice panned out. ❤️

04.02.2026 18:32 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
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By way of celebration. Here's to teaching like a champignon one last time!

04.02.2026 18:35 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

It did. My EduTwitter crowd is still out there. I'm really looking forward to being back in the think of it.

04.02.2026 18:33 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Thank you! I'm absolutely thrilled. Finally coming home. And finally giving back. Feels cathartically wonderful.

04.02.2026 18:32 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Got a job! That's it. I am back in the UK for good and will be teaching English in a UK state school from September. I am made up. 😎

04.02.2026 18:23 👍 14 🔁 0 💬 6 📌 0
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Finally getting round to eating my Christmas treat of a Marzipan pig from the Norwegian Church in Rotherhithe

01.02.2026 14:28 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

#teamenglish What general things would you say a modern UK English department is looking for in a demo lesson? Please RT

30.01.2026 07:38 👍 0 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0

Two interviews! Back in the UK next week and first week of March. The game is afoot!

29.01.2026 20:11 👍 7 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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If Bilbo had Chat GPT

27.01.2026 16:24 👍 3732 🔁 1065 💬 39 📌 40

This is a brilliant take-down of that heavy lifting the I is doing in AI. Outline details - pretty good. Drill down - a hopeless desert of nonsense.

Oh, and the author *hasn't* used hallucinating. Humans hallucinate. Machines get things wrong. DEFINE IT.

#openai #chatgpt #gemini #grok

27.01.2026 13:42 👍 1 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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On chasing the rainbow of intrinsic motivation And the viable alternatives teachers can adopt to support effort and learning

rebeccabirch.substack.com/p/on-chasing...

27.01.2026 06:14 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Merchant of Venice in Year 7. What do we think about that?

26.01.2026 15:40 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Interview on Thursday. Wish me luck. 😬

25.01.2026 08:05 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0

Okay, better now. One interview and one pre-shortlisting task. Nice to have fingers in pies.

20.01.2026 17:14 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

That's really good advice. I'll just apply and have the conversations as and when I need to. I can cross bridges when I come to them. Thanks, Rachel - I really appreciate your advice.

20.01.2026 10:01 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

You don't think prospective schools will think badly of me?

20.01.2026 09:45 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

I certainly would feel very guilty and feel disinclined to let my students down mid-year, but at the same time feel bound to look after my health and my family (and know that I have a better chance securing urgent April hire positions).

20.01.2026 09:20 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Moral dilemma time: legally, I have a 2-month notice period here in CZ and it's normal here for teachers to come and go at any point in the year. If I see April start English jobs, should I go for them, or will I come across really badly?

20.01.2026 09:17 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

I'm going to finish this school year, so ready to start a new job from July. Yes, I'm currently a head of English.

19.01.2026 17:42 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0