This weeks I am in conversation with Omar Akbar; Teacher, Author- The Unofficial Teacher's Manual: What they don't teach you in training; Bad School Leadership (and what to do about it) . We are nattering about school leadership, the good and the bad! This is a very positive podcast with some great takeaways.
The natter
From the introduction of the book , tell us a little bit about you and your 15 years teaching across 4 schools?
You say this book is about the mismanagement of the system , what do you mean by this and what can we do about this ?
You kick off the book with relationship building and Rick astley ....tell us how important relationships, empathy and communication are for leaders
Observations can be controversial but also useful , what are your www and Ebi here ?
Learning walks , deception walks and urine tests . How can we ensure visits to lessons are beneficial for all ?
Book scrutiny and deep dives , what is a secret dossier and how can leaders be more transparent?
Behaviour - when in doubt blame the teacher for not engaging the learners . Is this common and how do we support teachers with behaviour so they are empowered and not undermined ?
Meetings - what is a Botox meeting ?
How do we support NQTs so they end up like the one on that recruitment advert
How important are unions and why should we stand by our unions ?
How does shift happen ? What can we do to achieve a new normal ?
Let’s finish as you do with some myth busting! Share a couple with listeners ? Where can we find out more ?
Useful links
https://theunofficialteachersmanual.blog/
John Catt sponsorship
Here is a code for the first week: POD30. If listeners enter that where prompted on the SHOPPING CART page (not the CHECKOUT - people often slip up with that!), they will get 30% off any order from JohnCatt.com until the next week’s show.
