Goodbye Matthew Hunter…

…hello Robert Peal. Having started this blog two years ago, I have decided to abandon the pseudonym and write under my real name. I adopted the pseudonym having had an article accepted for publication by Standpoint magazine. It was an account of the poor behaviour still dominant in many British state schools, not least the one in which I was a trainee. However, the editor at Standpoint warned me against using my own name. As he put it, I would face disciplinary problems of an altogether different nature had I done so.

However, the pseudonym has now run its course. I am no longer teaching at said school, and am currently working at the think tank Civitas. Since September, I have been writing a book about the history of progressive education in British state schools, and the negative effect it has had on pupil behaviour and teacher effectiveness. The book will be published by Civitas in the spring. In addition, I am working on the Civitas Core Knowledge programme—a knowledge-based primary school curriculum inspired by the ideas of E. D. Hirsch. I will return to the classroom in September, to teach history at a free school.

These are fast moving times in the world of education. For this reason, I hope to re-enter the fray of the blogosphere with a weekly blog about education news, commentary and research.

~ by goodbyemisterhunter on February 9, 2014.