SIMON BROOKS EDUCATION

Building a rich culture of thinking in our classrooms and schools is a long, complex, thrilling and challenging process (Ritchhart, 2015). Like children themselves, a culture of thinking needs constant care and attention if it is to flourish. Something interesting for us all to think about is not so much what we do as teachers in a culture of thinking, but how we are. What do we look and sound like as teachers who characteristically attend to children’s thinking? What entr

It’s school holiday time here in Sydney, Australia. The cicadas are singing, and long, hot summer days abound, with plenty of opportunities for spending valuable time both with my family and also some incredibly worthwhile books! Top of the list in this regard is Slow looking: The art and practice of learning through observation, by Shari Tishman, a book that I wholeheartedly recommend to all my educator (and non-educator!) friends. Tishman is a Senior Research Associate fr

A couple of weeks ago I was pleased to spend a wonderful day at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. Of the many wonderful works in the gallery, I found that one painting in particular spoke to me that day. It’s a work entitled Mount St Michael, Cornwall, painted by Clarkson Stanfield in 1830. Take a look for yourself, and see what you think. This Blog entry is part four of an eight-part series exploring 7 Big Rocks for Educators keen to build a culture o