Kids Giving Back 5th Birthday
Some of you might be aware that every year I’m very proud to partner with my friends at Kids Giving Back to work with teenagers who access Youth Off The Streets. Well today, Kids Giving Back hosted its 5th Birthday party at Rough Edges, a homeless community partner in Darlinghurst, Sydney, and I was honoured […]
Read MoreWhat kids *really* want from us when they ask for help…
Last week I had the pleasure of hearing Professor Donna Cross present on wide range of issues pertaining to wellbeing, and in particular student wellbeing. Professor Cross presented some interesting perspectives from her work with children and adolescents. One perspective that I found particularly compelling – given the media attention around bullying in schools in […]
Read MoreWrapping Kids in Cotton Wool
Yesterday I was interviewed by the panel on Channel 10’s The Project with regard to ‘Cotton Wool’ kids… It stemmed from a story in Melbourne where a father was suing a school because his son ran into a wall whilst playing tips. The father’s argument was – the school should ban running in the playground. Hmm… […]
Read MoreEngaging the Student Voice
The basis for student voice is to be found in Article 12 of the United Nation Convention of the Rights of the Child, which sets out the right of children and young people to express an opinion and to have that opinion taken into account when decisions are being made on any matter that affects them. […]
Read MoreHear No Evil, See No Evil
One of the most common questions I get asked by schools, is along the lines of how can we teach “Cyber-Safety?” Leaving aside the fact I’m not keen on the use of the work cyber as whilst it may have suited our needs a decade ago, nowadays it’s pretty much irrelevant. Why do I say irrelevant? Because […]
Read MoreDoes PSHE or Citizenship have a place your school day?
On Thursday 20th February at 8pm GMT, (7am on the Friday Morning AEDT in Sydney) I shall be hosting the #UKEdChat on Twitter. We’ll be talking about teaching citizenship, and Personal, Social & Health Education (PSHE) in schools. In the UK, PSHE education remains a non-statutory subject, but the National Curriculum framework document states that: All […]
Read MoreHey kids – Stop talking like that!
I bet there’s certain things kids say that grate on you. I bet there are slang terms that, quite simply, you don’t understand. Every now and then you’ll come across a helpful list of the latest “kids speak” like this one. Go on, read it. It’s brilliant. I’ll bet if you think back, there were […]
Read MoreMy Reaction to Naming & Shaming Young Offenders
In reaction to the Queensland Government’s move to name & shame young offenders as young as ten, I wrote this piece for the ABC. Being seen to be tough on crime is Politics 101. It’s a guaranteed vote-winner. It creates good copy for the tabloids, and “naming and shaming” is the bread and butter of any self-respecting […]
Read MoreSex, Drugs, The Media & Our Kids
I originally write this for my regular Generation Next column In the weeks since that Miley Cyrus performance at the VMAs, more fuel has been poured onto the fiery debate around the overtly sexual messages our kids are receiving thanks to the media. Add this to the heady mix of alcohol, violence and drug use […]
Read MoreGirls Get A’s, Then Get Surgery
This was originally published for my regular Generation Next column. I have a saying that my teaching colleagues will be able to appreciate. Interesting kids have very interesting parents. I spent the past two years resisting invitations from schools to give parent talks. My reasoning was that whilst after 15+ years teaching, I can speak […]
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