Education Passport

In this episode we're discussing how students and teachers are using their voices through actions such as the global climate change protests #Fridaysforfuture, teachers striking in Zimbabwe and the USA and head teachers in England writing to parents about devastating cuts to education.We recorded this two weeks ago so our date reference is slightly off, but nevertheless we hope you enjoy the discussion!Our favourite strike slogan from marches around the world: "Teachers deserve fair pay, because students deserve teachers who stay".We also recommend some great books following World Book Day that we think you should check out:On the Come Up by Angie ThomasThe Burning by Laura BatesBrave, not Perfect by Reshma Saujani10% Braver: Inspiring Women to Lead Education by the #WomenEd community, edited by Vivienne Porritt and Keziah Featherstone.We also learn that Alice like to listen to Taylor's Swift's song 'Fifteen' to get herself into the teenage psyche on the first day of every term!Follow @gretathunberg on InstagramZimbabwe teacher strikes:https://tinyurl.com/y4ahq7zvHeadteachers in England write to parents about education cuts:https://tinyurl.com/yxbu9n7yFour day working week increases productivity:https://tinyurl.com/y6yavrmgGet in touch: Email: educationpassport@gmail.comTwitter: @EdPassportInstagram: @educationpassport

Hello, and welcome to our round up of some of the global educations news from the past month.This month we discuss:Replacing joyful snow days with e-learning activities in the USA.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46871555Followed by a study into the impact of snow days on pupils' education (none!)https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25912445Greta Thunberg the Swedish student skipping school to protest climate change. Here is a link to her TedTalk on the need to act on climate change:https://www.ted.com/talks/greta_thunberg_the_disarming_case_to_act_right_now_on_climateGlobal megatrends facing education. You can read the full OECD report here:http://www.oecd.org/education/trends-shaping-education-22187049.htmThe Global Teacher Prize 2019. See the full list of nominees and their extraordinary accomplishments here:https://www.globalteacherprize.org/Please rate and review us on iTunes, and get in touch - we love to hear what you think.Twitter: @EdPassportInstagram: @EducationPassportEmail: EducationPassport@gmail.com

In this interview Emma speaks to Dace who lives and works in Riga, Latvia.Dace was working as a scientist but couldn’t find her place - she loved science but hated working alone and in a laboratory and thought that she could use her outgoing personality and her love of working with young people as a teacher.She describes the jobs of “seeing the sparkle in their eyes when they finally understand”, but also the challenges of conservative attitudes across the country.The challenges facing Latvia are interesting and very relevant to a lot of other places around the world. Having been occupied by Russia until 1991, there are division within society that still exist today, and the scars of the experiences of older generations still manifest themselves in children’s behaviour. There are also big differences between the schools in the countryside and those in Riga, and the government has to make decisions for their education system which support all of these different types of schools.We always love to receive your feedback so please get in touch:Twitter: @EdPassportInstagram: @EducationPassportEmail: educationpassport@gmail.com

In this episode we talk about the national exam that takes over the whole of South Korea as the nation stands still to support its students, the Finnish schools that have moved to open plan learning (we like the idea of cooperative teaching but maybe not the noise and chaos that might ensue from having no walls..) and research that suggests where in the world teachers are the most respected.Please rate and review us on iTunes, and get in touch - we love to hear what you think.Twitter: @EdPassportInstagram: @EducationPassportEmail: EducationPassport@gmail.comLinks to articles mentioned in this episode:South Korea national exams:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-46181240The school with no classrooms in Finland:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/education-45727843/finland-s-schools-ditch-traditional-classrooms-for-open-plan-learningWhere teachers get the most respect:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46063947

In this episode, Alice talks to Chemistry and Biology teacher Dr Lindsay Robertson about her work in the classroom, and how her school is working to improve the mental health of staff and students.Lindsay’s school has really championed supporting and talking about mental health for the past three years, and it’s really interesting to hear Lindsay talk about students who are trained as mental health champions for their peers, and staff such as herself who have been trained as mental health first aiders.She also shares her thoughts on her fantastic school leadership, the benefits of sharing resources with your colleagues on work load and her experiences of the differences between the English and Scottish school systems.SAMH is the Scottish Association for Mental Health that Lindsay mentions, and you can find our more about them on their website: www.samh.org.ukWe love to hear from you, so please get in touch:Twitter: @EdPassportInstagram: @EducationPassportEmail: EducationPassport@gmail.comEmail: EducationPassport@gmail.com

Our latest interview episode features a hopeful and inspiring conversation with Ada McKim, founder of the #TeachSDGs movement.The UN sustainable development goals are a collection of 17 global goals to address challenges that the world faces, with the target of achieving all of these by 2030.In this discussion, Ada shares more about the SDGs and how to get involved in bringing these into your classrooms.We also discuss her experiences as a teacher and her views on education, both in Canada and more broadly around the world.For more information you can go to the website www.teachsdgs.org and get involved on Twitter through the account @TeachSDGs and #TeachSDGs.You can get in touch with us in many ways:Twitter: @EdPassportInstagram: @EducationPassportEmail: EducationPassport@gmail.com

We’re back with our round up of education news from around the world in October!In this episode we discuss parents protesting large class sizes in China, returning to school in a post-conflict zone, the International Maths Olympiad and facial recognition technology in schools.Hosted by Emma Russo & Alice Roots.Links to articles referenced in this episode:1. Parents protesting large class sizes in Chinahttps://www.economist.com/china/2018/09/13/anger-grows-in-china-over-school-crowding2. Headteachers’ polite protest in England https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-456651223. Going back to school in a warzone https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-453555324. International Maths Olympiad websitehttps://www.imo-official.org/5. Facial recognition technology in schools https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/17/chinese-school-uses-facial-recognition-monitor-student-attention/

We have had a few technical difficulties getting this episode to you (and we've been out and about enjoying our summer holidays!) but we hope that you enjoy hearing us discuss some education news stories from around the world.In this episode we cover how higher temperatures negatively impact exam results, Algeria's extreme response to cheating on national school exams, sexual harassment in schools, the teacher recruitment and retention crisis in schools in England and Australia's idea to put death on the curriculum.Articles discussed:American university report shows temperature is a negative factor in exam results:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44288982https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/joshuagoodman/files/w24639.pdfAlgeria's extreme response to cheating on national school exams:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-44557028The sexual harassment of female teachers in schools:https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/29/lewd-comments-upskirting-women-teachers-sexual-harassmenthttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-44589347England teacher recruitment and retention crisis:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-44648438Death being put on the curriculum in Australia:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44689506

There are so many teachers across the world who are doing amazing and inspiring things that are relevant to so many others around the world. Our aim is to connect teachers from different countries with these ideas and experiences.In this episode, Emma speaks to Alisha who lives and works in India.Like a lot of people, Alisha didn't know that she wanted to work in education, but when she finished her degree she knew that she wanted to explore the social sector and she is now in her fourth year of working in education. She describes her initial move into teaching as a “leap of faith”.After teaching mathematics in the classroom for 3 years, she has recently moved into education leadership as an Assistant Principle in a new school.Throughout the interview, Alisha talks about her professional journey so far, the steep learning curve that she is currently undergoing as a new school leader and what she loves about teaching. She also shares how if she were education minister, she would keep a lot of the great education policies that the Indian government has in place, but work on national accountability and the systems that implement them in schools.We hope that you enjoy this episode and would love it if you would rate us on iTunes as it helps other people to find us.We’d also love for you to get in touch and share your thoughts on anything that we have discussed, or if you’d like to be interviewed and have your teaching experiences shared with our audience then we’d love to hear from you.Twitter: @EdPassportInstagram: @EducationPassportEmail: EducationPassport@gmail.com

In this informal chat about education and news from around the world, Emma and Alice discuss exam protests in Germany, advertising exam cheating on YouTube, Vietnamese parents spending over 10 hours a week on their child's homework, pupils missing out on their education while Venezuela is in crisis and an idea from the UK government to improve teacher retention.Get in touch: - Twitter: @EdPassport- Instagram: @EducationPassportReferences:1. Pupils in Berlin protest unfair English examhttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/05/world/europe/germany-english-test-abitur.html2. The YouTube stars being paid to sell cheating http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-439560013. Vietnamese parents spend over 10 hours weekly with child's homeworkhttps://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/data-speaks/vietnamese-parents-spend-over-10-hours-weekly-with-child-s-homework-survey-3743005.html4. Venezuela's education crisishttps://reliefweb.int/report/venezuela-bolivarian-republic/millions-children-missing-school-venezuelas-hunger-crisis5. Teachers in England to be offered a year's paid sabbatical to improve retention https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/04/teachers-to-be-offered-years-paid-sabbatical-to-improve-retention

In this informal chat about education news from around the world, Emma and Alice discuss the Oaklahoma, USA, teachers marching 110 miles in a walkout protest, the school age in France beign lowered to 3 years old, widespread and systemic cheating on exams in India and the Global Teacher Prize.References:1. Oaklama teacher walk out and march 110 mileshttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/04/oklahoma-teachers-strike-march-school-funding2. French school age lowered for all to 3 years oldhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-435620293. Widespread and systemic exam cheating in Indiahttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/03/india-school-exam-season-cheating-mafia-4. The Global Teacher Prizehttp://www.globalteacherprize.org/Get in touch:- Twitter: @EdPassport- Instagram: @EducationPassport

In this informal chat about education news from around the world this March, Emma and Alice discuss the move in Oaklama, USA to a state-wide four-day week, the rhetoric around arming North American teachers with guns and the amazing teacher in Ghana who teachers ICT without any computers.References:1. Oaklahoma schools move to a four day week to cope with teacher shortageshttps://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21736102-low-teacher-pay-and-severe-budget-cuts-are-driving-schools-brink-whats-matter2. School shooting in America - arming teachersTrump says ex-military people workign as teachers could be armedhttps://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/11/politics/white-house-gun-school-safety-proposals/index.html#armmewithhttps://twitter.com/hashtag/armmewith?lang=en3. Richard Appiah Akoto is a teacher from Ghana who teachers about computing using just a blackboard and chalkhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-africa-43487852/viral-teacher-s-inspirational-chalkboard-pcGet in touch:- Twitter: @EdPassport- Instagram: @EducationPassport

In this episode Alice speaks to Caitlyn who lives and works in New York in the USA.Caitlyn shares how she got into teaching and how she finds it after a few years in the New York public school system.She goes into her frustrations with poor attendance but also her school's innovative system to improve suspension rates.Caitlyn also comments on President Donald Trump's recent comments about arming teachers in the classroom.Get in touch:- Twitter: @EdPassport- Instagram: @EducationPassport

In this episode we speak to Tracie Pile who lives and works in New Zealand in a Maori unit within a larger school. The students in her school represent a diverse variety of cultural backgrounds, and Tracie mostly works with those from Maori and Pacific Island communities.She has an inspiring love for her students and strives to be a creative teacher. We discuss her experiences, her desire to be able to differentiate and how the decile system in New Zealand has caused big division in the desirability of local schools and neighbourhoods.Recently she has been supporting her students in the Auckland Regional Secondary School Kapa haka competition where they placed in all three divisions, and you can hear an amazing performance at the end of the podcast, as well as hearing from a few of them on what they've gained from taking part in the event.Favourite quote from the episode: "The ultimate is to have a gourmet lesson, that's full of lots of different things in it, but then some days you might just have a leafy salad lesson, and then other days you might just have a bread and butter lesson".Links mentioned:Newsroom article Tracie mentions about attitudes towards teaching in New Zealand:https://www.newsroom.co.nz/@future-learning/2017/08/09/41927/why-no-one-wants-to-teach-in-new-zealand#Tracie's school performance at the annual Auckland Regional Secondary School Kapa haka competition:https://www.maoritelevision.com/haka/asb-polyfest-2018/groups/james-cook-high-school-te-kapunga/201232#video-playerOECD PISA results in focus: https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-results-in-focus.pdfGet in touch: - Twitter: @EdPassport- Instagram: @EducationPassport

In this interview with Alamia Annous we discuss what it's like teaching in Lebanon and learn more about the education system.Alamia has been on the Teach for Lebanon programme for almost two years, and has experienced what it's like working in the Lebanese state school system. She also has first hand experience of teaching children who are refugees from Syria and has some interesting ideas about how to improve education in Lebanon.Get in touch: - Twitter: @EdPassport- Instagram: @EducationPassport