No Fun Allowed

by Thomas Anderson

There's something seriously wrong with the way we're told to teach, but what? You are doing all the 'right' things but your students are not responding. Behaviour is only worsening and you're considering other job options.
What is the job description of a teacher? It’s an interesting question to consider in light of what teachers actually spend their days doing. Less and less do we find ourselves using our professional know-how to craft learning experiences designed to develop the skills and knowledge of our students. Instead we are handed a curriculum along with data-backed pedagogical methods to copy and paste. We’re sent into chaotic classrooms as front-line soldiers doing the will of the officers in charge. The work is piled high so we don’t have time to reflect on what we’re doing. We fall into place as cogs in a giant machine, churning out a curriculum for students who don’t want it, assessing them on what we told them but they didn’t listen to, and then feeling like we’ve failed. Before we’ve fully recovered, the next term starts, we put up a new Bump-it-Up Wall, reset the pegs on the chart, tick the boxes to show we’re differentiating, take a deep breath and throw ourselves into the chaotic spiral again.

Take control of your class and make school a place you and your students love being. Embrace your unique teaching style, discovering what it feels like to enjoy your job. Learn why schools are too serious today, chasing better results in ways that are counterproductive. Reverse the downward trend by bringing fun into your classroom. Be inspired to make school fun again within the restrictions of today's education system.

180 pages, Paperback

Published February 14, 2025

About the author

Thomas Anderson is a German national who specialises in German World War II vehicles. Most of his work are derived from the Bundesarchive and also the archives of the various military establishments throughout Europe.