Category Archives: Reading

The Pause, The Look, and The Deadly Eyebrow

Posted on March 19, 2017 by suecowley

One of the odd things about being a teacher is that your teaching behaviours can begin to bleed over into your home life. You act a lot at work so you find yourself doing it when you’re not being paid … Continue reading →

Posted in Behaviour, Engagement, Reading | 2 Comments

Just Imagine

Posted on March 2, 2017 by suecowley

Dressing up for World Book Day in schools seems to split opinion right down the middle. Some people love it, and go all out to take part and to think up a costume. Other people hate it. They don’t like … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Parenting, Reading | Leave a comment

Interpretations

Posted on January 5, 2017 by suecowley

“Each book was a world unto itself, and in it I took refuge.” Alberto Manguel When you become a published author, you very quickly get used to readers interpreting what you write in a way that is not what you … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Reading, Writing | Leave a comment

The Longest Story

Posted on February 11, 2016 by suecowley

I’ve just finished reading the book “I am Pilgrim” by Terry Hayes. This is a LONG book. 888 pages to be precise. It is such a big book that one of my main difficulties in reading it was holding it … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Memory, Reading, Stories | 2 Comments

A Hierarchy of Books

Posted on June 11, 2015 by suecowley

“A classic is something everybody wants to have read, but nobody wants to read.” Mark Twain This week I had lunch with a friend who I hadn’t seen in ages. It was lovely to catch up with her, and it … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Reading | 1 Comment

Think for Yourself

Posted on June 10, 2015 by suecowley

I have a confession to make: I don’t read education books. I write them, obviously, but I very, very rarely read them, unless I’ve been asked to write a review. This is not meant to be some kind of anti-intellectual … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Books, Reading, Writing | 6 Comments

Am Reading

Posted on June 5, 2015 by suecowley

Lennox The Long Glasgow Kiss The Deep Dark Sleep by Craig Russell Lennox is basically Jack Reacher and Myron Bolitar, mixed together. (If you don’t know Myron Bolitar, I highly recommend Harlan Coben’s entire oeuvre. If you don’t know Jack … Continue reading →

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100 Years Later

Posted on March 5, 2015 by suecowley

5th March, 2115 The late 20th and  early 21st Century are now regarded as the golden age of children’s literature. A hundred years earlier, there were few great books for children. But at this time, a new age began. Of … Continue reading →

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Simply the Best

Posted on May 25, 2014 by suecowley

“access to the best that has been thought and written …” Michael Gove I’ve always been wary of the notion of a literary canon: a list of the best that has ever been written. In part, my concern stems from … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Literature, Reading, Teachers, Writing | 2 Comments

Cause for Concern

Posted on January 8, 2014 by suecowley

‘You must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between. This is a sharp time, now, a precise time – we live no longer in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Evidence, Government, Learning, Reading, Schools, Systems | 46 Comments