There is a fundamental gap in education. While we focus on building knowledge and securing good grades there is something missing. All of us, whatever we do, need a core set of skills which go beyond the academic - to work with others, to manage ourselves, to communicate effectively, and to creatively solve problems. We might call them different things but we draw on them as much as numeracy or literacy. Tom Ravenscroft knows them as the enterprise skills. If we need them, our students need them even more. They underpin effective learning in the classroom. They stop students dropping out at university. They are more highly valued than academic grades by employers. They are a foundation for successful entrepreneurship. They are the enablers of civic engagement and social mobility. When we look to the next decades, in a world of increased automation, fragmented jobs and the need for constant learning it is these skills that will really set our children and young people up for future success. Yet as an education system, we behave as if they cannot or should not be taught. But they can be, and they must be. Tom Ravenscroft has writen this book almost a decade after he set up Enabling Enterprise as a social enterprise. He was a secondary school teacher and the Enabling Enterprise programme was for the students in his inner-city classroom. They were not learning enough in school, and were in no sense set up for the rest of their lives. Over the last ten years, he has had the enormous privilege of leading a growing team of teachers and has worked with hundreds of classroom teachers, thousands of employer volunteers and over 200,000 students. He has seen these students build those skills with the same rigour and focus as any other academic learning. And he has seen that when they are mastered, we truly allow our students to achieve their potential.

Debate and critical oracy allow students to deepen their knowledge and understanding of academic subjects while simultaneously developing their communication and critical thinking skills, which can be hugely effective in increasing attainment. This book, written by an experienced teacher and founder of The Noisy Classroom, aims to help students learn to argue, disagree and debate in a constructive manner. Packed with resources and engaging exercises, it shows teachers how to develop an argument culture in the classroom that promotes open-mindedness and encourages students to explore new perspectives, defend views and challenge others. The Noisy Classroom includes: A reflection on critical oracy and why it is important. A step-by-step guide for teachers to set up and encourage debate across the curriculum, highlighting how to get the most out of a noisy classroom. Advice for teachers on how to overcome barriers to building and using critical oracy in the classroom, including troubleshooting when things go wrong. Practical ideas for sharpening pair, group and whole-class discussions, ranging from small starter and plenary activities to full parliamentary-style debates. The book brings together activities gathered and tested over 20 years of working in debate, oracy and education. It is intended for school teachers, including both NQTs and more experienced practitioners.

Tom Ravenscroft believes there is a fundamental gap in education. While we focus on building knowledge and securing good grades there is something missing: a core set of skills which go beyond the academic - to work with others, to manage ourselves, to communicate effectively, and to creatively solve problems.

Counsels parents and educators on how to best safeguard the interests of children with behavioral, emotional, and social challenges, in a guide that identifies the misunderstandings and practices that are contributing to a growing number of student failures.

A New York Times Notable Book A Daily Beast Best Book of the Year A Huffington Post Best Book of the Year From elementary school on, Walter Kirn knew how to stay at the top of his class: He clapped erasers, memorized answer keys, and parroted his teachers’ pet theories. But when he launched himself eastward to an Ivy League university, Kirn discovered that the temple of higher learning he had expected was instead just another arena for more gamesmanship, snobbery, and social climbing. In this whip-smart memoir of kissing-up, cramming, and competition, Lost in the Meritocracy reckons the costs of an educational system where the point is simply to keep accumulating points and never to look back—or within.

"PETSTM (Primary Education Thinking Skills) is a systematized enrichment and diagnostic thinking skills program. Lessons are presented in convergent analysis, divergent synthesis, visual/spatial thinking, and evaluation, suitable for grades K-3. The program aligns to the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. PETSTM 1, the red book, introduces the six thinking specialists of Crystal Pond Woods: Dudley the Detective, the convergent/deductive thinker, Isabel the Inventor, the divergent/inventive thinker, Sybil the Scientist, the convergent/analytical thinker, Yolanda the Yarnspinner, the divergent/creative thinker, Max the Magician, the visual/spatial thinker, Jordan the Judge, the evaluative thinker. Included in the 24 lessons are encounters with the animal characters who are engaged in problem-solving scenarios calling for their types of thinking -- four lessons involving each character (two whole class lessons to help identify talented learners with accompanying reproducible activities, and two small group lessons for identified students and accompanying reproducible activities). PETSTM helps build behavioral portfolios for talented learners that support a differentiated approach to their education, integrates flexibly into any existing primary curriculum, and offers opportunities for learners with different strengths to shine"--Amazon.com.

Executive functions are the cognitive skills that help us manage our lives and be successful. Children with weak executive skills, despite their best intentions, often do their homework, but forget to turn it in, wait until the last minute to start a project, lose things, or have a room that looks like a dump! The good news is that parents can do a lot to support and train their children to manage these frustrating and stressful weaknesses. Late, Lost, and Unprepared is a must-have book for parents of children from primary school through high school who struggle with: Impulse Control; Cognitive Flexibility; Initiation; Working Memory; Planning & Organizing; Self-monitoring. Written by clinical psychologists, Late, Lost, and Unprepared emphasizes the need for a two-pronged approach to intervention: 1) helping the child to manage demands in the short run, and 2) building independent skills for long-term self-management. Full of encouragement and practical strategies, the book's organization, short chapters with overviews, summaries, case studies, tips, and definitions, makes it easy to grasp concepts quickly and get started. Part I, What You Need to Know, provides information about: what executive functions are and how weaknesses in these skills affect development; the impact of weak executive function on children's emotional lives, and their familes; how professionals assess executive function problems; and associated conditions. Part II discusses What You Can Do About It including how to change behaviour and set reasonable expectations, and offers specific intervention strategies for children of different ages, varying needs, and profiles.

A collection of the essential emotional lessons we need in order to thrive.

"A collection of ten short stories that all take place in the same day about kids walking home from school"--