Andrew Old (@oldandrewuk) / X

Andrew Old

254.2K posts

Andrew Old

@oldandrewuk

Teacher. Any attempt to suggest that the word battleground in my blog title refers to my classroom or my students indicates you have lost the argument.

andrewold.substack.com

Joined December 2009

Pinned
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Mar 8
Blog post for Sunday 8 March 2026. Deskilling Teachers Part 2 open.substack.com/pub/andrewold/…
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Jun 9, 2017
Seeing Theresa May accidentally throw away 4 guaranteed years in high office, makes me feel better about the time I lost an Amazon giftcard
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Sep 28, 2024
It's accepted that the worst-behaved children and the most selfish and incapable parents soak up a huge proportion of schools' time and resources. However, nobody ever really analyses how much worse this makes school for the average child.
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Jul 13, 2024
If you have never been responsible for teaching a class of thirty teenagers, please assume that you don't know what it is like to teach a class of thirty teenagers. Humility about this will help us all get along.
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Jul 31, 2024
Replying to @Miss_Snuffy @LordLucasCD and @arc_forum
The only lies I've seen about what happened have been from the far right. Please reconsider your tweet.
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Jul 31, 2024
Replying to @Miss_Snuffy @LordLucasCD and @arc_forum
They were literally attacking a mosque. If that cannot be described as far right, what can?
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Aug 15, 2024
The point of a school is for children to learn. Teachers aren't therapists, priests, politicians or substitute parents. We are there to teach.
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Dec 12, 2017
If you are a consultant who is claiming schools shouldn't exclude here's what you should do: 1) Quit. 2) Become a teacher. 3) Get a job in a tough school (not in leadership). 4) Tell the time tabler you'd like to teach the toughest classes they have because you're such an expert.
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Nov 13, 2024
Teachers are in the classroom to teach and manage the class. They are not there to give therapy; stand in for parents; make friends, or entertain.
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Jan 22, 2025
It’s striking how much education research concentrates on the experiences of excluded or suspended children, while ignoring the far larger group affected by their peers' misbehaviour.
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Sep 30, 2024
If teachers in a school have an excessive workload, then pretty much any full-time teacher can get into trouble for not keeping up with all that is required of them. This is a gift to bullies in positions of authority, and we should probably pay more attention to this.
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Oct 2, 2024
"Kids don't learn from people they don't like". Of course, they do. We all do. And it would not be remotely realistic to expect every child to like every teacher.
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Oct 18, 2024
It's not possible to differentiate a lesson so that is equally useful for those who already know the lesson content, and those who do not have the prerequisite knowledge to understand the lesson content.
Andrew Old
@oldandrewuk
Oct 9, 2024
Edtech gurus seem to be the only people who are unaware how much stress and wasted time is caused by technology in schools not working. Teachers don't need new software; we need hardware that works reliably. It's absurd that anyone is arguing for exams to be taken online.