Barbara Bleiman
@barbarableiman.bsky.social
Education consultant, writer of fiction & children's poetry; passionately committed to English as a subject, to education, and to the idea that learning is founded on dialogue. Poems on Dirigible Balloon & Northern Gravy.
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
‘Of course he abused pupils’: ex-Dulwich teacher speaks out about Farage racism claims
‘Of course he abused pupils’: ex-Dulwich teacher speaks out about Farage racism claims
Exclusive: Chloë Deakin tells how she wrote to Dulwich college master to argue against Farage’s nomination as prefect
www.theguardian.com
December 28, 2025 at 6:55 AM
‘Of course he abused pupils’: ex-Dulwich teacher speaks out about Farage racism claims
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
I’m scheduled to be on Radio 4’s The World at One today—sometime after 1:20—talking about (what else?) people not enjoying Americanisms in British English
December 26, 2025 at 11:21 AM
I’m scheduled to be on Radio 4’s The World at One today—sometime after 1:20—talking about (what else?) people not enjoying Americanisms in British English
A Christmas Eve/Day poem for the little ones in your life!
December 24, 2025 at 12:57 PM
A Christmas Eve/Day poem for the little ones in your life!
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
Have a read of this for a good overview of what's what in WOTY land.
My new newsletter contains more than FIFTY Words of the Year from around the world.
Those won't be the final hashtag#WotY2025, but it is the final newsletter of the year!
lynneguist.substack.com/p/2025-words...
Those won't be the final hashtag#WotY2025, but it is the final newsletter of the year!
lynneguist.substack.com/p/2025-words...
2025 Words...so far
This time: Words of the Year and Links of the Month
lynneguist.substack.com
December 23, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Have a read of this for a good overview of what's what in WOTY land.
With a bit of time to browse now term is over, I've come across this really interesting and useful bit of research on talk in classrooms and its relationship to achievement, focusing on individuals & how much they contribute & what kind of talk matters most. 1/ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Do those who talk more learn more? The relationship between student classroom talk and student achievement
There have been efforts to investigate the link between classroom talk and student achievement for some time. However, studies considering individual …
www.sciencedirect.com
December 20, 2025 at 4:39 PM
With a bit of time to browse now term is over, I've come across this really interesting and useful bit of research on talk in classrooms and its relationship to achievement, focusing on individuals & how much they contribute & what kind of talk matters most. 1/ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
"Too much of the literature taught in UK schools is putting children off reading and thrillers should become part of the curriculum, one of the world’s biggest selling authors has argued."
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Thrillers should be on UK school curriculum to boost reading, says Lee Child
Bestselling author says focus on ‘masterpieces’ puts children off as he promotes prison literacy scheme
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:17 PM
"Too much of the literature taught in UK schools is putting children off reading and thrillers should become part of the curriculum, one of the world’s biggest selling authors has argued."
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
A must-read. Amazing work in an English classroom!
Fabulous blog! Wonderful account of what can happen in a GCSE classroom where language study, students' own experiences, local knowledge and serious thought about language and identity can come together in the study of a text. What inclusive, responsive, imaginative English can and should be!
I've done a blog on some work we've been doing with year 11s in the Black Country about the poem 'Homing' and the dialect of the area.
englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/teachin...
englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/teachin...
December 18, 2025 at 12:03 PM
A must-read. Amazing work in an English classroom!
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
Our relationship with finding things out is never really one way because the best learning happens when we invest ourselves in the process. A love of learning matters too. ☺️
December 14, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Our relationship with finding things out is never really one way because the best learning happens when we invest ourselves in the process. A love of learning matters too. ☺️
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
Oh dear. This is almost archetypal in its clichéd, patronising advice & pseudo-linguistic 'evidence' (the JESP study on exclamation marks *didn't* make that specific claim).
BBC News - Can I just check - are my emails holding me back at work?! Xx - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC News - Can I just check - are my emails holding me back at work?! Xx - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Can I just check - are my emails holding me back at work?! Xx
What impact is my email etiquette having on how I'm perceived, evaluated and promoted at work?
www.bbc.co.uk
December 15, 2025 at 5:50 AM
Oh dear. This is almost archetypal in its clichéd, patronising advice & pseudo-linguistic 'evidence' (the JESP study on exclamation marks *didn't* make that specific claim).
BBC News - Can I just check - are my emails holding me back at work?! Xx - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC News - Can I just check - are my emails holding me back at work?! Xx - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I'm running one of these!
SPRING TERM WRITING COURSES
Browse the range of writing-focused courses we're running in the spring term below! With both online and in person options, there's something for everyone no matter your location. Find out more on our website: buff.ly/eMAxWdo
Browse the range of writing-focused courses we're running in the spring term below! With both online and in person options, there's something for everyone no matter your location. Find out more on our website: buff.ly/eMAxWdo
December 12, 2025 at 5:58 PM
I'm running one of these!
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
Train to teach Media + Film on the EMC/ Goldsmiths PGCE and you'll work to these core principles, as developed by course leader @mediamagemc.bsky.social editor, Claire Pollard.
www.englishandmedia.co.uk/projects/pgc...
www.englishandmedia.co.uk/projects/pgc...
December 11, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Train to teach Media + Film on the EMC/ Goldsmiths PGCE and you'll work to these core principles, as developed by course leader @mediamagemc.bsky.social editor, Claire Pollard.
www.englishandmedia.co.uk/projects/pgc...
www.englishandmedia.co.uk/projects/pgc...
I love contributing my own picks to this list, and I love even more reading what my brilliant colleagues at @engmediacentre.bsky.social have chosen - always a wonderful range of choices that I draw on for months to come!
In need of some Christmas inspiration - for gifting or your own delectation? Here's the EMC Xmas Reads 2025 list based on the esoteric tastes of the EMC team englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/emc-rec...
EMC Recommended Reads for you and your students. Christmas 2025.
Book recommendations from EMC (December 2025).
englishandmedia.co.uk
December 12, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I love contributing my own picks to this list, and I love even more reading what my brilliant colleagues at @engmediacentre.bsky.social have chosen - always a wonderful range of choices that I draw on for months to come!
Fabulous blog! Wonderful account of what can happen in a GCSE classroom where language study, students' own experiences, local knowledge and serious thought about language and identity can come together in the study of a text. What inclusive, responsive, imaginative English can and should be!
I've done a blog on some work we've been doing with year 11s in the Black Country about the poem 'Homing' and the dialect of the area.
englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/teachin...
englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/teachin...
Teaching Liz Berry's 'Homing' in the Black Country
Reflections on the impact of letting students hear themselves in literature
englishandmedia.co.uk
December 12, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Fabulous blog! Wonderful account of what can happen in a GCSE classroom where language study, students' own experiences, local knowledge and serious thought about language and identity can come together in the study of a text. What inclusive, responsive, imaginative English can and should be!
For the little ones in your family, or in your classrooms, a fresh take on Christmas!
December 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
For the little ones in your family, or in your classrooms, a fresh take on Christmas!
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
Sarah Crown discusses approaches to unseen poetry, comparing Adam Thorpe's 'On Her Blindness' with a poem she's never seen before!
December 9, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Sarah Crown discusses approaches to unseen poetry, comparing Adam Thorpe's 'On Her Blindness' with a poem she's never seen before!
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
For our second talk of the day, Mark Ford, Professor of English Literature at UCL, speaks about Violence in Contemporary Poetry.
December 9, 2025 at 11:31 AM
For our second talk of the day, Mark Ford, Professor of English Literature at UCL, speaks about Violence in Contemporary Poetry.
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
Today's emagazine Poems of the Decade Conference kicks off with Patience Agbabi delivering a fascinating reading and discussion of her poem, 'Eat Me'!
December 9, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Today's emagazine Poems of the Decade Conference kicks off with Patience Agbabi delivering a fascinating reading and discussion of her poem, 'Eat Me'!
A really interesting & valuable report from @PearsonSchools in their ´Let’s Talk English’ series, on the canon & contemporary literature. I was delighted to be asked to write the foreword! www.pearson.com/en-gb/school...
December 9, 2025 at 7:54 AM
A really interesting & valuable report from @PearsonSchools in their ´Let’s Talk English’ series, on the canon & contemporary literature. I was delighted to be asked to write the foreword! www.pearson.com/en-gb/school...
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
We love the cover for the latest @mediamagemc.bsky.social which has just gone to print. Subscribers can access via the website already englishandmedia.co.uk/emc-magazines/
December 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM
We love the cover for the latest @mediamagemc.bsky.social which has just gone to print. Subscribers can access via the website already englishandmedia.co.uk/emc-magazines/
A seasonal poem, thinking back to childhood. For all those children who don’t get lots of presents!
December 8, 2025 at 12:58 PM
A seasonal poem, thinking back to childhood. For all those children who don’t get lots of presents!
Here's the right link! Sorry the one below doesn't work!
www.amazon.co.uk/Snap-Poems-C...
www.amazon.co.uk/Snap-Poems-C...
December 7, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Here's the right link! Sorry the one below doesn't work!
www.amazon.co.uk/Snap-Poems-C...
www.amazon.co.uk/Snap-Poems-C...
Looking for a Christmas present for a 3-9 year old child? The poems & illustrations have been really well received by adults & children alike, have 100% 5* reviews on Amazon (and wonderful pre-publication comments from some very starry people!) amazon.co.uk/Snap-Poems-Chi…
December 7, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Looking for a Christmas present for a 3-9 year old child? The poems & illustrations have been really well received by adults & children alike, have 100% 5* reviews on Amazon (and wonderful pre-publication comments from some very starry people!) amazon.co.uk/Snap-Poems-Chi…
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
And then on emagplus, emagazine editor @barbarableiman.bsky.social surveys recent research into child language. It's another great issue for Eng Lang A level, so if you haven't already subscribed, or renewed your subscription this year, jump on board here: www.englishandmedia.co.uk/emc-magazines/
EMC Magazines
English & Media Centre - The English and Media Centre is an independent educational charity with a national and international reputation as a Centre of Excellence. It is a development centre, serving ...
www.englishandmedia.co.uk
December 5, 2025 at 12:15 PM
And then on emagplus, emagazine editor @barbarableiman.bsky.social surveys recent research into child language. It's another great issue for Eng Lang A level, so if you haven't already subscribed, or renewed your subscription this year, jump on board here: www.englishandmedia.co.uk/emc-magazines/
Reposted by Barbara Bleiman
And finally, emagazine's Associate Editor (hey, that's me!) offers some guidance about doing good analytical work on bad articles about language. I've shared a few of these source texts on here over the year so you might recognise some old faves.
December 5, 2025 at 12:15 PM
And finally, emagazine's Associate Editor (hey, that's me!) offers some guidance about doing good analytical work on bad articles about language. I've shared a few of these source texts on here over the year so you might recognise some old faves.