Mark Goodrich
@markgoodrich.bsky.social
Was a lawyer, now a primary teacher. Interested in politics, chess, citizenship and education especially reading and maths. Has lived in 🇯🇵🇰🇷and now in 🇱🇦. https://open.substack.com/pub/markgoodrich
Pinned
What Japan can teach us about running schools
It may not be what you think....
open.substack.com
I have finally written another Substack, many months after my last one! It's on two of my favourite topics - Japan and schools so it goes on a bit. A tl:dr summary follows.
open.substack.com/pub/markgood...
open.substack.com/pub/markgood...
🧂 and 🔥 cocktail!
December 30, 2025 at 10:52 AM
🧂 and 🔥 cocktail!
Great to see another post from @readwritejen.bsky.social - this time on phonemic awareness. I have learned so much about effective phonics teaching from her writing.
open.substack.com/pub/readwrit...
open.substack.com/pub/readwrit...
Phonemic Awareness: Widely Accepted, But Misunderstood
What research tells us about classroom instruction
open.substack.com
December 29, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Great to see another post from @readwritejen.bsky.social - this time on phonemic awareness. I have learned so much about effective phonics teaching from her writing.
open.substack.com/pub/readwrit...
open.substack.com/pub/readwrit...
Reposted by Mark Goodrich
The sheer amount of effort that goes into making Christmas special in primary is amazing!
Primary colleagues are unreal! Enjoy your break!
Primary colleagues are unreal! Enjoy your break!
December 24, 2025 at 9:22 AM
The sheer amount of effort that goes into making Christmas special in primary is amazing!
Primary colleagues are unreal! Enjoy your break!
Primary colleagues are unreal! Enjoy your break!
Just trying this very Christmassy drink!
December 24, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Just trying this very Christmassy drink!
Another excellent blog from @dylanpkane.bsky.social on the narrow learning of maths apps….it reminds me of the kid I taught who could ace TTRS but initially couldn’t apply his knowledge outside the app.
open.substack.com/pub/fivetwel...
open.substack.com/pub/fivetwel...
Radiologists, DeltaMath, and Narrow Learning
The illusion of durable learning with education technology
open.substack.com
December 24, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Another excellent blog from @dylanpkane.bsky.social on the narrow learning of maths apps….it reminds me of the kid I taught who could ace TTRS but initially couldn’t apply his knowledge outside the app.
open.substack.com/pub/fivetwel...
open.substack.com/pub/fivetwel...
I have been saying how brilliant this is for over a decade and it feels like this is a he year when the who’s world has caught up.
December 24, 2025 at 7:57 AM
I have been saying how brilliant this is for over a decade and it feels like this is a he year when the who’s world has caught up.
I see this same phenomenon in the UK as well.
It's funny how us parochial Americans generally seem to perceive that the EV revolution is stalling or reversing when in fact it's accelerating rapidly worldwide. 25% of cars sold globally in 2025 were EVs!
It's mostly just the US that's being left behind
It's mostly just the US that's being left behind
December 24, 2025 at 3:14 AM
I see this same phenomenon in the UK as well.
My probably unique #ChristmasEve ritual - making a big vat of miso soup whilst listening to @katerusby.bsky.social!
December 24, 2025 at 1:49 AM
My probably unique #ChristmasEve ritual - making a big vat of miso soup whilst listening to @katerusby.bsky.social!
In the hope that there will be some #BookSky people around in the run-up to Christmas, I am seeking recommendations for the best single volume history of what is normally known as the #Vietnam War. I have read quite a lot on the Secret War in Laos but need more context. Reposts / tags welcome. 🙏
December 23, 2025 at 11:56 AM
I feel like I say this every week but it was just another great and fascinating episode. @adamboxereducation.bsky.social and @amymayforrester.bsky.social - congratulations on a great term of podcasts!
(PS - can you get Liz English on this platform. Loads I would like to ask her!)
(PS - can you get Liz English on this platform. Loads I would like to ask her!)
What do you get if you cross a turnaround school with a startup school?
Yup - a whole load of problems.
But Liz English is actually doing it, and leading one of the most fascinating and successful schools in the country.
TUNE IN + SHARE
open.spotify.com/episode/3Atp...
Yup - a whole load of problems.
But Liz English is actually doing it, and leading one of the most fascinating and successful schools in the country.
TUNE IN + SHARE
open.spotify.com/episode/3Atp...
What do you get if you cross a startup with a turnaround? With guest Liz English
open.spotify.com
December 21, 2025 at 7:31 AM
I feel like I say this every week but it was just another great and fascinating episode. @adamboxereducation.bsky.social and @amymayforrester.bsky.social - congratulations on a great term of podcasts!
(PS - can you get Liz English on this platform. Loads I would like to ask her!)
(PS - can you get Liz English on this platform. Loads I would like to ask her!)
Another one of these scary fake AI citation stories. This is is clearly a nightmare for scholarship going forward but there is something I am puzzling over…
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
December 20, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Another one of these scary fake AI citation stories. This is is clearly a nightmare for scholarship going forward but there is something I am puzzling over…
Hi #EduSky - it's my last #Saturday3 before Christmas and first up is this fascinating blog on Basil Bernstein by @jonesedu.bsky.social. I have to confess that I had not heard of him but this explains how he anticipated a lot of cogsci and yet was quite different. bsky.app/profile/jone...
Explicit instruction isn’t just a method - it’s a social practice.
What does Basil Bernstein tell us about power, language, and who benefits from 'what works' in education?
A rethink of pedagogy beyond cog sci 👇 #edusju #uked #education #sociology #speech
mrjoneswhiteboard.blog/2025/12/13/b...
What does Basil Bernstein tell us about power, language, and who benefits from 'what works' in education?
A rethink of pedagogy beyond cog sci 👇 #edusju #uked #education #sociology #speech
mrjoneswhiteboard.blog/2025/12/13/b...
Pedagogy, power & clarity: Bernstein’s challenge to explicit instruction
Over the past decade ‘explicit instruction’ has emerged as one of the dominant models of evidence-based teaching and learning. From Barak Rosenshine’s (2012) Principles of Instruction to Greg Ashma…
mrjoneswhiteboard.blog
December 20, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Hi #EduSky - it's my last #Saturday3 before Christmas and first up is this fascinating blog on Basil Bernstein by @jonesedu.bsky.social. I have to confess that I had not heard of him but this explains how he anticipated a lot of cogsci and yet was quite different. bsky.app/profile/jone...
Tough life out here in Laos.
December 19, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Tough life out here in Laos.
Put this in the box of bad ideas from people who don’t understand education.
December 19, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Put this in the box of bad ideas from people who don’t understand education.
This is true but one of my strongly-held opinions is that most UK voters *really* don’t get any voting systems that are not first past the post and always want to make it a 2 horse race. It’s why minor parties always did badly in first preference SV votes for London mayor.
The commentary says "People switching from Labour are heavily motivated by tactical considerations with 30% saying this is the primary reason for their switch" yet the new voting system doesn't need tactical votes to keep out Reform. If Lab can communicate this, they might get a few votes back.
Huge new poll puts Plaid ahead of Reform with Labour and the Conservatives on just 10% each. willhaywardwales.substack.com/p/bombshell-...
December 17, 2025 at 2:30 PM
This is true but one of my strongly-held opinions is that most UK voters *really* don’t get any voting systems that are not first past the post and always want to make it a 2 horse race. It’s why minor parties always did badly in first preference SV votes for London mayor.
Particularly good episode with lots of great thinking on assessment and how it can be effective. Also, I learnt a new Japanese word - kyozaikenkyu - meaning knowledge of instructional materials. If this whetted your appetite for Japanese words in an educational context….
PROFESSOR @dylanwiliam.bsky.social IN THE HOUSE
It was a real honour for me and @amymayforrester.bsky.social to interview Dylan and to talk all things schools, formative assessment, data, effective altruism and teacher improvement.
Not to be missed, please share!
open.spotify.com/episode/3Wcj...
It was a real honour for me and @amymayforrester.bsky.social to interview Dylan and to talk all things schools, formative assessment, data, effective altruism and teacher improvement.
Not to be missed, please share!
open.spotify.com/episode/3Wcj...
What is formative assessment, and why should anybody care? With professor Dylan Wiliam
open.spotify.com
December 17, 2025 at 5:34 AM
Particularly good episode with lots of great thinking on assessment and how it can be effective. Also, I learnt a new Japanese word - kyozaikenkyu - meaning knowledge of instructional materials. If this whetted your appetite for Japanese words in an educational context….
It’s interesting to me that I have seen almost nothing on this article by Dominic Wyse or the linked research in relation to reading. #EduSky
theconversation.com/englands-syn...
theconversation.com/englands-syn...
England’s synthetic phonics approach is not working for children who struggle to read
The proportion of children in England who struggle to read has remained at a similar level for many years.
theconversation.com
December 16, 2025 at 9:08 AM
It’s interesting to me that I have seen almost nothing on this article by Dominic Wyse or the linked research in relation to reading. #EduSky
theconversation.com/englands-syn...
theconversation.com/englands-syn...
I have never done a buddy read before (or read any Pratchett) but this is proving a lot of fun with comments gradually being revealed. The ebook is still only 99p if you want to join in.
Hogfather buddy read starting today: app.thestorygraph.com/buddy_reads/...
#GNUTerryPratchett #advent
#GNUTerryPratchett #advent
Sign In | The StoryGraph
app.thestorygraph.com
December 15, 2025 at 3:42 PM
I have never done a buddy read before (or read any Pratchett) but this is proving a lot of fun with comments gradually being revealed. The ebook is still only 99p if you want to join in.
Sounds a great opportunity for the right person.
We're really excited to be hiring for a new English teacher at Reach Academy Hanworth Park. As one of just three English teachers, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to have a huge impact on our pupils and the English department!
mynewterm.com/jobs/143730/...
mynewterm.com/jobs/143730/...
Teacher of English - Reach Academy Hanworth Park, Feltham, Greater London
Closing date: Midnight, Thu 15th Jan, 2026. View full details and apply online at MyNewTerm.
mynewterm.com
December 15, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Sounds a great opportunity for the right person.
Very sorry to hear about your friend but the answer to your question is “yes”.
1) Lots of education accounts with a broadly liberal viewpoint (politically) are still active there.
2) Design choices by Musk push that content and suppress other content.
1) Lots of education accounts with a broadly liberal viewpoint (politically) are still active there.
2) Design choices by Musk push that content and suppress other content.
I have a friend for instance - an assistant headteacher in a grammar school in South East England - who has radicalised herself into racism and fascist apologia simply by being there. Would that be the case if liberals she took seriously were still posting on the app by which she’s addicted?
December 14, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Very sorry to hear about your friend but the answer to your question is “yes”.
1) Lots of education accounts with a broadly liberal viewpoint (politically) are still active there.
2) Design choices by Musk push that content and suppress other content.
1) Lots of education accounts with a broadly liberal viewpoint (politically) are still active there.
2) Design choices by Musk push that content and suppress other content.
I saw this earlier but missec the free link. Extraordinary story.
Courage comes in many forms. The bystander at Bondi beach is one example. This piece recounts an extraordinary different kind, where by having a conversation and listening, Nathan Newby talked Mohammad Farooq down from setting off a bomb. Recommend
www.ft.com/content/cd59...
www.ft.com/content/cd59...
‘It’s just a bomb’
The true story of two strangers and an extraordinary act of courage
www.ft.com
December 14, 2025 at 2:24 PM
I saw this earlier but missec the free link. Extraordinary story.
Hi #EduRunners! Some of you haven’t even gone to bed on Saturday and I have done a 10K on Sunday!
December 13, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Hi #EduRunners! Some of you haven’t even gone to bed on Saturday and I have done a 10K on Sunday!