Does anything last forever?
Goodbye. The end. Someone told me once that all stories start in the middle. Not at the beginning or at the end but the middle.
For Sure
For the past few weeks, I’ve been delivering online training with practitioners in Ireland. At the beginning of each session I’ve asked the question ‘what do you know for sure?’ It comes from Oprah Winfrey’s new book (my partner introduced it to me)! It turned out that everyone agreed on the same thing – uncertainty […]
What doesn’t exist but is needed now?
One of the largest projects we have undertaken in 2020 (and potentially ever) was the Creative Bravery Festival. We collaborated with inspiring people from Edinburgh College, Napier University, The Scottish Government, Education Scotland, and a freelance Architect/Design Educator to imagine and stage an online, global, learning festival. It was held over a week in September […]
Creative Systems Theory – A Post-covid-19 model for education? (guest)
Since the lockdown and closure of schools to the majority of pupils brought about the sudden out-sourcing of education to everyone, education shifted overnight from being something that happens in schools, mostly of concern to teachers and briefly to parents for the time that their child passes through the system, into open space and of […]
Powerless (guests)
We work closely with practitioners and partners from the creative, arts, and cultural sector. Here are two blogs posts that provide insights surrounding agency, creative learning, and productivity.
Schools out for summer (guest)
“A stopped clock is right twice a day” – Lewis Carroll Does life under lockdown feel like a stopped clock to you? Who knows – feelings are capricious these days and mutate on the hour. Or maybe it feels more like a pause, like the old business cliché about change, a comma as opposed to […]
You’re all in it together, again (guest)
Every pupil currently enrolled in school across the UK has only ever known Austerity. Austerity was a deliberate cull of public spending, made possible by the distraction of a crisis. What was unacceptable was accepted – because we were told there was ‘no money’. ***
Forgetting to ride a bike (guest)
People often use the phrase ‘it’s like learning to ride a bike’ to describe something you learn and never forget. So why is it every time I ride my bike I seem to forget how to work the gears?
The benefits of Covid-19 (guest)
For weeks on end we’ve been listening to and talking about the dangers of Covid-19 which has fuelled fear and anxiety in our society. But I want to look through another lens and share my experience of the benefits of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The beginning of making it new (guest)
THE BEGINNING OF MAKING IT NEW [1] “It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men [sic] suffer miserably every day for lack of what is found there.” Asphodel, That Greeny Flower and Other Love Poems – William Carlos Williams
Measuring Up (Guest)
You’ll never amount to anything. My primary five teacher did not have high expectations of myself and my nine-year-old classmates. But it wasn’t our fault, he said. It was our primary two teacher to blame, he said. I don’t recall exactly what it was she had done to ruin the life chances of our entire […]
Life Rescue? (Guest)
It’s interesting how life has turned upside down, but I feel like it’s all very peaceful. In these early stages, I am transported back to the two years I spent teaching in a rural boarding school in Southern Africa. Life was very much about living the school as a community – life amongst pupils, staff […]
Nurture and Transform (guest)
On my way home on the day my school closed I was reflecting how strange it was that the things we had been discouraged or disallowed from spending our PEF budgets on were exactly what we were going to need right now. Resilience, wellbeing and creativity.
The next Parents’ Night
The Bruce had his spider, Burns had his mouse, I seem to have a skip. Not that I want to put myself into the same historical significance as Robert the Bruce and Robert Burns, but I think I share their love of a story and a metaphor. It just so happens my story and my […]
Preparing for Uncertainty
During these strange times we believe individual stories can help the collective find new ways of working. We invited Katy Anderson, a teacher in Blackburn Primary, to reflect on how she prepared her class to continue to learn and grow through periods of uncertainty. This is her and her pupils story . . .
Learning to Stop
It probably took me ‘til Wednesday to figure out no matter how many 6am runs I did, I had to address some serious concerns within my mind and soul. I had spent Monday and Tuesday in a constant state of panic – my body and mind was in fight mode. I had ordered a skip […]
Brainwashing
This week we are excited to collaborate with two internationally recognised and outstanding Scottish cultural organisations: Room 13 from Fort William and Jupiter Artland on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Our event is part of the brilliant Firestarer festival curated by the Scottish Government. We will gather 30 people at Jupiter for an afternoon of brainwash […]
Disrupting the daily experience
One of our associate practitioners, Jack Stancliffe, is about to start a collaboration with a school involved in our ‘What you shouldn’t do in a school’ project. We asked him to reflect on the journey ahead . . . .
What you shouldn’t do in a school?
Some rules have been written down for centuries, others exist in folklore, whilst a few are conveniently made up on the spot. Rules have the capacity to liberate or constrict. They help us understand who we are and pave the way for what we will become. But are we all clear on the rules that […]
Time to Listen
Recently Hidden Giants devoted a morning to work with the entire staff of a large primary school – a school the size of three, four or five primary schools. We asked the staff to place themselves into their teams – their own notion of who they worked with, in their perceived role(s) within the school. […]
Well-intentioned Wings
Maybe your brain doesn’t wander like mine but I recently considered the question: would a butterfly make a good teacher in a caterpillar school?
Trapped inside a Polytunnel
Recently, we invited 29 educational professionals from an inner-city primary school, to go for a silent walk with us. The purpose of the walk was to facilitate a conversation around the curriculum, and teacher agency. But what actually happened was completely unexpected. As seasoned educational facilitators, practitioners and consultants, we knew it was something amazing.
Hagrid’s armpits smell of chocolate
I first read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone when I was 22 in a backpackers’ hostel somewhere in Canada. I could perhaps be a little embarrassed to reveal that I was reading Harry Potter at the age of 22, but the reality was up until that point I had never found reading enjoyable. Throughout […]
What if Jack was a girl?
Once upon a time a huge giant let out a terrifying roar when she discovered that her golden egg had been stolen. “Stop changing things” Once upon a time a little boy called Little Red Riding Hood was told to stick to the path. “Why do you keep messing up the story”
What do we do now?
Not knowing what to do can be uncomfortable – if left long enough it can be distressing. We like knowing what happens next; cliff hangers only work because they suspend time encouraging us to come back for more to discover what happens next. We love weather forecasts to discover if it will be sunny tomorrow. […]
CPD in a Shopping Centre
Hidden Giants and West Lothian Creative Learning Network will dare to take an alternative approach to addressing the current big issues in education: curriculum design, raising attainment, and participation. We invite education professionals to join us, to collectively reposition our thinking and challenge our core beliefs. We propose meeting in everyday spaces on three different […]
The Missing Part
My step-son, amongst a number of other conditions, is diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). He finds it difficult to deal with uncertainty and change. Hence, as I sit here and type this blog we are dealing with heightened confusion arising from school being cancelled due to the snow. As other children find fun in […]
Optimism of the action
“Optimism of the action, is better than the pessimism of the thought” Greenpeace Engrained in our work is the belief we need to embrace failure and accept risk as part of the every day. This mind-set can only be actioned from a position of strength and confidence. We must believe in the risk before we […]
Post Truth Box
This blog highlights the process we have gone through with two classes in one of the schools we are collaborating with. I think both examples offer a good insight into what we mean by Situated, Attentive, Immersive Learning (SAIL):
The Hidden Curriculum
Hidden Giants has worked in partnership with Dunning primary in Perth & Kinross since January 2015. The residency has generated incredible conversations in the classrooms, the staff room and further afield. It has provoked my thinking and refined my approach. Through our work there are two key strands which I thought it would be worth […]
Will this be in the test?
A few years ago I was producing a theatre company in residence at a school in Inverclyde. We had been working closely with the English department who suggested the 5th year pupils could do with a different approach to understanding Chekov. In response we invited a highly regarded and experienced director to work with the […]
Why do I dig holes in the sand?
Ever since I was a young boy I recall digging holes in the sand. Any beach, any country, and any time of the year – I would dig holes. Sometimes they were no deeper than my wrist. Others could fit my entire body. I once dug a hole so deep that both my brother and […]
Creative and Employability Skills: Auchterarder
It is predicted by 2030 global youth unemployment will hit 60%. This is coupled with 47% of jobs being automated. The shift away from mass industry to a culture of freelance employment is unarguable. The world of work is changing unlike anything ever experienced and with these monumental changes comes a new set of challenges […]
Dumfries and Galloway Chat
This is a conversation that was filmed in Dumfries and Galloway last year:
A spectrum of uncomfortable truths
Change can be difficult. We all have our favourite supermarket, a preferred route to work and choice of tipple on a Friday night. In many ways the world asks us to find the things we like and stick with them. Familiarity and safety can be a comforting feeling. However the problem occurs when we forget […]
Situated, Attentive, Immersive Learning
Creative Scotland and ArtWorks Scotland invited us to contribute to a resource for practitioners. Mathew Sowerby compiled this short film which explores our work:
Raising Attainment through Pupil Engagement
Paul and long time collaborator of Hidden Giants Matthew Sowerby worked with six teachers and more than 80 pupils in two primary schools over the space of 8 months on a research project with three aims: We wanted to know how creativity could enhance pupil engagement in the primary school classroom. We wanted to better […]
Crouching tiger, hidden giant
I recently wrote an article for Children in Scotland Magazine (Issue 166/August 2015). I hope it offers an insight into what we do at Hidden Giants: Children in Scotland article
Just Google It
I recall wandering through the back streets of Barcelona in 2008 at 1am with a fellow traveler and her friend on one of my European adventures. We were lost but didn’t want to admit it. We were searching for somewhere to have a final drink. The streets became tighter, darker and occupied by shadows intent […]
La Trace
A mystery has lain dormant for centuries in the heart of Dunning. As children play between the gravestones of the local church something far more revealing lies underneath its steeple. Historians have always believed the markings on the Dupplin Cross connected Scotland to France but were unable to find the key that would unlock its […]
Nightmare
A man walks into morning assembly; he looks confused and has obviously been sleeping rough. He stumbles to the front of the room. He begins to speak, his voice is slurred and words aren’t making sense. He speaks of an experiment in the local hospital, something he signed up for but didn’t appreciate the consequences. He has been trying to escape […]
Save our Fossoway
Imagine a world without a regular power source: no hot water for your shower, no light to do your homework, and no electricity to play your new Xbox game. This fictional nightmare will one day be reality if we don’t take action today. The area of Fossoway has been identified as an ideal location for […]
Planet DIY
NASA has discovered a new planet in our solar system. Initial probes have suggested the surface is rich in minerals, water and natural gases. With this detection comes the potential of colonization. NASA has suggested the first inhabitants will not reach the planet until the year 2030. The Intergalactic Affairs department of NASA has decided the […]
Failing in Education
In June Hidden Giants and West Lothian Creative Learning Network will host Scotland’s first ‘Failing in Education’ conference as part of the 2015 Emporium of Dangerous Ideas. The daylong event will take place at Howden Park centre and contain voices of those who have failed or are failing in West Lothian schools and beyond.
“Row well and live”
Over the past couple of years I’ve introduced Isaac, my step-son, to gardening. Despite not having a physical space which could be considered a recognisable garden we were undeterred and commandeered a small corner of the car park at the bottom of our flats. My step-son has ASD and can become frustrated easily so gardening […]
Power of Experimentation
Experimentation is only possible when you have encountered and reflected on similar experiences – leading to new moments of disruptions. It is therefore cyclical as each new experience should inspire a new experiment. You should have the ability to hypothesise the outcomes whilst remaining curious enough to presume there will be other findings. The experiment […]
