Obama, lesson plans and schools – how to make change in the world.

Well, a change has finally come – but as the man himself said – it’s going to require work from all corners of society to make it happen. Surprisingly little mention is made of our kids ability to take part in the political process and effect change through their own political system.

Ask your kids: Are you unhappy with the way that six form prefects discharge their powers in the school corridors? How about the menu selection at lunch? Do you wish you had a mixed-sex softball team instead of just football for boys and netball for girls? Do you want to stop top-up fees for university courses? How do you feel about Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, China?

The point we’re making is that the process is the same – it’s about the active understanding and use of whatever the political system you are in to effect change. It’s what democracy is about, it’s more than posting your opinion in a weblog – it’s getting your opinion heard in the forum where it is able to affect change.

Politics isn’t for everyone, but it is our role as citizens to ensure that the country overall is heading in a way we believe in – or at least that we’re trying to move things in the right way.

Now is a great time to talk about politics in Citizenship classes, and there are some fantastic ways to galvanise people’s enthusiasm for creating change in the world. Take a look at some of the Citizenship resources shown here for all key stages.

And if you have seen any other areas you are particularly interested in do please feel free to comment on our blog.

Teacher crisis in Maths and Science.

Who will inspire the next generation of Maths teachers? Could we see a modern day Jonny Ball? More likely, it’s the kids sitting in class right now who if inspired by great teachers could become the teachers of tomorrow.

The fun seems to have been squeezed out of mathematics – and it can be a genuinely fun and challenging area for kids. We need high quality training, high quality teaching materials, deep engagement with the subject matter and teachers who care about what they are doing – and really it has to be up to the individual schools to work out how to achieve this.

If a school needs to bring in an outsider from a local engineering firm to bring the topic to life and show its relevance, use online tools and puzzles to capture the imagination or something else, something new and different– this subject area is too important for the country’s future for it to be left to fall to chance.

There are some materials listed here and organized by key stage which might help.

Social mobility, inspiring belief and good lesson planning.

It’s good that the government is able to show some improvement -however small - in social mobility. We all know that the assembly hall can effect as much change as anything from Whitehall.

- If you can teach every child in the classroom as though he is the only child in the world

- If you can give her the passion for knowledge that will help her grow every day for the rest of her life.

- If you can shift the inertia of defeatism with the sense of personal achievement with small but significant victories in the classroom.

- If you can inspire the personal belief that he has much chance as anyone else in the world...

Then you as a teacher can do more for the social mobility of your group than any government initiative you care to mention.

Take a look at some inspiring lesson plans to keep you moving in the right direction…