New location for blogs

Please go to https://medium.com/@matt_esterman for my most up to date blog posts. Cheers Matt

What have you learned this year?

Another year has passed us by. Well, no, not really. That suggests we were standing at a metaphorical bus stop, passively watching time flow from future to present to past. Of course we do more than that, don't we? We...

Teaching: the profession that creates all others

Well it's been a while. This week I had the pleasure of attending the Australian College of Educators national conference (#ACE2016NC). I also had the honour of facilitating the "early career" teacher stream with Cameron Paterson (@cpaterso). The conference covered...

What is a 21st Century teacher?

Sydney Ideas: What is a teacher in the 21st century and what does a 21st century teacher need to know? An evening lecture with Professor Ian Menter, Vice-President, British Educational Research Association Emeritus Professor of Teacher Education, University of Oxford...

When did you become a teacher?

There is quite a bit of talk, research and debate about teacher professional growth. Whether it's in regards to what types of training a young proto-teacher should undergo, or what induction experience they should have upon entering a school, or...

Let’s celebrate edu-success this year

The first week has passed. Students in awkwardly fitting uniforms and teachers with awkwardly fitting sleep patterns returned to school around Australia. Smiles and nerves and even a bit of learning: the first week is a time to begin building...

Balance: an impossible goal?

Balance. It was the word I chose to indicate my overarching goal for 2016. Here's what Google says are two definitions of the noun and verb forms of 'balance': So which option to choose? (don't you love language - pick...

The end of teaching

 IMAGE: The Cliffs of Emerald Isle by Zach Frailey Much has been said about the death of content, the apocalypse of knowing, the end of teaching. There is, let's be honest, a lot of smugness coming from the techerati (myself...

Starting up in 2016

It's been a long while since my last post. Since late September, I've been on leave from my school to avoid burnout and to explore the potential of an idea to help teachers deal with the new pressures and expectations...