1988: Mr. Michael J Storm

Updated September 2023

Michael Storm is another geographer who will be familiar to many from the books he has published over the years. He was the ILEA Advisor for Geography and Environmental Studies and worked across London in a range of roles including school inspections and international visits.

One of these was mentioned by Keith Grimwade, GA President in 2006, who told me:
"I did a PGCE at Goldsmiths and was accepted into the ILEA ‘pool’, having been interviewed by another future GA President, Michael Storm".

Michael was Staff Inspector for Geography and Environmental Studies for London (the Inner London Education Authority or ILEA as it was called, from 1976 to 1990) and was active throughout that period.

He was also the Chairman of the GA's International Committee for some years too, showing a long-term contribution to the work of the GA through that important committee which makes international connections.

From the snippet above, he obviously worked widely in other countries in the sphere of teacher education as well as in the UK.

He was involved in the assessment of the National Curriculum which was in place when I started teaching in 1988, and development of Attainment targets, in a group which also included a range of prominent GA people. This was a busy time for the GA, dealing with th DES. He also helped with the improvements that were made to Fulwood Road during the late 1980s to improve working conditions for GA staff. 1988 was a busy year to be President with the discussions over the National Curriculum and geogarphy's place in it. Michael worked closely with Richard Daugherty.

1988 was also the year when Primary came to the fore, with Primary Geographer magazine launching and a new feature of conference as well. Primary has gone from strength to strength since then.

From the 1988 Annual Report

His Presidential address was on Geography in Schools: The State of the Art.
He reflected on the fact that it had been 20 years since an inspector had been President, and discussed the contribution the GA had made to teacher education and also the influence on the new curriculum. He also talked about the importance of positive reinforcement: by teachers to students, and also to teachers and headteachers. He makes mention of the Higginson proposals, of which more in a separate blog post.



I enjoyed reading this address, and there is plenty that would be familiar to teachers today, over 30 years on from the conference. A few sections that I particularly liked were:

"Geography teachers have been active in releasing information technology from the ghetto of computer studies, and have pioneered the inventive and analytical development of video material."

He refers in his address to his predecessor Dr Eric Briault, who was the Education Officer for ILEA.

He was pleased about the popularity of geography, particularly the curriculum development projects such as Avery Hill (GYSL) and the 16-19 project. 

Of the subject he says:

"Not even the most intellectually megalomaniac geographer, I imagine, would claim that the suject delivers all the knowledge, understanding, insights and values needed by tha environmentally-educated citizen.... geography's enduring concern with the nature of places, their connections and dynamics, inevitably means that the subject becomes the major repository for the hopes of those who look to the schools to implant an environmental ethic".

He also shared a few memories from his time inspecting teachers, with a few funny anecdotes of teachers coming a cropper by over-thinking their observation lesson. 

Late in the address, he moves onto some 'growth areas' for school geography. First is the subject of a lot of debate at the time (I remember this as I was starting my teaching career at this time): which is geography's "general locational knowledge". He revisits familiar territory: the newspaper stories saying that 'kids don't know where places are"... and the contradictions this would place on curriculum design, and geography's role in this 'pub quiz' acquisition.

I liked his stories from Soviet Russia, which wasn't well covered by UK textbooks at the time.

Teacher shortages were a problem at the time - although I don't remember finding it easy to find a job back then - I had loads of interviews before securing my first job, and even then I was second choice. Michael says that:

"Geography in schools is affected by hidden shortages. 

He also mentions an issue which I remember well at the time: the transfer of content which was obviously geographical into the science curriculum, so that earth science, acid rain, weather etc. was taught twice in slightly different ways.

More to come on Michael Storm in a future blog post.

He also developed a key set of questions for Primary Geography, which are shown below.

The Five Basic Questions for Primary Geography

Michael Storm.

·      What is this place like?
Where is this place?

·      Why is this place as it is?

·      How is this place connected to other places?

·      How is this place changing?

·      What would it feel like to be in this place?

The following images were taken by Jo Norcup, and shared on Facebook during the compilation of her thesis, which referenced some of Michael's work.

In 1998, he wrote a letter to the Independent during a debate about the 3 Rs and the 'literacy hour'.

Children have to want to communicate. Many primary teachers would acknowledge that the investigation of their local environment, and some contrasting environments elsewhere, not only accommodates the child's basic curiosity, but generates this all-important motivation. Such work, far from being an optional curricular frill, creates a genuine need to talk, read, write, calculate, draw.
In contrast, jumping through linguistic hoops for an hour a day is likely to be far less motivating.

Michael J. Storm,
Chairman, Geographical Association International Committee.

I also came across this document in my PGCE folder from 1986-7, showing his influence and work at this time into ITE.

Michael Storm Document by GeoBlogs on Scribd

Another document of interest perhaps

Anti Racist Teaching by GeoBlogs on Scribd

Sheila Jones told me:
Michael Storm shares a love of cricket and we have met annually at the Cheltenham cricket festival

Here is a picture of Michael from an image sent by Sheila Jones, speaking at an event during the GA's Centenary year, in 1993

I was also pleased to get Michael Storm's memories on what gave him the 'spark' for geography which was part of Chris Kington's project around his own Presidency. Chris loaned me the letters.

Michael Storm talked about the importance of his teachers. These included Maurice Beresford and Maurice Kirk.

He talks about the importance of the BBC's geography series on the radio when at school. He describes the importance of books with maps, such as Treasure Island, and the writings of the author 'BB'. Stamp collecting was another influence, such as the names and shapes of countries like Djibouti.

Michael's father was a Master Mariner who connected him with the world through his stories.

References
He has no Wikipedia page.
https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1989/may/05/geography

Storm, Michael. “Geography in Schools: the State of the Art.” Geography, vol. 74, no. 4, 1989, pp. 289–298. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40571737.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/0305763800060212

Storm, Michael. “The Geographical Association.” Geography, vol. 73, no. 3, 1988, pp. 268–271. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40571429. Accessed 15 Nov. 2020.

Storm, Michael, et al. “Annual Report of The Geographical Association 1988.” Geography, vol. 74, no. 2, 1989, pp. 173–183. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40571611. Accessed 15 Nov. 2020.

Thoughts on Development Education (PDF download): https://think-global.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/dea/documents/dej_7_1_storm.pdf

Image credit: Jo Norcup
Jo's THESIS is fascinating by the way: http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6849/1/2015NorcupPhD.pdf

I'm particularly grateful to Michael's wife Jacqueline for further information, and also to John Westaway for more assistance.

Thanks also to Mike Rigby, who sent me the image of Michael at the top of the post, which was taken on a study visit to South Africa.

Any further memories of Michael Storm would be appreciated.

Updated November 2020

I am grateful to Steve Brace, Head of Education and Outdoor Learning at the RGS-IBG for the following additional story about Michael:

Michael was a great support particularly at the start of my career in the early 1990s when I arrived at the GA conference in Manchester with three – soon to be empty - boxes of the Chembakolli a Village in India pack. I’d just written this resource for ActionAid & Michael was one of the GA's ‘elder statesmen’ who took time out to help connect me with the wider community, encourage my work & also give feedback on ActionAid’s developing education work. 

 He was really generous with his time and networks & I always looked forward to catching up with Michael over subsequent GA conferences.

Updated December 2020

I referenced Michael in a Presentation for the TeachmeetGeographyIcons event, which was scheduled to take place in early December but was postponed for technical reasons on the day. It mentioned his Presidential Address and the term that he used: "professional zest".

I recorded my Presentation and it is here on Loom.

I also received some memories of Michael from another former GA President: Professor Simon Catling.

"While a young primary teacher I did two week long courses which were influential. In early 1975 I did a Place, time and Society 8-13 course run by Ray Derricot, Hazel Sumner and Gordon Elliot at an ILEA centre. In early 1978 I did an environmental course at Avery Hill College in Eltham, run by Colin Ward. Both were influential in my thinking. Gordon Elliott introduced me to a producer at the BBC which led from the autumn of 1975 to me being an adviser, alongside Michael Storm (who had just become the geography adviser in the ILEA), to a new series of primary geography programmes."

He told me a little more about Michael in another personal communication:

"Way back in June 1993, we had a centenary conference in Oxford and quite a number of past presidents were present when a photograph was taken in the room in Christchurch College where the meeting which initiated the GA was held. Other photographs were taken over the years at Past Presidents' lunches at GA Conferences, quite a few of which Michael attended. 

I knew of him back in the 1970s but first met him when we both acted as advisers for the BBC's new primary geography series for schools, which I think was called Landmarks, but that title could be wrong. That was in 1975! 

He moved to be the Geography Adviser for the ILEA from September 1975 and he developed a strong reputation for developing geography in schools. He initiated a geography education centre, which John Westaway ran, and he managed to add a second secondary adviser to his team and engage a part-time primary head as a primary adviser.
He was active in the GA, but I know little more about that, other than during his junior, senior and past presidential years.
In the later 1980s, around 1987, several of us pushed for the introduction of a Primary geography newsletter ( similar to that which the ASE had recently begun to provide). This led to a small working party being set up, chaired by Michael, to explore the proposal. It recommended an annual newsletter. This was taken to GA Council, at which Patrick Bailey proposed in 1988 that we be more adventurous and go for a full magazine/journal issued three times a year. He said the GA could fund it, and it was agreed. Wendy Morgan then became the first editor. So Michael had a key role in initiating Primary Geographer/Geography.

Michael was instrumental in promoting geography in the ILEAs primary schools. In the early 1980s he set up a group of us, including myself as a primary deputy head in those days to produce geography guidance for primary schools. His co-adviser, Michael Hewitt headed the group. The outcome was "The Study of Places in the Primary School". Michael Storm always wrote and spoke very strongly about the importance and value of geography in primary schools."

Updated September 2023

He contributed a chapter to the book 'Perspectives in Geographical Education', co-edited by John Bale, Norman Graves and Rex Walford.

Accessed via Internet Archive.