GeoLincs - 18th March

GeoLincs is the South Lincolnshire GA Branch. I visited when it was in Bourne, back in 2015 in an early meeting of the branch. I'd just taken over as Head of Geography at King's Ely Junior (now Prep) and took a drive over to speak to a good group of teachers. I'm heading back there next month.

Via LinkedIn from Dr. Aidan Hesslewood, who is a fellow moderator on the GA's Secondary Geography Quality Mark moderation team.

The second Geolincs session of this academic year is approaching, and we have Richard Bustin and Alan Parkinson coming along to share lots of important ideas: Wednesday 18th March, from 1400-1700 (light refreshments included) at Spalding Grammar School.

I’m really excited to welcome Alan back to the branch (he last spoke in 2015) and to Richard for the first time, and I hope you can join us for a stimulating afternoon of geography curriculum discussion, particularly in light of upcoming reforms. This session will be suitable for all: student teachers, teachers, subject leads, and senior leaders.

Feel free to message me here if you'd like to come along.

Geolincs (the GA branch for South Lincs and surrounding counties) aims to sustain excellence in geography education in Lincolnshire and the surrounding counties. It is a non-profit network that provides opportunities for professional growth and events are completely free to attend. 

It endeavours to:
· Explore and develop teaching expertise and subject knowledge
· Share ideas through participation and networking
· Provide a forum for debate and discussion

Here's the title slide from my presentation. Hope to see some of you there.

Geographer for Hire

As regular readers of my LivingGeography blog will know, I've been reducing my time in the classroom - partly as a way to ensure that teaching stays sustainable for me at my advanced age, but also because I've been fortunate to have a range of interesting external projects in the last couple of years, including books, curriculum making with the Oak National project, BBC Bitesize work, work with the Environment Agency and my ongoing role at the Royal Geographical Society. I've shared this work in my Worldly Wednesdays posts during the year.

This year, I have gone down to three days teaching a week.

Most of those projects mentioned above have now come to an end, although a few new things have already been pencilled in for this year. This means that I have some time free some weeks this academic year to get involved in further projects and am always interested in something new.

If you think I could help you with a project, even if it's just for a few hours or days then feel free to get in touch and tell me more about what you have in mind. Below you can see some of the organisations and publishers I've worked with over the years. 

I haven't added the Geographical Association and the Royal Geographical Society because they're obvious.

My email is a DOT parkinson AT gmail.com

Also find me on LinkedIn.

Message me on BlueSky @geoblogs

Image: Alice Griffiths

Primary Geography Journal - Spring 2025

The theme for this issue, edited by Ben Ballin, is the Geography of Togetherness. 

I am very pleased to have an article in this issue on this theme. 

Thanks to Ben for asking me to contribute some time ago. 

Subscribers can now download the digital issue and print copies will be arriving shortly. There are some other excellent pieces in this issue too as always, including a lovely contribution by Sharon Witt and Helen Clarke and also a personal piece from Steve Rawlinson on the loss of the Sycamore Gap tree.

In my article I talk about rural and urban ex/inclusion of certain groups and offer some suggestions of projects that might be of interest to explore this topic with pupils.

A new role for me at the RGS-IBG

I've been connected with the RGS-IBG for quite a number of years in various ways, as were quite a few other former GA Presidents. I'm now about to strengthen those connections a little more.

In 2007 I became a Fellow of the RGS and Chartered Geographer (Teacher) and have been ever since.

In 2008, I was awarded their Ordnance Survey Award for excellence in Secondary Geography Teaching. This was a proud moment and came at the culmination (I thought) of my teaching career as I was joining the Geographical Association and stepping out of the classroom. I didn't realise I'd be back again within five years.

I had also spoken at the RGS as part of a student day - with Alastair Owens actually - although I only found that out much later when digging through some old papers. It's a wonderful thing to stand on the stage in the Ondaatje Theatre where so many greats have stood before. We also took students there for a range of events, and I took part in an event representing the Guardian / DfE once as well. I ended up having lunch with Nicholas Crane and have bumped into all sorts of explorers and 'celebrity' geographers at times in the lunch area.

Between 2008 and 2011 I worked closely with the RGS - particularly Steve Brace - who is now the GA Chief Executive of course, and Claire Wheeler (now Claire Brown) along with the rest of their APG team as part of the Action Plan for Geography. This meant regular meetings at either the RGS or Solly Street at a time when Michael Palin was president.

From 2011 onwards for several years I contributed resources to the RGS website, thanks to Steve Brace. This included:

- From the Field resources - working with PhD researchers to translate their work into the classroom

- 'A' level / fieldwork materials funded by a Data Skills project

- a resource on Hunstanton's famous stripy cliffs

- the education materials for Felicity Aston's Going Beyond funded trip to the Pole of Cold - these won an award from the SAGT.

If you are a fellow, you will have received your electronic 'ballot paper' for the elections for Council for June 2024 and will perhaps have noticed that I have put myself forward for the post of Vice President: Education. I had to keep this to myself for a while.

This blog post would have been a request to vote for me in an election, but as it turned out I stood unopposed, so will be confirmed in this role at the AGM of the RGS in June, the same day as the RGS's Awards are handed out.

From June I shall therefore be taking on the role of Vice President: Education at the RGS and have a place on RGS Council for a four year term of office.

Thanks to the fine people who proposed me for the position, including a Polar explorer and some very excellent geography teacher colleagues.

Thanks also must go to my predecessor as VP Education: Mel Norman, who has also been closely associated with the Geographical Association. She Chaired and was Co-Chair/Secretary of the GA's Education Group and was also editor of 'Teaching Geography' for a lengthy period. 

She taught PGCE Geographers for many years - I visited her cohorts a few times while working for the GA - and is also closely associated with the organisation of the Charney Manor Primary Geography Conference. I'm hoping she will pass on more of her wisdom, much as she did when I started my GA Presidency. Speaking of which, Mel is one of those people who has not been GA President (yet) but would be fantastic in the role. She has received awards from the GA for her work in a range of spheres.

If you're going to be at the AGM / Awards or reception in the evening it would be fantastic to catch up. 

I shall be back with more requests as I get started on the role in the summer. 

I look forward to working with all the various Council and committee members, RGS staff and the new incoming President Professor Dame Jane Francis, who received the RGS's Patron's Medal in 2022.

There is work to be done to ensure that all the ongoing support that the RGS offers for teachers meets their needs, and continues to be responsive and inclusive to the changing needs of the profession. I'm excited to offer my support in various ways.

Image: Sam Parkinson

800 posts and over 50 000 views

I started this blog in April 2019. It was then that I was able to tell people something that I heard in November 2018: that I was going to be the President for the Geographical Association for 2021-22.

As part of any legacy I might leave after my year in office, I decided to write a biography of every GA President to date, and also to add future Presidents for as long as possible.

Inevitably it was also a biography of the GA as well. I scan-read every single issue of the GA's journals: particularly 'The Geographical Teacher' and 'Geography', going all the way back to 1901.

This was to look for mentions of what Presidents had done before, during and after holding the office. Presidential addresses were also printed for some decades. Many have been lost to history.

At the same time, I also got involved in the Geographer's Gaze project. This involved opening up some of the slides that are in the GA's collection.

I also visited several places connected with the GA.

I was unable to access the GA's archives because of COVID, and have still only managed about eight hours or so in the stacks down in the warehouse at Solly Street.

Please have a look through your photos and see whether you have any from old GA Conferences you attended back in the day... I'll keep the blog going and hopefully get back up to Solly Street some time to continue to fill in the gaps.

Thanks for reading.

Visits have increased dramatically in recent weeks, particularly from Singapore it seems.

2023: Denise Freeman

Denise Freeman will be the GA President for next year: 2023-24

Denise is another serving teacher President, which is rare but also a female state school teacher President, which is very rare indeed. I think she may be the first to be a secondary classroom teacher rather than in a leadership role.

Denise is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

I sent Denise the questions that I had given to all other Presidents and used them to create the post below. I'm grateful to Denise for the level of detail she provided.

When and where were you born? 

"I was born in May 1977, in Ipswich, Suffolk."

Where did you go to school / university?

"I grew up in Ipswich, having what can only be described as a very standard and uneventful childhood. I went to school in Ipswich, starting at Britannia Primary School, before moving onto Copleston High School and then Northgate High School to do my A Levels, where I was taught by Mr. Murray, who I'm still in touch with.

Mr. Murray of SLN and Geography Photos (GA Award-winner) fame it turns out.

I didn’t begin to show any great passion for geography until year 10. 

I had attempted to make a Plaster of Paris volcano with my Dad and it failed terribly (we found we had used some sort of paint rather than plaster). I was also well known for my terrible knowledge of where places were, something I am ribbed for to this day (I am much clearer on this now!)

Throughout Primary school and early on in Secondary school I had been very interested in History, particularly the Tudors and was most concerned that I wouldn’t get to study it at GCSE due to limited availability on the course. 

Then I went to the options talk for Geography, heard all about the Amazon Rainforest, and the rest (as they say) is history!

I was completely captivated by my geography teacher, Mr Moon and his almost lecture-style delivery (perhaps even geographical sermons) on consumerism, the planet and urban issues. 

Highlights for me, at school, were learning about Glasgow, urban models and visiting Milton Keynes. I loved learning about redevelopment and new towns. I also had Mr Moon for Sociology and found so many connections between the two subjects, and in particular my growing interest in urban geography. I could apply knowledge from sociology to my geographical studies e.g the cycle of poverty, the culture of poverty, race, class and gender. The focus on research methods in Sociology is really useful to help with fieldwork planning. Today, I find myself cross-referencing Sociology in my lessons a lot.

My Dad also played a key part in fostering my love for geography, taking me places, including Sheringham to do my A Level fieldwork! 

We still enjoy a good geographical discussion today, usually about energy and climate change."

Image: Denise's dad on a fieldwork trip to Sheringham

"I took three A Levels: English, Sociology and Geography. I also did AS Photography. I continue to make links between all my subjects, including taking endless photographs of the places I visit.

I went to the University of Reading to study for a BSc in Human Geography. 

I am still slightly amused (along with my Dad) that I have a BSc, as my Science and Maths are not always great. 

I made some poor module choices in my first year and often wish I could go back today, and do it again! I was so committed to my Human Geography (and terrified of Physical Geography) that I took all the Human modules I could, including those outside of the Geography department. This led me to a Law module, which I did terribly at! 

I regret this choice now and wish I had had the confidence to study more Geography in Year 1. Ironically, I now really enjoy teaching some Physical Geography topics and can of course see the interconnections between all areas of our discipline. 

There was a great module, about the representation of Place in films. I still regret not picking this!

At university my main areas of interest were Development Studies with Dr Sally Lloyd Evans and Tourism with Erlet Cater. I also enjoyed some Planning modules with Michael Breheny. A real highlight for me was a field trip to Glasgow, in which we visited some of the edge of city housing estates I had learned about at High School. We spent a day on one estate in the local community centre, interviewing people. I was captivated and Glasgow remains a top fieldwork destination for me and my students today.

I went on to complete my PGCE and an MA in Geography in Education, both at the Institute of Education, University of London. 

My PCGE year was a special time for me, with so many fires lit! 

I embraced both of my teaching practices and was inspired by those around me, including David Balderstone as my tutor, and later during my MA, Dr Claire Brooks and Dr Alun Morgan."


Tell us about your career to date:

"When I left University, I worked for a year for Eastern Power and Energy Trading, part of the Eastern Group (energy company). I worked in the accounting department (another ironic move for me). I had no idea what I wanted to do when ‘I grew up’! My Dad said I would make a good teacher but I scoffed at such a suggestion…

One day I visited a recruitment fayre in Islington. I got chatting to two Primary teachers on a teaching stand. Again, the rest is history.

I currently work as a geography teacher at Oaks Park High School in the London Borough of Redbridge, where I have been teaching since September 2003! 

Having previously been Head of Geography, Head of Humanities and ITT lead, I now have responsibility for our own bespoke ECF programme and I look after the many ECTs who complete it."

What theme did you choose when President, and why did you pick it? 

What had been your involvement with the GA leading up to that time, and since that time?

"I joined the Geographical Association when I was a trainee teacher in 1999. 

We were advised to join by UCL (Institute of Education), which was very good advice! Membership was free in this training year and I really made use of the support the organisation offered. I have very distinct memories of sitting in the staff room of my placement school with my first copy of Teaching Geography magazine open, fervently reading through looking for examples of classroom resources, teaching ideas and anything that helped me understand my new role as a teacher better. I can still picture some of the pages I read and the front cover (see below)

I could see real teachers doing what I was starting to love doing, and they had some great ideas and thoughts on good classroom practice. 

Of particular interest was an article by Susan Bermingham on ‘multiple Texts, alternative texts and multiple readings’. 

I was passionate about this topic at the time and remember devouring it all.

I should declare my training year was a great one and is a period that is clearly etched in my memory!

I attended the GA Conference frequently in the early years of my teaching career. I have very fond memories of going to Brighton with another teacher from my PGCE course: Caroline Kemp, and taking part in one of the field trips around the city. I also remember Alun Morgan and his giant Earth Balloon and taking part in a panel discussion in Derby, giving advice to NQTs.

Since this time, I have written a number of chapters for the GA Secondary Handbook and contributed to Teaching Geography magazine myself, most recently writing about supporting students with visual impairments in geography. I am also active in the geographical community, online and beyond, which the GA and its members are a key part of.

As part of the Presidential cycle, I have spent the past year as a Trustee for the GA, sitting on the Governing Body, something I have found to be great CPD for me and an enjoyable experience. I have also met so many interesting and inspiring people.

I am really enjoying planning the GA Conference for 2024 and am looking forward to the event."

What is your Presidential theme, and how did it develop?

"My chosen theme for the conference is ‘Geography for Everyone’. 

I chose this as I am really captivated by the idea that we all have our own geographical journeys and areas of interest. I am keen to hear about (and celebrate) all of these personal passions for Geography at the conference, but also to consider how our lived experience shapes our geographical interests and the way we see the world around us. I am also passionate about discussions around how we can make geography as inclusive and accessible to all (particularly in the classroom).

I have been very lucky over the past few years to collaborate with so many wonderful and inspiring people in the GA, including Past Presidents. I can’t even begin to list them all here but thanks to everyone in the GA for all their encouragement so far, on my journey.

After meeting at the GA Teachmeet in 2019, I have enjoyed ‘working’ with Dr. Susan Pike on many occasions including hosting an online session for our students and her trainees, leading a workshop at the recent Guildford conference and writing a chapter together for an upcoming publication. 

Denise in action in 2022 - Image copyright Shaun Flannery / Geographical Association

All of this arose from sharing our nerves in a packed room at the University of Manchester (although I am sure Susan was just being polite and wasn’t nervous at all)! 

I have future ideas for collaboration with Susan, as part of my Presidential year, she just doesn’t know it yet! 

In Manchester, I also met Kit Marie Rackley and the wonderful Bob Digby. Both have been very supportive of me, with Kit visiting and leading a session for my local East London teacher hub. Another great support over recent years has been Brendan Conway. Again, I met him in Manchester in 2019. Although we had chatted via Twitter, a face to face meeting was great and led to collaboration, including hosting a joint workshop at the 2023 Sheffield conference. Brendan has supported so many of my online hub events and answered many an IT question. 

In 2019, I also met Alan Parkinson face to face. Again, we had conversed online but it was great to meet in person. Alan's support for the GA and those undertaking roles in the Governing Body and as President is intensely valuable. It goes to show, so much can come out of attending the GA conference and making strong connections! 2019 was a great conference year for me!

Denise is announced as the GA President elect in 2022.

Image copyright: Shaun Flannery / Geographical Association

Finally, over the past year, I have worked with Professor Alastair Owens, supporting him in my role as Vice President. It has been such a pleasure to do this and we have made a great team and I now have a great ‘outside of work colleague’ that I can turn to for advice and guidance. Thanks Alastair. Can’t wait to grow the same relationship with Hina Robinson!"

Good luck to Denise in her role.

Denise's Presidential conference will take place from the 4th to the 6th of April 2024 at the University of Manchester. You can find out more here.

Most images provided by and copyright Denise Freeman unless otherwise captioned

As part of my @The_GA presidential year, I am heading out on tour! Myself & students from @OaksParkHighSch will be visiting schools & universities, advocating for geography, sharing lived experiences of place, and promoting geography for all. Watch this space for updates! https://t.co/pwB8fQj8AZ

— Denise Freeman 🌎🙋🏻‍♀️ (@geography_DAF) September 1, 2023

Ending my GA Presidential journey

Today is the final day of my GA Presidential journey. It's been emotional...

I've previously blogged about myself when I started as President.

I started my involvement with the GA Secondary Phase Committee around 2004-5, thanks to Rob Lodge who got me involved, and this was when I first encountered Alan Kinder, who was co-chair for a while. I later worked for the GA for three years - starting there 15 years ago tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone involved in the last four years of my Presidential journey, who has supported me in the process - there's a lot of people I could mention here from fellow Trustees, volunteers and those who serve on the committees and SIGs, staff at Solly Street and all those who are GA members. It's been a privilege. It's also my last day of four years as a Trustee and serving on the Governing Body, having also been Chair of Education Group for a year as well, and with previously working on the Secondary Phase Committee for about ten years on and off... and also writing the GA Webwatch column for about twelve years.

I hope I've pushed the idea of Quotidian geographies a little more into the spotlight. I think the GA has certainly changed during my time in the Presidential cycle.

Special mention to Jeremy Krause for his encouragement before and kind words after. Also thanks to Paula Owens and Steve Rawlinson for the original 'push': a few years earlier than I was originally planning.

I shall continue to develop the blog and add more stories from the archives and updates on Presidents as I find them, or they are communicated to me. I hope the project might one day find its way into a different (perhaps even printed or extended digital) form when I have time to do it a little more justice and carry out the necesary research. I need to renew my British Library Reading Room membership which lapsed just after the pandemic.

It's over to Denise Freeman and Hina Robinson tomorrow for the next couple of years of female teacher Presidents - there have been very few of those, so feel free to throw your hat into the ring.

Keep an eye out for your chance to put yourself forward to be GA President in 2025-2026.

Nominations will be asked for before too long.

Image: Selfie taken as I left the University of Guildford campus following my GA Presidential conference in 2022... a job well done.... 

Word cloud of Presidents updated too...

Quick trivia quiz question: Which three surnames have been shared by more than one President?

Thanks to Bob Digby for the mention too...

Today several colleagues finish their terms in trustee roles @The_GA...

A very big thank you to Olwen Lintern-Smyth our outgoing chair, @bobdigby Honorary Treasurer, Sue Holden, @GeoBlogs Immediate Past President, and Dan Cowling, for their vision, commitment and hard work! pic.twitter.com/ah232Ye7Je

— Alastair Owens (@AlastairHackney) August 31, 2023

Fawcett Fellowship Research Questionnaire - your help is requested

Updated

Thanks to those colleagues who helped out.

I'm proud to have been a UCL-IOE Fawcett Fellow for this academic year, working with others to explore curriculum thinking and epistemic quality in the curriculum.

In 1987 Edith Fawcett endowed annual Fellowships in the Department of Geography at UCL in memory of her father, Professor C B Fawcett, who was head of the department between 1928 and 1949. The Fellowships were originally designed to enable UK-based teachers and other professional geographers in mid-career to spend a sabbatical term studying at UCL. The teaching Fellows continued to be paid their full salary and the scheme funded replacement geography teaching. This has now been opened up to a second model, where regular meetings are held across a year. 

This year's group of fellows has had regular meetings at UCL, and discussions about curriculum, curriculum making and the influences which shape our professional practice. We have been discussing our decisions over what to teach, how to sequence it, and how to assess it. We have been using a number of books for inspiration, which have included the excellent David Gardner book published by the GA and others, including Alex Standish. We are drawn from different stages of our careers and different school contexts. It's been fascinating to learn from the other fellows, and I have a bulging notebook of notes and documents. We also have an input from Dr. Alex Standish during each session, and are also encouraged to follow up the Fellowship by applying for Masters level study.

We are now reaching the final stage of the year, and writing up our research and thinking. I've now got ethics clearance to launch the questionnaire which will inform the final part of my work and writing. The questionnaire is linked to and also embedded below.

This questionnaire is aimed at teachers who teach GEOGRAPHY, and refers to these lessons specifically. You don't have to be a full time Geography teacher to get involved. All responses are anonymous and may be referenced in a chapter for a forthcoming publication on curriculum thinking in geography. 

The aim of my Fawcett Fellowship is to research the impact of "everyday geographies" and how these are unpicked and taught by individual schools. My GA Presidential theme for 2021-22 was Everyday Geographies, and an exploration of the quotidian. 

As significant local / national / global news stories and related content (such as images and videos on social media accounts) appear, I'm keen to discover  how  you, as geography  teachers, react  to them and make time for them. 

This is particularly aimed at KS3 Geography teachers, but KS2 teachers would also be welcome to respond.

At  what point might these news stories prove weighty enough to displace other content in your curriculum and earn a place in your curriculum for the next few years, and what thought is given to the longevity of these stories placed against topics which form a stronger foundation for GCSE courses as they appear in the specification?  How are these stories combined with existing curriculum content, or used to displace previous case studies? Is thought given to how this might create an imbalance in the parts of the world covered, or the extent to which this reinforces partial views of the world?

Is there a tendency for these topics to skew curriculum offerings away from ‘physical geography’ or what might be considered important disciplinary knowledge because of their nature? Are more news stories likely to be what might be termed 'human' or 'environmental geography'?

I'd be interested in your thoughts on the questions below. 

Please provide as much detail as you are happy to provide.

You can fill in the survey on the embedded form below, or by clicking this link.

I am very grateful for any and all contributions.

If you want to let me know more thoughts, feel free to add a comment on the blogpost below, or DM me on Twitter: @GeoBlogs.

The application process for next year's Fawcett Fellowship will be open shortly, and I shall let you know all the details as soon as they are available.

GA Presidency Month 6: February 2022

This is the 700th post on the blog, which tells the story of the 106 GA Presidents to date, and also the wider story of my own Presidency and other moments from the GA's history (and geography).

A very busy month once again, as they all are for GA Presidents in the run up to the GA Conference in April.

Started fairly quickly on the 1st of February with a GA Cambridge Branch lecture on supply chains. This is a good session and one with a lot of content which I'm happy to offer to other GA Branches or audiences. There's always plenty of relevant news stories in the media each week related to supply chains, including a timely article in the New York Times as well as a Guardian feature on a day in the life of a lorry driver. Check out the activity at your local GA Branch.

The 2nd of February was the Governance Working Group - this used to be called the President Group, and meets ahead of Governing Body to set the agenda and ensure that all the papers that are needed for that important business are in place.

Sadly, that was also the day I tested postive for COVID19, and the next week was a bit of a write off although I kept up to date with my inbox as much as possible when I felt up to it. Best wishes to everyone who has had COVID, and please make sure you get your vaccines and booster when offered to give the best protection if (and probably when) you test positive. 

I am needle-phobic but felt no hesitation in going and getting jabbed at the earliest opportunity.

I spent some time during this period pottering on what I could do, lacking in energy a little and not able to do much for quite a few days:

- Judging five resources for stage 1 of the GA's Publishers Awards, ahead of a meeting of those who were sharing their thoughts to take them forward to the next phase.

- Supporting the Worldwise Board in planning for iGEO 2022

- Reading through Eleanor Rawling's work on the National Curriculum Framework (following on from GTE)

- Responding to a range of queries from GA members and others with regards to work / projects / conference etc.

- Worked on thinking through the early phases of a range of exciting projects, some of which will see the light of day and support teachers in particular parts of the country

- Reviewing book proposals

- Working on a GIS book

- Working on ERASMUS projects: GI Pedagogy and D3 - both of which are coming to a close this year.

The GA President serves as a Trustee for the three years of their Presidential journey, and joins the GA's Governing Body.

They join a group of people who serve a particular period of time - usually between three and six years.

There are named trustees who are responsible for additional aspects of the GA's work, particularly finances. I also filled in an audit sheet. We often reflect on the nature of our skills and consider how to broaden the diversity of this group in the widest sense. There are also co-opted members, who are brought in because of their particular skillset and backgrounds. 

Thanks to all those who have served, currently served, or will serve on Governing Body.

Wednesday 9th was a busy day.

I started with a session for the East London Geography Hub, presenting along with Brendan Conway.

This was on my Presidential theme of Everyday Geographies.

This was followed by me hosting GeogChat - a regular weekly twitter chat that takes place on Wednesday. The theme was about the Pandemic and its influence on the curriculum. I shared ideas and had some excellent contributions from others.

I blogged about the session here.

Goodness me. You have finally got the reigns of Geog Chat. You are the most powerful person that I know. Perhaps we should simply rename Geography as 'Alan'.

— GeographyPods (@MattPodbury) February 8, 2022

I also put together a session for teachers in Liverpool. They have the support of the Archdiocese of Liverpool School Improvement Trust (ALPSIT)

Thanks to the legendary Hywel Roberts for getting me involved in this event and other work with the trust which will continue up to the summer.

Our Geography specialist for our Subject Leader conf is Alan Parkinson @geoblogs Alan is Head of Geography @ King's Ely Jnr in Cambridgeshire, Author of 'Why Study Geography?', Chartered Geographer & Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society & award winning innovative teacher! pic.twitter.com/1lvJ5fvSin

— ALPSIT (@ALPSITnews) February 3, 2022

There were over 100 people signed in when I joined on the Tuesday to do an hour long canter through Primary curriculum making ideas, with some contributions from the thinking of Paula Owens, Simon Catling and several others.

I'm going to continue to work with ALPSIT until the end of the academic year by providing some ideas for their ASSEMBLE platform.

I popped to school to pick up some marking and other bits and pieces.

The final weekend of the half term was the 25th Charney Manor Primary Conference.

I was keeping an eye on the weather as there were two named storms in the forecast, the second of which would ultimately disrupt my arrival at the conference which was a disappointment. In the end, however, the storm was to have the last word as the Conference venue lost its power, so the whole event had to be cancelled until next year.

I returned to school for the final week of the month. A busy week it was too, with my continuing recovery from COVID:

- Further edits on articles for GA journals

- Reports, parents' evening and a Saturday Open morning to attend at school

- Some writing of examination materials for a company 

- Some consultancy with AVANTIS, who create Virtual Worlds.

- Preparation for a 2nd session with teachers from a London based MAT - looking at concepts and enquiry questions in the curriculum

This now brings me amazingly to the half way point of my Presidency. It's going very quickly as everyone told me it would.

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2021: Alan Parkinson (that's me...)

Updated June 2024

The final entry for the blog - at least for a while - is a post about me. 

I'm Head of Geography at King's Ely Prep, and also an author and consultant geographer. I'm a Chartered Geographer and Fellow of the RGS and RSGS.

For what I get up to, please visit, and subscribe to my main blog, which is called Living Geography, and follow the development of my Quotidian Geographies project during 2021.

I will also add other blog posts here from time to time through the following year, before the next President as I have the chance to go into the archives.

You can also follow the #POTGA21 hashtag during this year as well as #everydaygeographies.

I was born in the Listerdale Maternity Hospital, to the East of Rotherham in late December 1963. I lived in the village of Wickersley and went to Northfield Lane Infants and then Junior School before going on to Wickersley Comprehensive School. This was formerly Wickersley High School (many of our folders still had the old name) and also had ROSLA extensions after the raising of the school leaving age, and a classic 1970s construction. My journey to school involved walking over the blue bridge here, with distant views of the Peak District and Sheffield.

Image: Alan Parkinson

Miss Moon was my teacher in Year 8, then I had John Neale and Steve Hanstock amongst others. I still have my exercise books from that time. I moved to a house on the main Bawtry Road shown above during my secondary days. I got an 'A' in my 'O' level Geography, and stayed on to do 'A' levels at the school.

I was really interested in computers too, and our science teacher Doc Humphries had an Apple II computer in a locked-up trolley at the back of his lab. I used to stay behind one or two evenings a week after school and teach myself to programme the machine, and used magazines and books to find out more about how it worked. I took 'O' level Computer Science and ended up teaching GCSE and A level Computer Science as well as Geography for a while.

Taking Computer Science also meant that we would travel on an old double decker bus operated by Powell's coaches, and head for Dinnington College to actually access some computers - RM machines with green graphics on black screens, and machine coded. 

I did quite well in my 'A' levels, and the big success was Geography for me. My teacher was Steve Hanstock who was personable and a good teacher.

John Neale was another of my teachers, who it turned out worked with John Lyon, who later became a colleague at the GA.

Our notes were often banda duplicated, and had lots of information and diagrams and spaces to fill at GCSE, but as we got more into geography, we had more lecture-style lessons.
When I opened my 'A' level results in August 1982, I had the grades to head for either Lancaster University or Huddersfield Polytechnic, but chose the course which would be more practical and fieldwork based, and also physical geography based as that was my interest back then. I also had plans to return home more than once or twice a year and Huddersfield wasn't too far away from Rotherham.
As mentioned elsewhere on this blog, in entries describing Huddersfield and the connections with other GA members, it is clear that this was a good proving ground for some young lecturers including Tim Burt and David Butcher amongst others.
A few images of me emerged on a local Facebook page, and also another dedicated to those who 'survived Huddersfield Polytechnic'.

Image: Sally Stow. I'm the one in the yellow and black hat. I haven't changed a bit.

I graduated with a II, i and was not sure what to do with myself.

Teaching was an option as my mother was a lecturer at the time at Dinnington College of Further Education. I took a Computer Science 'A' level at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology, which involved learning other computer languages and gave me the time to read, and play a lot of golf. 

I went for several interviews for PGCE courses, and was eventually accepted at the University of Hull by Vincent Tidswell, who was in his final year as PGCE tutor. He appears on this blog of course as I later found out he was involved with the GA and wrote a number of influential books.

After finishing the course, I eventually found work. The first school I actually earned money from teaching in was Kimberworth Park in Rotherham - now demolished and famous for being the school where former England goalkeeper David Seaman. Ironically, I now teach at the school where Nick Pope - an England goalkeeper in the last year - was taught.

Here's the 'fun' biography I put on GeographyPages in 2006. It's a little out of date now of course, but includes some interesting snippets. Geography Pages was my website I started creating in 2001, and which became one of the most popular websites of the time (as one of the few websites of the time) gaining millions of page views a year (and costing me a lot of money to maintain)

Born on a sheer mountain side in South Yorkshire in the early 1960's during a blizzard, Mister P was educated at the local 'comp' and enjoyed moderate success (9 'O' & 5 'A' levels) before moving on to Huddersfield Polytechnic (when polys were polys) and spent the next 3 years pushing the Atterberg limits, enjoying the mid-1980's price of beer, checking tensiometer readings at Bicknoller, criss-crossing the Pennines in a land rover with a radioactive soil moisture probe.

He has taught at various schools in Derbyshire (the good old Amber valley), East and South Yorkshire, and at  King Edward VII School: a specialist Sports College, in King's Lynn, Norfolk where he is Head of Geography, and edits the school newsletter, amongst other things. In his time at the school he has overseen the introduction of the Geography National Curriculum, run the Duke of Edinburgh's Award group, been Activities Coordinator, Deputy Head of House, and for a year was acting Examinations Officer. 

A founder member of the sadly-missed Boiled Onions Climbing Club, he enjoys foreign and UK travel, hill-walking when he gets the chance, landscape photography, obscure travel literature, Scandinavian Jazz, open fires, a good tight end in a game of bowls, beachcombing on the North Norfolk coast and fine malt whiskies. The Old Hunstanton side he plays for won the Countryside League Knockout cup in 2005.

He completed a DfES Best Practice research scholarship on the use of ICT, particularly the Internet in improving the quality of teaching in Geography (2002) which is published online and has been referred to by other academic researchers, and also completed an Online course on Climate Change run by the University of East Anglia. He is an ICT consultant to 'silver surfers' in the North Norfolk area. He is also involved in various web-based interests, including 'Evaluate' (his software evaluations are featured on the website and have been published in 'The Guardian' as have contributions to 'Brainstrust')

In November 2003 he was awarded a Royal Geographical Society Innovative Geography Teaching Grant to develop the GEO BLOGS project. Blogs have come on substantially since 2003 and are now almost so mainstream that they are commonplace, but it was good to get in there at the start.

In May 2004 he was invited to join the Geographical Association's Secondary Education Committee (now Secondary Phase Committee). He had an article published in the October 2004 issue of 'Teaching Geography', and was an E:port representative of the DfES/Evaluate/Schoolzone at DfES ICT in Geography roadshow and BETT 2005 and 2006. He has also been a contributing author to GeoProjects  (http://www.geoprojects.co.uk) and has also done consultancy and writing work for Hodder and Pearson and 3 or 4 other publishers. He was Editorial consultant on the new Longman School Atlas, which was published in April 2006, and has also contributed to ideas and materials for the new BBC Digital Curriculum.

He has delivered ICT workshops at numerous Norfolk Geography conferences, and network meetings, and has also presented at the GA Conference, and the SAGT Conference in 2005, and will be once again in 2006. In August 2005, he became a Teacher Consultant for the Geographical Association, and is currently doing 'various consultancy-type-things...'

In October 2005 he was awarded a second Royal Geographical Society Innovative Geography Teaching Grant to develop the EARTH: A Users' Guide project. He'd appreciate it if you got involved.

2006 contributions to the milieu include: contributions to Brainstrust / Evaluate publication, Longman School Atlas published, article published in Pilot News, guest edited WebWatch section of GA News for May 2006 and invited to join the editorial committee of GA Magazine, teacher notes and curriculum maps produced for the RGS-IBG Discovering Antarctica website (launched June 2006), best of the web feature for Teachers TV (coming in September), contributions to working groups in Norfolk on SEN and Pilot GCSE. He is also involved in further Pilot GCSE developments to be announced shortly as part of the Action Plan for Geography. In 2006 he was awarded a 'Norfolk Geogers' award for contributions to Norfolk Geography. 

Image: showing the KES fleeces we used to wear for a while... taken around 2006.

In early 2008, I saw an ad for a post at the Geographical Association, and put in a speculative application for what was going to be my 'perfect' job, despite having a bit of 'imposter syndrome' about being up to a national role.

This was a good year, as I was also awarded the Ordnance Survey Award for Excellence in Secondary Geography Teaching by the RGS-IBG. Here I am prior to all that, and prior to the interview, presenting at the GA Conference as part of the authoring team for the new KS3 toolkit series.

In 2010, we published the first of the Mission:Explore books, written by the Geography Collective, which started with a conversation between Daniel Raven Ellison and myself. I am very proud of the work we completed together, with other members of the Geography Collective, and latterly with Helen Leigh and Tom Morgan-Jones.

Here's the motherlode: the 500+ missions that we wrote as a team, and then asked young people to select so that Tom Morgan Jones could do the inking.

Chatting to Anne Robertson of EDINA, with whom I've worked for quite a few years now.

In 2011, my job was sadly made redundant as a result of financial fallout from the end of the Action Plan for Geography.

I put out an appeal for help.

This led to two years of freelance work, with plenty of ERASMUS thrown in.

In 2013 I received a nice email from Mike Robinson, the Chief Executive of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, explaining that I had been awarded the RSGS's Joy Tivy Education Medal and Honorary Fellowship - a great honour.

I also received an email from Claire Kyndt of King's Ely. This resulted in me returning to the classroom for a second stint, where I remain to the present day.

In 2017, I got an email suggesting that I might make a good President, and asking whether I would put myself forward. I duly did, and the rest is... geography.

My Presidential theme is 'Everyday Geographies' or 'Quotidian Geographies'.

There are a great many people I haven't mentioned here who I owe a great debt too... these will be mentioned in future posts in the year ahead, and also in my Presidential lecture.

References

I have written, co-written or contributed to over 30 books, including KS3, GCSE, Fieldwork and A level textbooks, children's books, adventure books and eBooks.

Charney 20th Anniversary book, edited by Simon Catling - has a chapter called 'You can take the boy out of Yorkshire' which included a sort of autobiography as well - I think on hindsight that's one of the better shorter things that I've written.

Why not buy at least one copy of my book 'Why Study Geography'? - it's excellent.

Full biography on my About.me page.

Updates

I'm always creating and sharing resources.

Currently working on the Oak National Primary project as a writer and reviewer through into 2025...

Updated June 2024

On the 3rd of June, I was elected as the Vice President: Education of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) for the next 4 years.

I am proud to be continuing the tradition of GA Presidents being associated with the RGS-IBG in many different ways, going back to Freshfield. I am looking forward to supporting the work of the RGS-IBG in supporting geography educators.

Quotidian Geography

I gave much thought of course to the theme for my own Presidential conference in 2022 for some time. This is important as it leads to a particular range of lectures and workshops and invitations to particular speakers that are the choice of the President, and the overall aims of the event. 

The theme I chose is Everyday Geographies.

The public lecture and the other main events are tied to the theme. For more on the theme, check out other posts over on LivingGeography.

There will also be a chance for you to win one of 100 specially-made enamel badges for participation in a curriculum project I will launch in the first week of September.

Also watch out for the hashtags #potga21 and #everydaygeographies in use through the year here and over on Living Geography.

10 000 page views

I started this blog in April 2019 (although I started writing it before then) when it was announced that I would be the GA President in 2021-2.

I have written a biography of every former GA President. 

The current GA President, Dr. Susan Pike is still to come, and I will also add an entry for myself in due course. There's also been coverage of a whole range of additional people, events, news, documents, images and details on the development of the GA since the original meeting in 1893. 

There are also several further documents and developments to come, particularly as I get longer to delve into the GA archives.

So far, there have been almost 650 blog posts. I have just passed 10 000 page views.

Thanks to those who have come along to read the posts. There's plenty to catch up on if you have not visited before. Try the search box in the top left to find out particular Presidents.

600 up

 Hazel Barrett's entry on the blog was the 600th post since I started it over two years ago.

There are at least another 50 to come before I reach September 2021, and the President for 2021-2.

Thanks for reading. Up next is Mark Higginbottom.

GA Conference 2022

The details of the 2022 GA Conference are now up on the GA website.

The theme is EVERDAY GEOGRAPHIES. Geographies of the every day, and encouraging thinking about geography every day.

Everyday geographies

‘Little minds are interested in the extraordinary; great minds in the commonplace’ – Elbert Hubbard

My theme for 2022 encourages exploration of everyday geographies. We are all living geography. Our diurnal routines connect us with places, people, environments and cultures. Repeated exposure means we sometimes forget how significant these are in shaping our identity and impacting the planetary emergency we all face.

Our quotidian experiences are both individual and shared. Speakers and delegates will be encouraged to revisit the stories of the commodities, cultures and landscapes that shape all our lives, unpicking the geographical connections behind them. In recent challenging times, some of those connections were temporarily severed or amended, and others deserve reassessment.

The 2022 Conference will be an occasion where we can once again come together and take the time to celebrate what makes us who we are: now and in the future, and explore how revealing the powerful hidden magic in these everyday stories can enrich our personal curriculum journeys.

Alan Parkinson, GA Vice President 2020-21

I hope to see you there, but more importantly for the time being, I hope to see you next week for the GA Conference 2021.

A few days left to book.

Why Study Geography

There are plenty of former GA Presidents mentioned in my new book. Plenty of mentions for the Geographical Association's work as well.

"I have always been a Geographer and have always believed that the state of geography in universities depends on attracting good sixth formers to become undergraduates."

Andrew Goudie 

My latest solo authored book comes out today. I've had copies for a week, and colleagues and some of those who contributed to the book have been receiving copies as well. Family copies are earmarked and  I'm delighted with the finished product, which is part of a growing series of books asking the same question for different subjects.

There's already been interest from a number of countries including the USA and Turkey, and I'm hoping for further reviews in addition to the ones that the publishers have already elicited from geographical journals and organisations, and individuals who can help the book reach its intended markets.

It is called 'Why Study Geography' and is published by the London Publishing Partnership.

It explores why students should continue to study the subject, and provides answers to a number of key questions from Y9-13, plus their parents and UCAS tutors.

Here they are opposite on the Contents page.

The final chapter contains links to over 50 resources to support your exploration of geography including films, books, websites, podcasts and others.

It explores all aspects of the subject and is unashamedly 100% geography. 

There are so many people who have helped me out with the book in various ways. These include colleagues from the GA and the RGS, along with teaching colleagues. It includes vignettes from a number of people including Kit Racklet, Corinna Hawkes and Ben Hennig. There are details of how the subject developed, and more on academic geography. It finishes by exploring the reasons why geography matters now more than ever - mirroring the theme of this year's GA Conference under the Presidency of Gill Miller.

Copies will be available from additional outlets soon including bookshops, online outlets, Book Depository and others.

I would suggest it would make a good book for a number of different groups of people:

- students - of different ages

- parents

- UCAS tutors / careers advisers

- geography teachers - both ECT and experienced teachers

- teacher educators - ITE colleagues from a number of different routes

Look out for lots of tweets with the hashtag #whystudygeography over the next week or so as we try to make as many people as possible aware of the book and its potential value for their work.

If you do get a copy, please post a review on Amazon.

GA Oxford Branch Programme 2020-21

A vital part of the GA's support for teachers is the network of GA Branches with their programmes. These are going online this year, or in some cases being reduced due to issues with an appropriate format for the sessions to avoid safeguarding issues.

Here is an example of one branch's programme.... some excellent speakers on here...

GA Oxford Branch 2020 from GeoBlogs