John - Epsom (UK) - an enthusiastic and experienced teacher in History and Politics

Find out more about John

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  I have had a fascination about history going back eons which is a bit surprising because the subject was not well taught when I was at school even though I persisted with it at A Level and beyond. It was the BBC period dramas like Poldark and the Jane Austin novels which got me first interested in how people in the past lived and thought. I suppose television is a major reason why there is a growing interest in History today as it brings the past to life and I am a frequent follower of 'Yesterday' and the History Channel as well as being a regular contributor to the BBC's 'History Today'. I think it is vital to keep up with the latest research as even interpretations about the past can radically change. Tutoring became an option after I retired from full-time education in 2006 as I wanted to retain my links with the subject matter and also with young people. I like to make a difference to people's perception of History as well as their success at examinations and it thrills me no end when some decide to pursue it at university.

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I cover all periods of History in my tutoring. I have not a particular preference for any period of history but whenever an older subject arises like the Tudors or even further back to the Saxons, I am able to show that the more ancient times still have a relevance for today. For instance, it was the Saxons who first developed the jury system based on 12 'men' which Henry II further developed
  into a more systematic practice. Henry may have been a brutal ruler at times but he did have a sense of justice. Also we can see that Henry VIII and Elizabeth I began a public health system which survived in essence until it was finally replaced by the NHS in 1948. Britain's somewhat unfriendly relationship with Russia is not new as the Crimean War of the 1850s will demonstrate. I do like the modern periods as well and I do enjoy the Cold War topic as well as the Middle East and the development of international terrorism. If there was a subject which I have not taken a particular liking to and that is the Thirty Years War, largely because of its complexity which can be difficult to inspire interest in but I have noticed that the exam boards have dropped it.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  Although I said earlier that History was not taught well when I was at school, a teacher did inspire me to continue with the subject and he joined during my last year in the Sixth Form. He presented it in a manner which was refreshing and not text-book based, but he brought us into the realm of history by inviting us to participate in the lessons. This was quite new to me at the time and I base my methodology on what I learned from him.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  I think one of the key qualities is that of listening. In tutoring one has the freedom to prioritise the individual's needs in order to progress in the subject which is quite difficult to achieve in the school situation. When the individual becomes the focus rather than a class, then listening to what is required and to where the problems lie within the subject matter, becomes paramount. Therefore one can base the lesson on the student's wishes and we can then move forward. It means I do not have a formal lesson plan, although I have an idea in my mind on what we will do, and sometimes it requires me to think on my feet, which leads to another key skill, that of having a very secure knowledge base. That is essential if I am to inspire confidence in the student. Finally to present the subject in a way that will further inspire interest and that means presenting it in an enjoyable way, perhaps even having fun on the way. Making a subject interesting is a major boost to the learning process. I learned early in my career that humour is a huge help in inspiring others.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  When mobile phones first became common usage in the 1980s, an additional task was to nurture young minds away from the text speak. So I would read that Alfred the G8 was a successful king, LIV had his head chopped off, something about Burke n Hare or a whole load of words like the brits, Maggie or Gorby. On another occasion, the subject matter was the battle of el Alamein in 1942 during the Desert War. There was a boy in the class with a German-sounding name but spelt in an English way. He put his hand up and said he had two great uncles who fought on different sides in the battle; one in the British Eighth Army and other in Rommel's Afrika Korps. They both survived the war and became firm friends for a long time afterwards.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  One difficulty is the frequent changes to GCSE and A Level courses which has become a challenge since my retirement as it means some considerable cost in updating my resources. Since I retired from teaching, there have two major changes to A Level alone in just 12 years!
  Another is the retention of coursework at A Level. Most students struggle with this partly because it covers a period of 100 years which some find very challenging and partly because of the word limit. Once having written a credible answer, a lot of students are desperately going through their work with a fine tooth comb trying to delete words because they have gone way beyond the word-count.

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I do have a passion about History and Politics as well. In history, I relish the opposing interpretations of the same event. For instance, one of the key debates in the modern period is who was to blame for the start of the Cold War. The debate often surrounds the personalities and motivations of Stalin and Truman, but there is also the question of misunderstanding of each other's actions and statements. Another key debate and one which frequently exercises students is why Henry VIII took the English Church out of papal control. Did he do it simply in pursuance of having a male heir? Or was there something more ambitious in Henry; perhaps encouraged by Thomas Cromwell?
  In Politics, the current crisis over Brexit is of fundamental importance to the future of this country and will be debated long after the issue has been decided. Then there is the Trump presidency. Why did he lose the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 3 million votes, which is a wider margin than Kennedy's victory over Nixon in 1960, and still become the president of the United States? Why did George Bush (and Tony Blair) completely mess up the outcome of 9/11 especially at the time they were riding high in the opinion polls?
  Both in History and Politics there are a lot of imponderables which can dominate the mind

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering this interview questions :-P)?

  I have always enjoyed my job and when you enjoy something you are likely to excel at it. I do particularly enjoy making a difference to the fortunes of students who find History a struggle and their predicted grades are languishing around the Ds or even the Es. Last year I was asked by the parents to help out with a brother a sister who were in this position; one doing A Level and the other studying for GCSE. In both cases, one got an A and is now at Birmingham studying History, and the other has gone on to A Level having achieved a grade 9.
  However, exam success is not my only motivation. As I said earlier, I like the thought of enabling student to acquire a genuine interest in History and indeed in Politics. History can have a relevance in most aspects of life and in the curriculum it enters the realm of science and technology (how significant was Pasteur in the development of public health?), languages (I remember a French A level teacher asking me to describe the outline of the Franco-Prussian War in two minutes!), maths (who was the Scottish founder of the logarithm?) and many more.
  I also hold concern for the well-being of the students as young lives often come with anxieties and complications which they are at times unable to cope with. Or they may find motivation a problem because of an external consideration like what sort of career to aim for and the relevance History may or may not have in achieving that aim. In the latter case I have found History to have a substantial part to play in careers which on the surface have nothing to do with History. One former student who gained an Honours degree in History is now perhaps the highest-paid British board member of a major US technological company. He told me later that it was the skill he learned through History to be concise and relevant in his answering of questions.The other day I was listening the president of the Royal Society expressing the importance he attaches to history.