Teach Secondary - Issue 13.2

Off the Shelves Brilliant titles for you and your students to explore TheArtist’sJourney: TheTravelsThat Inspired theArtisticGreats (TravisElborough,WhiteLion,£20) Most books about a selection of artists organise theirmaterial in chronological order, or by school classification.This one instead presents 30 different artists spanningmultiple centuries in alphabetical order, resulting in delightful transitions fromone chapter to the next when read in order, or a good book for randomdips. Elborough’s central premise is that artists’ travels have always influenced their art – albeit more obviously in some cases than others. Either way, the biographical details herein are very interesting indeed,with photographs of the locationsmentioned and samples of the artists’work bringing each chapter to life. It’s a pity that there’s no information on where the citedworks can be viewed, but there is at least a comprehensive index and bibliography. ReviewedbyTerry Freedman (see bit.ly/ Eclecticismformoredetails) Iterate:TheSecret to Innovation inSchools (JustinReich,Jossey-Bass,£24.99) Having endured some fairly dreadful ‘initiatives’ inmy time, delivered fromon high with the directive to ‘make it work’ , I approached Iterate with some trepidation. However, aside fromone unfortunate acronym that would likely be a source of some derision in British schools (the author is American),my fears proved to be unfounded.The book sets out several routes to innovation, emphasising how it needs to be both teacher-centred and responsive. Reich shows us numerous examples of teacher- and department-led innovation, some ofwhich could be attempted relatively quickly, given sufficient SLT support, such as providing time and cover. Reichmay be anMITprofessor, but he’s evidently sensitive to themany pressures teachers face. In Iterate , he’s produced a highly readable guide to prompting positive change in small ways,while involving both students and teachers in the evaluation process. ReviewedbyTerry Freedman TheBookatWar: Librariesand Readers inanAgeofConflict (AndrewPettegree,Profile,£12.99) A title perhapsmore at home in your school library than a specific department.That’s because The Book atWar is a fascinating study of howbooks and other readingmatter have variously influenced politics, propaganda and history over time,making it a useful starting point for discussion around issues such as free speech.Among its intriguing, lesser-known facts is the detail that picture postcards withmilitary themes, rather than beaches, have been used in other countries as tools of persuasion. Closer to home, there’s some thoughtful exploration of the historically symbiotic relationship between British newspapers and the country’s publishing industry, and interesting analysis of how the work of war poets such as Wilfred Owen came to prominence after WWI, contrastedwith popularity of gung-ho wartime texts for younger readers, such as The Boy’s Own Paper. Highly recommended. ReviewedbyTerry Freedman 44 teachwire.net/secondary