Hornet
A blog post comparing marking to a hornet: high-effort, low-impact.
Joe Kirby, a British school teacher and director of education at Athena Learning Trust, wrote a 2015 blog post titled "Marking is a Hornet". In it, he described teachers' marking of homework as "high-effort" and "low-impact" like a hornet, and recommended saving time by asking pupils to self-assess and quiz themselves using checklists or oral feedback.
- Character Type
- Recurring Enemy
- Affiliation
- None (Wild Fauna)
- First Appears
- Kirby's Dream Land Era
- Status
- Active Adversary
- Weakness
- Inhalation, Fire Abilities
- Common Habitat
- Forests and Open Plains
Lore & Background
Kirby's 2015 blog post "Marking is a Hornet" was published on pragmaticreform.wordpress.com on 31 October 2015. In the post, Kirby argued that common marking practices result in heavy workload, high burnout, and very high levels of teacher turnover. He advised that the responsibility lies in self-improvement and a collective sense of working for better outcomes. The post recommended reducing teacher burnout by having pupils self-assess and quiz themselves using checklists or oral feedback, rather than teachers spending extensive time marking.
In Their Own Story
At Michaela Community School, Kirby explained that methods were adapted to reduce teacher burnout because "common practices result in heavy workload, high burnout, and very, very high levels of teacher turnover". He rewrote Year 7's study of the Odyssey, removing parts he felt were less important to read. His 2015 blog post "Marking is a Hornet" described marking as "high-effort" and "low-impact" like a hornet, and recommended saving time by asking pupils to self-assess and quiz themselves using checklists or oral feedback.
Reader's Guide
Kirby's blog post "Marking is a Hornet" was published on 31 October 2015 on pragmaticreform.wordpress.com. In the post, Kirby described teachers' marking of homework as "high-effort" and "low-impact" like a hornet. He recommended saving time by asking pupils to self-assess and quiz themselves using checklists or oral feedback. Kirby explained that the responsibility lies in self-improvement and a collective sense of working for better outcomes. At Michaela Community School, methods were adapted to reduce teacher burnout because "common practices result in heavy workload, high burnout, and very, very high levels of teacher turnover".
Did You Know?
- Joe Kirby's blog post "Marking is a Hornet" was published on 31 October 2015.
- Kirby described marking as "high-effort" and "low-impact" like a hornet.
- He recommended saving time by asking pupils to self-assess and quiz themselves using checklists or oral feedback.
- Kirby explained that common marking practices result in heavy workload, high burnout, and very high levels of teacher turnover.
- The post was published on pragmaticreform.wordpress.com.
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