• THE LAZY TEACHER'S
    HANDBOOK
    By Jim Smith
    NEW EDITION
    It's more than six years since the bestselling Lazy Teacher's Handbook was first published and Jim Smith's Lazy Teaching philosophy has developed significantly in that time. This new expanded edition details Jim's latest thinking on how to be the best lazy, but outstanding, teacher you can be.

Welcome to The Lazy Teacher

Ever wondered what would happen if you went into a classroom and didn't teach? I did. And instead of just wondering, I actually taught like that ... and saw results go up and my workload go down.

What’s more, so popular was the approach that it became a best-selling book, and not amongst those teachers looking for an easy life but rather amongst those looking to shift the workload onto those sat in the class in front of you (or stood, or even hot-desking if you are currently experiencing a shortage of furniture disguised as an open-learning-space experimental building design!).

Six years on from when I shared the ideas of the ‘Lazy Way’, it has since become a firm favourite with readers ranging from trainee teachers through to the most experienced: a collection of techniques and philosophies that aim to make kids think, do, achieve and reflect more on their learning. Oh and in doing so, so will you: just with less of the ‘do’ bit!

It is known as the Lazy Way – a philosophy that shifts the emphasis from teaching to learning, as well as shifting the workload from the teacher to the students. After all, whose brains should hurt the most on a Friday afternoon?

And before we get caught up in a debate about the term ‘lazy’ suggesting being unprofessional, I use it in the same way that the late Les Dawson or Tommy Cooper gave the impression of being terrible at playing the piano or performing magic but were both in fact highly accomplished performers in those fields. The act of being lazy (and, as you know, teaching is in no small part an act) is actually masking your work by setting up highly personalised, creative learning experiences that progress students’ learning without them always noticing. And that is an act all of our classrooms would benefit from.

My Mission

The Lazy Way obviously demands Lazy Teachers, and helping you become a Lazy Teacher is my mission (you can see why I clarified the term ‘lazy’ to start with – it avoids a declaration to the staffroom or your line manager without knowing the all-important context).

The book is the obvious starting point, and in the newly revised The Lazy Teacher’s Handbook you will have all you need to get yourself up and running: the philosophies, the practical lesson ideas, ideas for reclaiming Sundays and ways to sustain you in your role. After all, how long can you lead from the front if you are collapsed in a heap under your desk?

As you would expect from a philosophy that advocates being lazy, the changes needed are often very small. So there is no rewriting of Schemes of Learning; moreover the lazy way is, as was once fed back to me, a 'structure-less structure' that gets the most out of what you already have as well as offering ideas for that little bit of extra independent thinking and learning that everyone craves.

The Lazy Way is having a great impact in classrooms and leadership teams all over the country (and indeed abroad), with head teachers, classroom practitioners and, most importantly, the students all recognising the positive changes that being lazy brings.

So if you want to reclaim your Sundays (and that might just be the starting point), jump on board and let the Lazy Revolution begin – for then we might just be able to watch TV on a Sunday night, guilt free.

The website is just a taster of what the Lazy Way is all about, be it the books, INSETs, workshops or key note conference talks.

If you want to chat more or make a booking then just click here to Contact Jim. It’s that simple ... even for the laziest of people!

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Bundle

Special Offer - Buy both The Lazy Teacher's Handbook - New Edition and Whole School Progress the LAZY Way for just £25

Please email Crown House Publishing at learn@crownhouse.co.uk
to place your order.