S-J Bee who teaches at Little Heath School wrote this post following their work on the Historical Association’s Henry VIII Teacher’s Fellowship Programme. It is an extraordinary reflection of the impact the course has had on their journey as a teacher.

Teacher Fellows are submitting their resources, so keep an eye out for them in the spring

I have been part of a successful history department for 16 years and remain passionate about history and the importance of subject specialist teaching. More recently, when staffing and timetable challenges have meant being deployed outside my subject area, I have found it difficult to maintain the same level of motivation and connection to my subject. At one point, I even began to consider leaving the profession. Then the opportunity for the Teacher Fellowship Programme presented itself! It is hard to express just how valuable I have found this experience. It has been rejuvenating, giving me a renewed sense of purpose and belief in myself.

Subject Knowledge Rejuvenation:

One of the most exciting aspects of the Fellowship has been the opportunity to engage in a new area of historical research myself. As there is nothing in existing historical literature about Henry VIII’s visits to Reading, I chose to develop an enquiry focused around researching this, giving both myself and my students a genuine opportunity to work as historians. Exploring the documents in our local archive and discovering new evidence was simply incredible. Moreover, due to the connections with academic historians through the Fellowship, I was able to share this with the Head of Research at Historic Royal Palaces. He was so impressed by what we’d found that he decided that he would take a trip to our local archive as well! This was hugely professionally validating after 16 years in the classroom and the impact of this on the students was invaluable. It has lit a fire in me again and the connections that have been fostered with the local archive is already developing into further outreach and enrichment ideas!

Pedagogical Rejuvenation:

The mentoring aspect of the Fellowship has been particularly special. It means that everything is being tailored to my specific goals. After 16 years of teaching and lots of time spent mentoring others, being mentored myself by someone with such a wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise has been so refreshing. Most importantly, my understanding of history as a discipline and the methodologies used by historians and other professionals has really increased. This has enabled me to develop an enquiry that not only connects students with academic historians but enables them to undertake the work of a range of heritage professionals themselves. In doing so I have learnt to think much more creatively around evidential thinking. My students have learnt to locate and use evidence to theorise about the past in a way much more in keeping with how historians actually work. Witnessing the positive impact this has had on student engagement and understanding of the discipline has been hugely motivating.  

Personal Rejuvenation:

Overall, the Fellowship has been a lifeline during a time of professional crisis. Although my hours in the history classroom are uncertain, I have been reminded that puzzling over pedagogy and developing my historical knowledge and understanding is still intrinsically joyful. I recognise that I still have agency when sharing and collaborating with other teachers and heritage professionals, and the Fellowship has increased my confidence to do this. Ideas for enrichment opportunities for my students now feel endless and have broadened hugely through the connections forged during the programme. Moving forwards, thanks to the Fellowship I will no longer feel quite so adrift should the recruitment crisis in schools force us to deprioritise subject specialism. I will relish my time in the history classroom. I will squeeze out every bit of impact I can! However, I know there are many wonderful avenues to explore to feed my passion and increase my expertise in teaching history, should this obstacle remain.

Remember to look out for these exciting resources which will become available through the Historical Association website in the Spring