Primary Geography article

Physical copies of the GA's journals arrived this week - not 'Geography' yet.

If you are a subscriber to ‘Primary Geography’ you will have been able to read my article on inclusion / exclusion in rural / urban spaces. 

Check it out and download it if you are a subscriber.

The Economist Educational Foundation

The Economist has an Educational Foundation which shares ideas for how teachers can engage with selected articles from the magazines's output. It's also worth following the magaine on various social media accounts for all updates on content and useful articles.

Topical Talk resources are a new feature.

They are slightly more developed resources and include a powerpoint and some related materials.

I am working on my own Taylor Swift resource ahead of your European dates, but there are some interesting ideas in this one.

I shall also be making use of the debate resource shown here: Fast Fashion: should it be banned? when I return to school next week. 

Routes Journal

This is the 2nd issue of the 2nd volume of the ROUTES journal.

Routes is a peer-reviewed digital journal for sixth form and undergraduate geographers looking to read and publish geographical knowledge.

They publish work from all areas of geographical scholarship, including both human and physical geography.

Routes is a free, open-access journal with no pay-walls or subscriptions.

It is free to submit and review work for Routes and there are no deadlines for submission.

Well worth seeking out, particularly as I am pleased to have an article in the journal of my own research into the people who have previously held the position of GA President.

The editorial for the issue is here.

Well done to the other contributors to this issue as well:

Examining the impact of the East Coast Low Storm, June 2016 on Narrabeen-Collaroy Beach, Sydney, Australia

Anna Pennington (Teacher of Geography at Pangbourne College)

Landscape assessment: A useful tool for A Level enquiry

By Edward Jones (Geography Teacher at Buxton Community School)

Walking in Paris: locating hidden sights in the city

By Emily Chandler (Geography Teacher at St George’s The British International School – Düsseldorf Rhein-Ruhr)

I particularly like this article as it connects with some of the influences of my GA Presidential theme of 'Everyday Geographies'.

Exploring the interactions between children’s sense of self and their sense of place through sport

By Zoë Sayliss (Geography Teacher at Berkhamsted School)

The importance and relevance of geographies of wellness to A Level independent research

By Charlotte Fulham (Geography Teacher at Bedford Free School)

Why not suggest to your students that they write and submit an article for a future issue - all the information on how to do that is on the Routes website.

Thanks to editors Cyrus Nayeri and Lizzie Rushton, and the peer reviewers and to all those who have supported the journal in various ways, including submitting articles.

Cite my article as shown below:

Parkinson, A. (2022) Researching the changing professional profile of the Geographical Association’s Presidents 1893-2021. Routes 2(2): 67-79

Independent Education Today

Back in 2012 when I was a freelance geographer, working on as many projects as possible to keep money flowing in, I wasn't sure what might happen next. As it happens I got an email from a teacher I'd met at an event I presented at, was familiar with my work with Mission:Explore and had just helped steer her department to the Secondary Geography Quality Mark. She invited me to work at the school and that took me back into the classroom part time, and eventually full time. The school was/is King's Ely and the teacher was Claire Kyndt.

Last week, I was featured in Independent Education Today, which is aimed at leaders of Independent schools, profiling me taking on the role of GA President. 

I have just finished a project writing a biography of all the GA Presidents who have come before me.

GA Presidents 1893 2021 from GeoBlogs

You will see there are quite a few groups who have not been represented yet within that body of over 100 Presidents. There is a deadline of the end of October for people to put themselves forward to be the GA President and details are in the GA Magazine and also on the website, and in the newsletter.

A lovely review of 'Why Study Geography?'

I'm grateful to Thomas Larsen for this really wonderful review of my book, which was published in the US in the 'Geography Journal'. If you are quick, this link will take you to a free PDF download of the whole review - although it can be read on this page too. I am really delighted that Thomas has really 'got' what I was aiming at when writing the book.

Check out Thomas' website as well for more of his work and reviews.

The book is still available to purchase of course. Imagine reading it on a beach this summer.

"Parkinson enters into a personal dialogue with the reader. Reading Why Study Geography? feels like receiving practical life advice from a veteran."

Go 'Geographical'...

The Geography department at King's is a subscriber to the 'Geographical' journal of the Royal Geographical Society, and also has access to the online versions.

All students at King's can now access these journals in several ways:

a) login online and download individual editions as printable PDFs or read them on screen

b) download the GEOGRAPHICAL app from the App store, and access the journals on iPhone or iPad

Contact a member of geography staff for the passwords and details and get reading...