When John Arthur brings his students to the states annual chess competition, he can guess how theyll react. They dont ooh and aah over the fancy chess boards with glass pieces. And theyre not focused on how big or cool the convention space is.

Instead, they look around at the other students and one of them will say something like: Were the only brown kids here. And theyre often right, Arthur said.

Its part of why Arthur, who is Korean, takes his class to the tournament each year. Most of his sixth graders at Meadowlark Elementary in downtown Salt Lake City are kids of color. And he wants them to learn that they belong and can claim those spaces as their own, he said, especially where they have not traditionally been represented.

Its a proud moment for me," Arthur said, when I see them take charge at the competition anyway.

Arthur is in his eighth year of teaching at Meadowlark. Many educators leave the west-side school after completing their first three provisional years on the job, he noted, and transfer to the east side. But Arthur said he loves the opportunity to teach students who look like him and to give them opportunities, like chess and debate, that they might not traditionally have.

And on Thursday largely because of that dedication his students got to watch as this time he won his own competition and was crowned Utahs Teacher of the Year.

Wow. Are you kidding me? Arthur asked as the state superintendent sneaked up behind him while he was teaching his class on Zoom. She carried a big check for $10,000 and a bouquet of balloons.

The kids' faces lit up on the screen, with several clapping. Congrats, they shouted. Good job, Captain, added one boy, calling the teacher by the nickname the kids have for him. Arthur choked back tears as he paced back and forth between the superintendent and the students on the screen, not sure if he should keep teaching the reading lesson hed started.

To accept the honor, though, he was asked to say a few words in a separate video call with members of the Utah Board of Education. So his students took a quick recess, and Arthur threw on the tuxedo jacket he wore at his wedding. He said his mom, Suka, bought it for him with the hopes that hed wear it again when I won an Oscar or did something like that, he said with a laugh. This is as close as Im going to get.

As one of five finalists, Arthur had packed the jacket with him to his classroom Thursday on the off chance he won which he didnt think would happen, so on bottom, he still wore a pair of gym shorts. Still surprised at the honor, he told the board members, Im COVID chic.

In seriousness, though, he said: Children are the best people, and teaching is the best job. Theres just no better way to spend the day.

His focus, he said, has been on helping students of color succeed because he believes theyre often left behind. Hes served for years as the Asian American representative on the state boards access committee, which advises on education equity policies. With his role as Teacher of the Year, he intends to advocate for more minorities in the states teaching force, as well as more culturally responsive practices in the classroom.

When kids come back post-COVID, I want them to see teachers who look more like them, he added. And weve just got to make sure that were constantly shining a light on kids who might otherwise be forgotten.

Growing up, he said, he was a shy Korean boy who didnt often speak up in class. It wasnt until middle school that Arthur had a teacher who focused on him and tried to get him involved in academics. At that point, his ninth grade teacher, Mrs. Anderson, pushed him to join the Model United Nations club. It changed his trajectory, Arthur said. And thats what he hopes to do for his students with chess which he teaches on the first day of class each year.

I feel this award is so well deserved, Utah Board of Education member Janet Cannon commented on the videoconference.

With the title, Arthur also gets a trip to Washington, D.C., to meet President Donald Trump and the chance to compete for the title of national Teacher of the Year. He succeeds last years Utah Teacher of the Year, Lauren Merkley, and will stand next to Rae Boren from Copper Hills High and Emma Moss from Eastmont Middle School, who were named runners-up.

Thanks for all you do, all of you, added member Cindy Davis.

We sacrifice our bodies and minds and souls, Arthur added. We give everything in service to our kids and to the education of our students.

He teaches in Salt Lake City School District, the only one in the state to have started classes entirely online this fall. He jokes that hes a lot more like Tom Cruise in Minority Report now, with all the technology hes hooked up to while hes instructing. But hes glad the district prioritized safety, and he tries to incorporate a lot of the same things he would if his class was in person.

For one, he carries a camera around the classroom so students get a sense of what it looks like. The biggest thing he wants them to see are the posters hes hung up. There are pictures of towering mountain peaks, some covered in snow, others with a line of climbers making the way to the top.

Its because Arthurs mantra for the class is: We climb, we rise, we help.

His goal for his students is to teach them to work hard to get to the mountaintop, both in class and life. But they all have to assist one another and reach it together. No lesson is done until everyone in the room understands. If one student finishes the math assignment early, the expectation is that she finds another kid who would like her help. If a student is struggling, Arthur reminds him that he only gets to the peak step by step.

He is not a normal teacher, Felicia Raybourne, the mother of one of Arthurs former students, wrote in his nomination for Teacher of the Year. He is there to help kids through life. He makes sure his students understand everything they are learning no matter how much extra time it takes.

When the class completes a lesson together, Arthur declares: Champs, we made it to the top of the mountain. His student call him The Captain because of that. And he calls them his crew.

He lets them pick out their own nicknames, too. Part of that is to have fun. Part of it is to let them embrace who they want to be, he said. One girl goes by Gucci Banana. Theres also a kid that likes to be called Bacon, one named Beef and another called Shadow.

When you have a Big Boi 27 in your class, its hard not to smile, Arthur said. But it gives you a little bit of confidence. When I step in the building, for instance, Im The Captain. Its like an alter ego or a superhero. I want to empower these kids to feel the same.

He also shows them clips about hard work from Cool Hand Luke and runs a YouTube channel where his class annually makes a music video. And its also got clips of them discovering bugs, smashing eggs in a science project and dancing in the classroom.

He loves the district, he said, and wants to see it improve. And he wants all students to get the education they deserve.

Winning Teacher of the Year, he said with a laugh, is kind of like the next move in the chess game to accomplishing those goals.

Read more here:

Why Utah's new Teacher of the Year wants his students of color to play chess - Salt Lake Tribune

There are two likely reasons for the lack of female representation in the game, she reckons. One, unless you are among the top few players, its very difficult to earn money playing chess professionally. This is felt more acutely by women. Two, unlike men, many women still lack the qualities needed to reach the top in the game: an ego, a fighting spirit, the desire to crush the opponent. It might not be what you like to hear but I am being honest," she says. It could change, however. Edited excerpts:

Why is the representation of women so low in chess?

First of all, there are some natural things for men and women. Like, little girls like to naturally play with dolls and little boys with cars. Little girls might also play with cars but the majority of them (dont). Thats a big percentage drop. When you have less people participating, at the top you will find fewer of them.

Another factor is physical endurance. Chess games can go on for many hours. It might seem like physical strength doesnt play a role sitting at the chess board but it does. At the beginning, opponents are pretty equal. At the end, the tiredness accumulates and (it comes down to) the amount of energy you naturally haveof which, of course, men have more.

Yet another factor is, (growing up), girls need to be treated more gently. Sometimes they are told in chess class, You play like a girl." It might play a role in whether younger girls continue or not.

You said girls play with dolls and boys play with cars. I dont know how that analogy applies here, though. Chess seems to be a fairly unisex game.

In chess, there are factors such as fighting spirit. You want to crush the other person, show you are better. (These) instincts, I believe, are stronger in men. Women are more prone to nurturing, giving more love and attention. Many people want to say men and women are the same, we are equal. Of course we are equal but we also have differences that should be respected.... Some people might not like that its more natural for men to pick chess as an interest or women to maybe pick music or arranging flowers. Its not about women not being smart enough, but we should embrace our differences.

Some of the things you have observed fit into the idea of conventional gender roles. Like men having more fighting spirit", women being more nurturing". Some might even call it a bit sexist.

I dont think intellectual ability is worse. All I am saying is, there are some natural activities. Even at home. Do you see many times women watching football matches on TV? Why to make it artificially that we have to... that you do this we also have right to do that. This doesnt make much sense to me personally. But I know maybe people push for different views.

One of the counterpoints to this argument would be Judit Polgr and her father. They say its about the hard work. If you train your children well as they are growing, they can excel at the highest levels.

Yes, but her parents decided for her. If people decide for themselves, then obviously women naturally might pick other activities. Otherwise many more would be playing chess. Judit was exceptional. Its hard to base on her unique experience and say other women are this way too.

What her parents proved is women can be just as good, if they have interest, if they have the right environment.

Do you find any sexism in professional chess?

I dont think theres a lot of sexism. On the contrary, I think men want more and more women to participate (in chess). In FIDE, we have big support. But its not as easy to achieve. Within our commission, I found out that because there arent so many women in chess, even activities (tournaments) women get, they are usually decided by men. Our commissions goal is to change that.

What are the challenges women chess players face and how do these differ in different parts of the world?

It depends on where you come (from). In countries like Georgia and Russia, its in their culture. Its easy to get money. In others, they are struggling... The problem with chess is also (that) the professional chess players dont always have an easy time and earn money. Its a factor for womenfor women professionals, it is not an easy life. If you want to have children, if you travel around the world the whole time, to start a family is a challenge. It might play a role in women dropping out.

Theres some research that women at age 10-12 are equally interested (in chess as men). After a point, they start dropping out. We have a long way to go for real equity between men and women. Even countries where they are equal, in practice it doesnt work this way.

Do you think there can be a woman as an overall champion?

I think there can. There are some examples, like Judit Polgr, who showed women can be at the top.

What would it take?

If more women play chess in the future, theres a better chance that women can. But maybe turn of events, good luck, some extremely talented women will appear and win.

From what you told me, statistically and psychologically it seems unlikely.

Yes. Also, its proven by history. But that it hasnt happened yet doesnt mean that it wont happen now.

Also read: 'Why women lose at chess'.

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Its more natural for men to pick chess as an interest or women to pick arranging flowers - Mint

BRIMFIELD Benjamin Bedell was a fun-loving guy who always made his classmates laugh, a former teacher said.

"He had a real dry sense of humor. He was fun to call on for answers to things. He would say something silly, and then he would come up with the answer," said Scott Carlson, the social studies teacher and basketball coach at Brimfield High School. "He was just a kid that all the other classmates enjoyed having in class because they knew he would crack up the class once or twice during the time he was there. I think he enjoyed being at school because he had his friends around him and he knew he could get a laugh or two."

Bedell, 18, a 2020 graduate of Brimfield High School, was pronounced dead about 4 p.m. Tuesday at the scene of the wreck at Illinois Route 89 and County Road 2100 North, a few miles south of Washburn.

The accident happened about 3 p.m. Tuesday when Bedell was driving east on the county road and pulled into the Route 89 intersection. He was struck by a northbound semitrailer truck hauling grain. The truck driver, Glenn Edwards, 70, of Henderson, Tenn., was taken by LifeFlight to OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

In addition to having a great sense of humor, Bedell was also a fine chess player, said Robert Bernales, the Brimfield High School math teacher and chess coach.

"He was an awesome chess player, probably the heart and soul of the team," said Bernales. "He was well-respected."

Bedell joined the chess team as a novice player, but he soon became an expert.

"He was a quick learner. He picked up the game and strategies very fast," said Bernales. "He actually beat me in a few games he pulled some surprises on me in a few games."

Bernales recalled a match against Metamora that appeared all but lost.

"He was losing pretty badly, and his opponent wasnt being very careful, and Ben found the one winning move it was perfect," said Bernales. "I remember the player from Metamora got mad and stormed out, but they became friends later. It was a pretty awesome game."

Wednesday was a rough day for teachers and students at Brimfield High School. With a student body of only about 240, everyone pretty much knows everybody. Bernales was among the many who took a day off to deal with their grief.

"We had quite a few not here, actually, and it was pretty somber," said Carlson. "It wasnt that long ago that we lost another student, Aaron Miller. A lot of their friends are the same people. Brimfield has been hit really hard for everybody to take. Especially their families and friends are definitely hurting."

Miller, 16, had just finished the first day of his junior year at Brimfield High School on Aug. 19 when he died in a single-vehicle wreck on U.S. Route 150 in Peoria County.

"Everybody around here is shocked and very sad," said Carlson. "Its going to take awhile to get past it, Im sure. We are praying for their families and friends."

Leslie Renken can be reached at 270-8503 or lrenken@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter.com/LeslieRenken, and subscribe to her on Facebook.com/leslie.renken.

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Gone too soon: Brimfield teen remembered as jokester and expert chess player - Pekin Daily Times

TWO brothers who are pupils at St Anthonys National School at Ballinlough are mini-grandmasters of local chess.

Before lockdown, in February, Cillian, aged 11, and nine-year-old Eddie Ross won in their respective age groups at the Cork South Junior Chess Championships held at Blackrock GAA Club.

Cillian beat 62 competitors while Eddie succeeded against 24 players.

What were the chances of that? asks chess coach, Richard Pardi, a retired primary school teacher from Togher Boys NS, who has been teaching chess there for a number of years.

Were certainly looking at a lot of talent from these brothers.

The boys only started playing chess with Richard in September, 2019. They had started playing the game with their father, Steve, a New Zealander.

The family, which includes three other children and their mother, Aoife, lived in New Zealand for a number of years before returning to Cork in 2018.

The brothers are remarkably quick, says Mr Pardi. During lockdown, we held an online chess tournament which lasted for eight days. Either Eddie or Cillian won it each day apart from one day.

The advantage of chess at present is that you can play it at home and online.

Richard, who has been coaching young chess players in Cork for more than 30 years, says he doesnt really know what skills are required to be good at it.

I would think its very visually-related. It might even be linked to the visual side of mathematics as in geometry. Ive taught kids chess who were inattentive when it came to the blackboard or the whiteboard. But when I put up the chess demonstration board, they responded to it immediately.

I think chess is very good for concentration. The chess coaching sessions that I do after school are a kind of social thing too. The pupils have had a long day and dont want to be listening to a teacher. I have to limit the amount of time I spend at the demonstration board. I mainly let them play.

When theyre playing, they chat and concentrate as well.

Theres a long established ethos of having respect for ones opponent in chess. Civility is important though ultimately, the decisive moves in chess are as tough and demanding as putting for a major championship in golf or kicking those decisive test penalties in rugby.

The European Parliament has recommended playing chess in schools.

Spain and Italy introduced chess to the school curriculum. Its great for social skills.

Richard points out that we are constantly hearing about kids having short attention spans.

But when theyre playing chess, they dont notice 40 minutes going by. It may help them to concentrate on school subjects. It doesnt hurt anyway!

The chess scene in Cork is lively, or it was pre-Covid, he adds.

A new committee of young teachers has come on board and has established an organisation called Ficheall (the Irish word for chess.) Around 40 or 50 schools competed last year in competitions.

The city is divided into sections for chess. Cork South is the area Im involved in, stretching from Beaumont to the west and including Greenmount, St Josephs, St Anthonys and Crab Lane.

The ethos of Ficheall is participation as much as competition, adds Richard.

Kids usually start chess in second or third class when theyre seven or eight. If youre going to start kids younger, theyd need to play more than one day a week.

Richard says that there wouldnt be any inter schools chess in Cork, at either primary or secondary school level, if it wasnt for the dedication of chess coach, Joe Moroney.

Anybody can play chess, adds Richard.

Even the kids who would be going to learning support all know how to play a game of chess after a few months. It depends on the level. It is seen as a nerds pursuit or an intellectual pursuit, or at least thats how it is seen in this part of the world.

In Eastern Europe and Russia, even down to Serbia, nearly all kids can play chess. At the higher level of the game are the international masters.

Theres a serious amount of study involved in being a full-time professional chess player. Players are past their best by their late twenties or early thirties. The best players in the world have got younger and younger.

Richard compares chess to outdoor games.

Anybody who has the use of their limbs can play soccer at some level. It might be very poor. But then youve got the Real Madrids or the Barcelonas and its at a completely different level. Its the same with chess.

The board game is very good for kids who are not athletic, says Richard.

On the other hand, when I was teaching in Togher where there was a culture of chess, I had so many kids who were in football, hurling and soccer teams. Ive lost count of the amount of good senior hurlers and footballers who play chess.

Meanwhile, Cillian Ross says he likes chess because its a fun game. Sometimes, you get to play with your friends. I sometimes play with Eddie. During lockdown, we played at home a lot.

Chess requires players to be good at strategy, adds Cillian. He says it also helps to be clever.

Would he like to be a professional chess player?

I dont know what Im going to work at. I dont want to spend my life playing chess. I want to do other things.

Eddie, like Cillian, is very active. The brothers play cricket, soccer, tennis and basketball. Eddie would settle for being a professional chess player but only if I cant be a professional cricket player or soccer player.

Theres ambition!

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Meet these mini-grandmasters of chess - two brothers from Cork - EchoLive.ie

Wesley So (left) and world champion Magnus Carlsen (right) (Photo by Lennart Ootes)

Start position:

The St Louis Chess Club in the US held its annual Chess 9LX 2020 Tournament as an online competition owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In terms of grandmaster quality, the 9LX tournament was one of the foremost for 2020. Current world champion Magnus Carlsen was a participant, as was a previous world champion, the inimitable Garry Kasparov. The challenger for the last world championship title match Fabiano Caruana was there. So were six leading grandmasters: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So (last years Random chess champion), Levon Aronian, Leinier Dominguez, and Peter Svidler.

Alireza Firouzja, the worlds best junior, completed the ten participants of the round robin competition. It was played on the popular site Lichess and was contested according to the rules of Chess 960 at rapid time controls (20+10).

In Chess 960 or Random Chess, the pieces on the chess board are placed differently to the usual set-up. This new organization gives the game a different flavour. Take a look at the position of the pieces in the diagram, which is referred to as Start Position 476. It means that any chess game adopting the position of the pieces on the chess board would be known as Chess 960/476.

Before the start of each game in a Chess 960 tournament, the pieces are rearranged and carry different numbers. Random Chess or Chess 960 is the creation of world champion Bobby Fischer, as far as I am aware. He invented this method to take grandmasters out of book or out of theory and compel them to be more creative. During his lifetime, Fischers random chess never caught on. It is therefore encouraging that the St Louis Chess Clubis promoting the American chess geniuss idea. Fischers principal argument was it would lessen grandmasters dependence on known theory and make draws more infrequent.

Carlsen and So tied for first in the Chess 9LX Tournament. They shared the first prize. American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura was third.

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Carlsen and So tie in Chess 9LX tournament - Stabroek News

10/4/2020 Two days ago, October 2, it was Jon Speelmans 64th birthday. Given that 64 is a canonical number for chess players, our columnist used this chance to remind us that every single square of the chessboard may be important. In order to illustrate his point, he goes on to show a game in which, as Black, he placed his knights on both h1 and a8 during a single game. Happy birthday, Jon! And many thanks for your ever-ingenious columns! | Pictured: Speelman usin PressTel Chessbox to play long distance chess | Source: British Chess News

ChessBase 15 - Mega package

Find the right combination! ChessBase 15 program + new Mega Database 2020 with 8 million games and more than 80,000 master analyses. Plus ChessBase Magazine (DVD + magazine) and CB Premium membership for 1 year!

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Im writing this on Friday, October 2nd which, a fond hope, is International Day of Non-Violence after Gandhis birth on October 2nd 1869, and coincidentally (there are lots of worse people to share a birthday with) my own. Mercifully it isnt a round one, at least for a pentadactyl, though if our lords and silicon masters eventually attain real consciousness, they will presumably consider 0x40to be fairly round and their more simple-minded colleagues will deem 1000000 to be very much so...

Im not enormously delighted to be 64, but at least it is a canonical number for a chess player and does provide a fairly plausible segue to the idea that every single square of the chess board may be important (or to misquote Monty Python: Every square is sacred).

Theres a game I sometimes show people in which as Black I put knights on both h1 and later a8,and it appears at the end. (I think it may have appeared here before but not for a good while?). This set me thinking about how unusual it is for knights to appear on multiple corners of the board in the same game, and I did a fairly simple-minded search for white knights on a1 and h1, starting by making a database of games in Megabase in which a white knight at some stage appeared on a1 there were a little over 17,000 of these and thensearching that database for ones in which a knight also appeared on h1.

ChessBase 15 - Mega package

Find the right combination! ChessBase 15 program + new Mega Database 2020 with 8 million games and more than 80,000 master analyses. Plus ChessBase Magazine (DVD + magazine) and CB Premium membership for 1 year!

These are pretty rareand, of the nearly 6.5 million games in my Megabase,I found 39.They included three in which people (kids?) had agreed a draw and then moved their horses around the board for a longer or shorter time: one of these masterpiecesended in the initial position (admittedly after rooks had also moved, so in no-castling chess) after Blacks 54th move. There were also a few instances of Chess960, but still over 30 real games.

After a quick look at these, I reached a tentative conclusion that knights on the rim really are dim or at least that the people who had created this very aesthetic picture were making a minus score. To my surprise I also found that of these 30 or so games, eight (!) featured white knights on a1 and h1 at the same time.

Given a chance to create such an aesthetic picture, Id certainly do so myself if the second knight move to the corner was decent, but I dont think that aesthetics played any part in most of these, and you can judge for yourselves.

I realize that foolish horses in the corner may not be to everybodys taste so please dokeep on sending in your Agonizing and Ecstatic games and /or ideas for future columns, more rooted in the nitty-gritty of battle.Readers whose games or ideas are used will win a 3-month premium membership.

Select an entry from the list to switch between games

Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.1 and 2

These DVDs are about Understanding Middlegame Strategies. In the first DVD dynamic decisions involving pawns are discussed. The second DVD deals with decision making process concerning practical play.

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Sacred squares and foolish horses - Chessbase News

10/6/2020 Despite the ongoing corona pandemic, the organisers of the Fagernes Open in Norway decided to go ahead with their tournament, which is played live and under strict hygiene regulations. Evgeny Postny, Simen Agdestein and Frode Urkedal are the top seeds in the A-Open, which also functions as Norwegian National Championship. | Photos: Tom Eriksen, Malgorzata Kopaczek-Styczen (Tournament page)

ChessBase 15 - Mega package

Find the right combination! ChessBase 15 program + new Mega Database 2020 with 8 million games and more than 80,000 master analyses. Plus ChessBase Magazine (DVD + magazine) and CB Premium membership for 1 year!

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Due to the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic the organisers of the Fagernes Open, (4 to 11 October) had to cut back, and the field is not as strong as it would have been without the virus. A number of Grandmasters, who would have liked to come, had to cancel their trip due to travel restrictions. Nevertheless, a respectable field of more than 100 players, who start in two groups, came to Norway to play over-the-board chess again. In the A-Open, 13 Grandmasters from eight federations are taking part. The tournament also functions as Norwegian National Championship, which allows Norwegian players to get norms even if they do not play against the usually required number of foreign opponents.

The A-Open is a 9 round Swiss, the venue is the Scandic Valdres Hotel in Fagernes.

The tournament is, of course, held in close consultation with the local health authorities and under special hygiene regulations. Among other things, sufficient distance between the players had to be ensured.

Number one seed is Evgeny Postny while GM Simen Agdestein and GM Frode Urkedal are the nominally strongest Norwegian players. Urkedal and Agdestein both started with two wins, whereas Postny already had to concede a draw.

Amateur vs Master

In the first round of open tournaments strong players are often paired against weaker amateurs, and this often leads to instructive games.

Black first tried his luck on the kingside but now is looking for chances on the queenside.16...Na6 17.Nxd4 Nb4 18.Qe3 Bxe4 19.Nxe4 cxd4 20.Qxd4 Nc2 21.Qxd7+ Kf8 After 22.Rb1 Qxe5 Black could still hope, but...

22.Bg5!and Black resigned. After 22...Bxg5 23.Nxg5 Qe8 24.Rac1 Nb4 25.Qd2 a5 26.Qf4 White is two pawns up and has the much better position.

10

48 players start in the A-Open

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More than 100 players start at the Fagernes Open - Chessbase News

A new digital programme to deliver high quality professional and personal development to thousands of teachers and school leaders across the UK was launched today by Discovery Education and school leaders union NAHT

Designed to support the whole teacher, Pathway is a holistic programme focused on improving teachers professional and personal wellbeing. By blending professional development with personal development, and combining Discovery Education and NAHTs expertise and reach, Pathway offers a unique approach to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) that empowers teachers and school leaders to flourish during these challenging times.

Featuring powerful insights and perspectives from the UKs leading education experts, Pathway supports teachers at every stage of their career through a wide range of easy-to-access courses, webinars, resources and tools.With Pathways unique materials, teachers can identify what motivates them, analyse their professional skills, gain meaningful professional advice and manage their own wellbeing. Together, these resources can support the creation of a culture of professional learning and personal and career development in any school.

Delivered digitally and available to teachers at any time and pace, Pathway provides educators access to the training, advice and support they need to meet the challenges of the modern classroom. Pathway also includes a unique wellbeing programme written and presented by Professor Tim OBrien and Dr Dennis Guiney and a new advice hub powered by NAHT experts, which helps schools keep abreast of the latest education policies and guidelines.

Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: The Pathway message is simple: In order to properly invest in the development of their teams, school leaders must first invest in themselves. As we say, if effective education considers the whole child, then effective CPD should be about the whole teacher.

Howard Lewis, UK MD, Discovery Education said: We believe that teachers wellbeing, motivation and creative ambitions deserve as much consideration as their professional skills. If teaching requires body and mind, heart and soul, then good CPD should support the whole teacher. Were delighted to partner with NAHT to deliver a programme which achieves this. Pathway will help teachers and leaders to stay motivated, develop their skills and retain agency even during these exceptionally challenging times.

The Pathway programme is structured around three core elements, which together form a virtuous cycle of continuous empowerment throughout an educators professional journey. Orientation is where educators can explore what motivates them, audit their skills and competences and plot future goals and aspirations. In navigation, participants can learn from fellow educators, school leaders and education experts through a suite of continuous professional empowerment courses and modules comprising films, thought-pieces and reflections and online discussion forums. Finally, in reflection teachers are encouraged to self-focus with an exclusive wellbeing programme, an advice hub and a professional learning portfolio to keep a record of personal and professional achievements.

Pathways contributors include some of the UKs leading education experts and include lead author and series editor Andrew Hammond, Hywel Roberts, Debra Kidd, Professor Tim OBrien, Pranav Patel and Professor Max Coates.

Teachers, leaders and schools can find out more by visiting: http://www.discoveryeducation.co.uk/pathway

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Discovery Education and NAHT launch 'Pathway' | Edexec - Ed Exec

LINDON, Utah, Oct. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --Digital marketing agency Disruptive Advertising was named on Inc. Magazine's annual Inc. 5000 list which features the fastest-growing, privately held companies across the US. The company has made the list for the fourth consecutive year, following growth of 33% in revenue and 27% in employees in 2019.

The company saw formidable growth and activity thanks to an array of initiatives and accomplishments by the Disruptive Advertising team. To deliver the highest quality to clients, Disruptive Advertising reorganized the client services and product team, launched their 30-day Client Strategies and increased their Client Criteria standards.

The talented team published 242 industry blog posts, participated in 59 service activities and 19 podcasts. Launches throughout the year included Enterprise Teams, internal finance course for employees and their Lifecycle Marketing product which brings email, SMS and chatbots to their clients. More than 80 graduates took part in Disruptive Advertising's Personal Development and Leadership course.

Illustrating the success of the organization, the sales team hit two record-setting net new sales months and they hit their $20 million run rate. The many launches and activities that led to these impressive metrics contributed towards Disruptive Advertising's ranking in the Inc. 5000.

"What we accomplished in 2019 really prepared us for COVID and 2020," said Chief Marketing Officer, Saunder Schroeder. "We doubled down on who we are and improved on the foundational items of our client experience to provide a win-win-win for our clients, employees and Disruptive Advertising as a whole."

"Ranking in the Inc. 5000 is an immense privilege and I credit the hard work of our team with getting us there for the fourth year in a row," said CEO, Jacob Baadsgaard. "Continuing to focus on creating the best client service experience has been the key to our growth and we remain dedicated to providing the highest quality of service."

About Disruptive Advertising:

Disruptive Advertising, a Digital Marketing Agency, is committed to partnering with their clients to help them achieve their digital marketing and business goals through Paid Advertising, Website Optimization, Lifecycle Marketing and Analytics. Disruptive Advertising employs ~150 full-time employees, partners with 500+ world-class businesses, manages $200M+ in ad spend, sends millions of emails and texts, optimizes websites for millions of website visitors and analyzes millions of data points annually.

About Inc. Media:

The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.

SOURCE Disruptive Advertising

Read more here:
Disruptive Advertising Agency Achieves Position in Inc. 5000 for 4th Consecutive Year Following 33% Revenue Growth - Benzinga

It is a truism that people are the heart of any business and vital for its success. Given this it is essential to have a learning and development plan for your teams and to review your processes on a regular basis. This will ensure that you have, and continue to have a motivated and well-trained workforce, focussed on achieving your organisations strategic goals.

Empowering your people to achieve their full potential and engaging them in the plan can have a hugely positive impact on both the business and your staff. It can also help you attract, recruit, and develop the skilled workers you need by enabling you to:

A Learning and Development plan should be designed to inspire,develop,and ultimately help your peoplegrow in competence and confidence. Businesses and teams with the best players thrive and outperform the competition.

There are six steps to developing a coherent, practical and effective Learning and Development plan:

Step 1: Create clear career pathways

To create clear career pathways, you will first need to identify the role profiles that exist within your business. You will need to determine the purpose of the role, the hierarchy of authority, reporting lines and career progression routes.

For example, the purpose of a sales team is to generate sales, grow the business and retain existing customer relationships and within the sales teams there will be different job roles:

Career pathways should also show how to achieve progression and promotion. For example, how do you move from Sales Representative to Sales Manager? The written pathway should include what skills are needed and how you obtain them through upskilling and undertaking additional roles and responsibilities under supervision and mentorship.

Step 2: Define Roles and Responsibilities

Defining clear roles and responsibilities provides your business with the vital advantages necessary for continual growth. If people are clear about what they need to do, it makes it easier for them to do it, this enables increased internal control, improved process management and enhances operational performance.

To develop an effective Learning and Development plan, you should evaluate your existing roles and responsibilities defined in your job descriptions to ensure that they are reflective of what you need people to do. If not, the knowledge and behaviours criteria you set will not deliver the skills required to fulfil the role. The most efficient and effective way of achieving this is to set up a small working group with key operational people at different levels and across a variety of job roles.

Step 3: Define the Knowledge & Behavioursrequired

It is important that the new job descriptionsclearly definethe knowledge requirement to successfully undertake the role. When defining the knowledge levels required for each role, remember that knowledge can be gained through experience or education. Not everyone is required to be experts in everything, but base line awareness is often desirable.

Whilst knowledge is vital, you must also identify the attitude and behaviours that will fit within your organisational culture and are aligned to your Vision, Mission and Values. Because how you do something is more likely to deliver good customer service that just what you do.

Asking your staff to be part of this process will ensure that all angles are covered. Together with a training gap analysis you will be able to highlight specific skill gaps within your business. From there, you can prioritise your employees training needs. When discussing this with your team, you should consider a variety of core skills including:

Values & Behaviours Values are just behaviours you want people to live by, giving them direction on how to achieve your mission. They should be specific and descriptive in the way you want people to act or treat people

Health, Safety& Environment Businesses have a moral and legal obligation to manage this well, and people need to be aware of how you are protecting them and their environment and what they should do to help

Quality The standard of the products or services you deliver has a direct link to your customer service and brand loyalty, people should know the effects of poor quality and be given the skills to deliver your standards

Performance & Time Management Efficiency and punctuality are critical to a successful business and people should know how to prioritise and make the most of their time

Commercial Focus Everyone in a business can affect your profitability, from general awareness of business costs and the use of company resources, to cost saving and revenue generation

Leadership & Management Line managers or supervisors have a massive influence on the team dynamics and performance. It is important to understanding how to motivate and manage you staff, this is often overlooked when people are promoted from time served

Strategic Thinking This is aimed at the senior management in your team, and focussed on performance reviews and planning for success. This type of thinking will help you achieve your Vision.

Step 4: Choose the right Training

Having identified the knowledge and behaviours required to fulfil each role, you can now look to select the appropriate training.

Training is the act of teaching people the required skills or behaviours, and can be delivered in a variety of ways including:

A good Learning and Development plan gives people the opportunity to complete different types of training, not simply to assist in the competency of their role, but to inspire them to achieve their career goals, to broaden their knowledge and to widen their skills base.

To select the right training, you will need use the job descriptions to identify the learning outcomes needed to fulfil the role. Finding a course that meets these needs, in the delivery method that best suits your business, can often be difficult and can require thinking outside the box.

Remember a recognised training course or a theoretical qualification may not deliver the competence levels you are looking for and often blended learning delivers the best results. Where you have a training need for a member of staff and you cannot find the course approach your training provider and ask them if they can work with your business to design, deliver and complete a bespoke training.

Step 5: Build on Skills & Experience

Just because people attend a training course does not mean that they are competent in those skills. Skills are defined as the ability to do something well, and this is developed over time.

You should encourage your teams to put their knowledge into practice in order to develop their skills, whilst being observed, supported and mentored by their line manager.

Within the job profiles, you should determine the skills and experience levels required for each role.

Step 6: Monitoring the Learning & Development Journey

Whilst it is important to track statistical performance against the learning and development plan, knowing that 95% of your people have completed a required course, is not the only measure you should be focussed on.

Everyones learning and development journey will be different, and it is important that you remain flexible and inclusive in your plans. You need to have a system for understanding their journey and monitoring their development. APersonal Development Review(PDR)can provide a framework for employees to have open and regular conversations with theirline managerabout their performance, including reviewing their competency, personal development and career goal:

A PDR should include:

Competency Review

The employees level of competency will be determined within set criteria in line with their roles and responsibilities and the companys competency framework.

Development Review

During your development review the employee and line manager will discuss the employees development needs for the year ahead and how the line manager is able to support the employees development. For example, what training courses will the employee require to better their knowledge and experience within their role.

Career Goals

The employee and line manager will discuss the employees career goals and future aspirations. The line manager will encourage the employee to outline their short term and long-term goals and establish actions required to achieve them.

By creating, maintaining and monitoring a structured Learning and Development plan HR can identify the training needed to drive your organisation forward. By following and monitoring the plan and its outcomes you can ensure your staff are getting what they need, and you have the best possible team to facilitate ongoing growth.

Read more:
Key steps to creating an effective Learning and Development plan | theHRD - The HR Director Magazine