33. Brad Philpot - Teacher, Author and Workshop Leader - Frankfurt

In this episode I am speaking with Brad Philpot. Brad is an English teacher in Frankfurt but is best known for his brilliant range of textbooks and instructional courses for teaching the IBDP. Brad is someone who has worked within IB education for a long time, holding numerous roles, affording him a massive amount of experience and knowhow when it comes to English instruction and curriculum design. We discuss:The best book he’s ever read, taught or learnt whilst at schoolHow Brad feels about the most recent changes to the DP course, and the IO or HLE in particularWhy he chose to set up the most recent textbook s thematicallyThe texts he teaches in the new courseWhen and how the likes of Areas of Exploration, Key Concepts and Global Issues play a part in his curriculumHow the Learner Portfolio been implemented in Brad’s classesAnd finally, the element of the English A course he enjoys most and one thing he’d change if he couldBrad offered up a variety of insights in this conversation that I’m already looking to implement into my own practice. This was really a refreshing blend of pragmatism and idealism around the many demands made of teachers by the IB. If you want to be kept up to date on when educational chat like this happens, then be sure to subscribe to the podcast and/or follow me on Twitter @chrisjordanhk Links: Brad’s IB education consultancy services - Philpot EducationBrad’s textbook rangeBarefoot Gen by Keiji NakazawaThe Best We Could Do by Thi BuiBelonging by Nora KrugThe White Tiger by Aravind AdigaThe Land of Green Plums by Herta Muller