Jim Wood was brought up in the East End of London. At the age of seven he decided to become a teacher and, from that point, never wavered from that goal. He taught English and English literature in comprehensive schools in Reading, Basingstoke and then Gosport where he became Head of Main School before embarking on a phased retirement. He has delivered classroom management training in secondary schools and at Southampton University for over twenty years where his practical, supportive, non-judgemental style has benefitted teachers at every stage of their career.
From trainee teachers to veteran, battle-hardened staff, the recurring nightmare is of a class of teenagers who simply will not do as they are told. The stomach-clenching, hand-trembling, knee-jittering question we ask ourselves at the start of each new year is, ‘What if the pupils walk all over m...
