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 school
• How Brad feels about the most recent changes to the DP course, and the IO or HLE in particular
• Why he chose to set up the most recent textbook s thematically
• The texts he teaches in the new course
• When and how the likes of Areas of Exploration, Key Concepts and Global Issues play a part in his curriculum
• How the Learner Portfolio been implemented in Brad’s classes
• And finally, the element of the English A course he enjoys most and one thing he’d change if he could

Brad 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 Education

Brad’s textbook range

Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

Belonging by Nora Krug

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

The Land of Green Plums by Herta Muller