Get the best experience in our app Enjoy offline reading, category favourites, and instant updates - right from your pocket. Download the App Maybe later Home Archived Filling in the blanks Back Filling in the blanks 25th October 2013, 1:00am Colin Richards Share Filling in the blanks https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/filling-blanks-0 Copy Link I read with incomprehension education secretary for England Michael Gove’s latest tome Everything I Know About Teaching (“Book of Goveish wisdom set Amazon a flutter. One problem: the pages are blank”, TES Connect, 18 October, bit.lyGoveBook). I found it crystal clear, easy to read, free from spelling and grammatical errors and phonically impeccable. It can, and should, be read by everyone in education, from the youngest child to the oldest university vice-chancellor. Philosophically it’s a tabula rasa; psychologically it’s pure gestalt; literally, it’s a master oeuvre of understatement, with the author skilfully hiding the fact that he has far more than 98 pages of ignorance to impart about teaching. No wastepaper basket should be without a copy.Colin Richards, Spark Bridge, Cumbria. Want to keep reading for free? Register with Tes and you can read five free articles every month, plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters. Register Log in Register with Tes and you can read five free articles every month, plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters. More information Keep reading for just £4.90 per month /per month for 12 months You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £4.90 per month for three months and get: Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content Exclusive subscriber-only stories Award-winning email newsletters Subscribe now You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £4.90 per month for three months and get: Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content Exclusive subscriber-only stories Award-winning email newsletters More information Read more How schools can have their say on the new Ofsted inspections Frank Norris • 29th April 2026 Do we know what schools really think of Ofsted’s proposed reforms? Frank Norris • 16th September 2025 Ofsted’s inspection changes should be thrown out Frank Norris • 23rd April 2025 ‘Ofsted: teaching is an art, not a social science’ Colin Richards • 2nd July 2019 Recent Most read Most shared How to help students with SEND transition to secondary school Teaching & Learning 9 May 2026 All Sendcos ‘need clinical supervision to stop burnout’ News 8 May 2026 DfE to call on leaders to become RISE ‘partners’ News 8 May 2026 ‘Ridiculous’ timeline for schools to introduce enrichment benchmarks News 5 May 2026 The complex story behind rising suspensions in primary schools News 1 May 2026 Using AI in schools: a beginner’s guide for teachers Teaching & Learning 1 May 2026 Most school leaders say budget cuts are hitting pupil outcomes News 7 May 2026 Ofsted confirms no major framework changes despite criticism News 7 May 2026 Nearly a quarter of new teachers not entering profession, study reveals News 7 May 2026
