122 Mike was one of the most remarkable and kindest human beings.What follows can only begin to do him justice. At the risk of repeating what others have said or written, I must begin with his teaching; his approach and practice encapsulate much of what made him special. Mike began his career at Brentwood when History teachers could sit back and get pupils to silently make notes from books and then silently learn them by heart (this was my experience as a pupil). Mike instead was adamant that students should engage with History and empathise with and understand why people in the past acted and reacted the way they did. Simulations, role plays, trials, debates, video clips, gymnastics (he would do headstands to demonstrate different ways of looking at the world) and much else were harnessed and orchestrated with his charismatic vitality and enthusiasm. Lower V, which had seen off their previous History teacher, as well as numerous other ‘difficult’ classes, were won over. Mike was not the distant, hierarchical teacher, which was still the norm then, but instead engendered an atmosphere of mutual respect. This is now considered best practice, but then was far from being so: it required much more work on the part of the teacher. This is one of many ways Mike was an important role model for me as I started out in the profession. Then twenty years into his career, he still spent considerable time crafting or honing interesting resources for every lesson, and carefully differentiating them. Despite being enormously erudite, his great sensitivity enabled him to empathise with and cater for pupils who might initially struggle. His kind and generous spirit meant he saw potential in every student and strove till his very last lesson - forty-seven years on - to help realise this. Although highly effective across the teaching spectrum, his ability to motivate and a tribute to MikeWillis
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