summary of changesthoughts on readingsReflective practice is powerful but what is also powerful is the need to create a space where reflection can occur in a meaningful way. All too often schools say "We have to do this reflective practice" and all too often I have seen teachers looking tired, burnt out and sitting blankly in dreary classrooms, to even think creatively. Contrast this to other industries in which I have worked (University education, business and health) where staff are given 'away days' and attend hotels or marae which offer a change in environment, a morning tea and an opportunity to really reflect on practice and effect change in a positive way (even to engage with each other's personal interests). I whole-heartedly agreed with the idea that 'formal education becomes a laboratory for developing improved practice' (Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R., 1993) With regards to the idea that 'formal education becomes a laboratory for developing improved practice' - I have always struggled somewhat with the concept that teachers use students somewhat as 'guinea pigs' for testing. I consider that just as in the health model where there are ethical considerations and committees, perhaps we need a similar supervision process (Reinders, 2017) in education that focuses on the educational outcomes of Teacher Inquiries. Teachers should be able to select their own area of study but we should centrally collate and compare using a considered set of performance criteria. With my own study, I have identified that 'student agency' certainly offers a greater level of engagement and apparently therefore a greater level of performance. However, I was unsatisfied with the program as I had not introduced sufficient measures and controls to ensure those who were not engaged through the 'agency' were scooped up in a safety net. Consequently, Term 3's agency programme will need a series of milestones and checkpoints to ensure a catchall approach. The point of HAVING TO undertake reflection as part of this course has been helpful and once I established a rhythm and method of recording my reflections weekly on this blog, it became much easier. What is written in my blog is merely the recording of my musings which might have occurred as I was reading a required reading, watching a TV programme and mulling things over on a car journey. I am certain that all teachers reflect; I'm unsure whether they record this reflection. Furthermore, the practice of engaging with others in the online community offered a certain anonymity and freedom to the reflection which might be restricted by having to undertake that in the workplace. In some ways, it is easier to express your thoughts to strangers than to people who you work with. love the journeyAt this stage, although at times, finding the time to complete the Mindlab course has been intensely difficult, I am greatly inspired by my teaching at the moment. It has reinforced my love of teaching and offered ways of thinking about new avenues to develop creative and engaging paths for my students. I conclude with the idea posed by Carlgren, Handal and Vaage (1994) - "... the process of learning to teach continues throughout a teacher’s entire career." I enjoy my teaching journey and enjoy working with those who are similarly enthused by teaching as a profession. I conclude that I ned to find a way to regularly access educational articles by researchers so that I can continue to enhance my practice. In addition, I wonder if any of the online community wish to continue our 'virtual collaboration' as a 'safe and supportive' community of practitioners who have similar understandings about what is current in teaching. references Carlgren, I., Handal, G. & Vaage, S. (Eds.). (1994). Teachers' Minds And Actions: Research On Teachers' Thinking And Practice. London, UK: The Falmer Press.
Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R. (1993). Reflective Practice for Educators.California.Cornwin Press, Inc. Retrieved on 7th May, 2015 from http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/RefPract/Osterman_Kottkamp_extract.pdf Reinders, H (2017) The Mindlab November Intake - Week 32 Class Notes
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Making connections work for youI enjoyed this week's reading about how connecting can be effective ThomasMcDonaghGroup ( 2011), but did find that the teaching was somewhat limited in terms of the nature of the 'interdisciplinary' that was suggested. Largely thanks to the teaching of Mindlab, I have learned to become much more open and innovative in my teaching practice and have already, to some degree, extended my concept of 'connection'. By this I mean that I now better understand the importance of coding and the relevance of this as a real world and relevant skill set, so I offered to run our school's new Robotics Club. This has involved aspects of fund-raising and making connection with the local community that I had never anticipated being part of my job a few years back. In addition, it has naturally driven me to become more closely connected to the Science Department, to the parent helpers who run the club and to the people contributing the funds initially. consider Real world |
AlcoholFollowing this week's videos and readings, I am prompted to write my blog about alcohol and its place in education. Alcohol and ethical discussions about it have pervaded my teaching life for several weeks now; specifically in the following ways: 1) A politician visited my classroom and as I know his wife I considered a bottle of wine to be an appropriate gift. He however, declined the gift. I assume that he deemed it, inappropriate to his role in public office. 2) The school debating team that I manage |
were given debate topic "Alcohol should be permitted at senior school ball functions." A topic which at first seemed ridiculous but led me to consider teachers' involvement and the delicate balance required to manage the teenage to adult transition, especially where alcohol is concerned.
3) A difference of opinion amongst staff members caused a minor rift in an otherwise successful team. Should teachers be permitted a quiet drink to celebrate the end of a long day when offering a significant proportion of their own time to school production? Or is the role of teacher considered to be so sacred and the drinking of alcohol so denigrated that the two cannot easily sit together?
3) A difference of opinion amongst staff members caused a minor rift in an otherwise successful team. Should teachers be permitted a quiet drink to celebrate the end of a long day when offering a significant proportion of their own time to school production? Or is the role of teacher considered to be so sacred and the drinking of alcohol so denigrated that the two cannot easily sit together?
contentious |
I have to ask myself why such an integral part of our societal life has become such a contentious issue? and what is making a situation where people are fearful of the repercussions of a drink?
Clearly the example of Terry (Cinelearning, 2016) gives the viewer cause for concern and creates a situation that compromises her colleague's integrity. Should the girl hide who she is? In fact, although this initially goes against my idea of what is acceptable. I was horrified by her behaviour. On analysis, this was generated by my clear boundaries of what I post and what I don't. However, then I began to consider whether my self-imposed boundaries may be inappropriate for others. In fact, I began to think that the younger generation have been raised with social media and that Terry might have considered her actions to be entirely appropriate (within her friendship circle). Furthermore, one post can be shared and it raises questions of trust between friends versus loyalty to your employer. Ultimately, is it acceptable to hide any of our actions as teachers? If the eye of social media is as all seeing as the 'eye of Sauron' (Tolkein, 1954). We are almost living in a society that dictates such a level of openness that we need to consider the ethics of NOT publicly posting our actions. At least the character in the short film is being honest about who she is and what she does. Is the act of not publishing, therefore in itself, devious? and in that sense is this privacy a quality that we would not wish to encourage in our young people?
Clearly the example of Terry (Cinelearning, 2016) gives the viewer cause for concern and creates a situation that compromises her colleague's integrity. Should the girl hide who she is? In fact, although this initially goes against my idea of what is acceptable. I was horrified by her behaviour. On analysis, this was generated by my clear boundaries of what I post and what I don't. However, then I began to consider whether my self-imposed boundaries may be inappropriate for others. In fact, I began to think that the younger generation have been raised with social media and that Terry might have considered her actions to be entirely appropriate (within her friendship circle). Furthermore, one post can be shared and it raises questions of trust between friends versus loyalty to your employer. Ultimately, is it acceptable to hide any of our actions as teachers? If the eye of social media is as all seeing as the 'eye of Sauron' (Tolkein, 1954). We are almost living in a society that dictates such a level of openness that we need to consider the ethics of NOT publicly posting our actions. At least the character in the short film is being honest about who she is and what she does. Is the act of not publishing, therefore in itself, devious? and in that sense is this privacy a quality that we would not wish to encourage in our young people?
public and private personas?
In this modern age, you have to ask yourself whether social media has created a situation where individuals are unable to have public and private personas and evoking a dystopian sense such as Orwell's 1984 (1949), where 'workers' are pigeon-holed into suitable roles and severely reprimanded for inappropriate behaviour. The death of privacy and simultaneous birth of social media has brought modern society to the brink of massive ethical dilemmas. Luckily, we have some sources of guidance such as Hall's (2001) "What ought I to do..." It is certainly a worthwhile activity for teachers to collectively discuss and consider the appropriate ethics associated with our actions. |
references:
Cinelearning. (2016, August 17). Teacher Ethics Video - Social Media Dilemma HD [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGQbLSEPN5w
Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program. (2012). Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educator: Facilitator’s Guide [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.ctteam.org/df/resources/Module5_Manual.pdf
Hall, A. (2001). What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers.. Brisbane, Australia: Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane.
New Zealand Teachers Council. (2012). Commitment to Parents/Guardians and Family/Whānau on Vimeo [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49804201
Orwell, G (1949). New York, Harcourt.
Tolkein, J R R ( 1954) The Lord of the Rings. Ballantine Books, New York.
Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program. (2012). Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educator: Facilitator’s Guide [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.ctteam.org/df/resources/Module5_Manual.pdf
Hall, A. (2001). What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers.. Brisbane, Australia: Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane.
New Zealand Teachers Council. (2012). Commitment to Parents/Guardians and Family/Whānau on Vimeo [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49804201
Orwell, G (1949). New York, Harcourt.
Tolkein, J R R ( 1954) The Lord of the Rings. Ballantine Books, New York.
My cultural background
I am someone who was not born in New Zealand (born in the UK) but also as someone who has been privileged to have an upbringing that guided me to awareness of other cultures (we often had French or Spanish home stay students with us). I am aware of my constant short-comings in indigenous knowledge. As such, I strive to get to know cultural snippets as part of my daily practice and I have studied a Te Reo Maori course to level 2 in 2012. It is important to note the place that you come from so as to better understand the cultures you wish to.
should we ever label anyone according to race/hair or eye colour?
At school I am lucky enough to share a form class with a Maori teacher and have forged strong bonds with her so I have regular access to advice. I am also aware of the nuances within this arena. It is essential not to fall into the trap of homogeneously labelling people according to their race. In connection with this, in English class, we are studying The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (Boyne, J. 2006) and the students are discussing whether people should be judged by appearance (ginger hair, blue eyes etc) or race at all. I obtained parents' permission and am about to run the Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Activity (Http://the-classroom.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Blue-eye-Brown-eye-activity2.pdf, 2017; www.janeelliot.com, 2017) with the class to give them first hand experience of prejudice. To further exemplify this point, I wish to focus on the two male Maori students in my class (which also includes Asians and pakeha). |
Each of these two Maori students is a unique individual; where one is quiet, the other is loud; where one buys into the Maori oratory culture, the other is shy; where one is intelligent in writing, the other has a greater social presence. With this in mind therefore, we must consider the individuality of our students, at the same time as ensuring we take into account their cultural background.
how can i encourage my students to think about cultural differences?
That said, my research this week (Bishop, 2012; Potahu, 2011) have led me to think deeply about how I am currently encouraging my multicultural class to reach a state of awareness of these differences. At present, they are jovial in their recognition of difference and this reflects only a superficial understanding on their part. My reading has led me to consider how I can adapt lessons to allow greater awareness of culture in student voice (if only there was more time in the term). By this I mean that I could encourage focus on students expressing opinion more specifically related to culture. I will adapt next week's debating activity in class and ask students to include an element of 'cultural self' in their statements.
extra-curricular - Debating club
In an extra-curricular context, I am encouraging this multicultural friendliness through my debating team. Maori have a history of oratory culture and debating offers a forum for student voice and an opportunity for them to develop their points of view with supported arguments. The students have agreed to my sharing this picture with you of their first debate. As you can tell, I have Indian, Maori and pakeha students working collaboratively here.
Furthermore, somehow, we have created sufficient energy and excitement around the club that we have students from around school wanting to join. A fellow teacher stated "I was blown away" when a quiet and at times diffident Maori student wanted to join the club. The student's statement was "I argue a lot so I've decided to put my talents to good use!"
In the wider school, there are many extremely traditional aspects that appear to be driven by pakeha culture. Of all the schools I have worked at, this has the least focus on Maori learners as Maori. However, I think my choice to drive cultural development through debating club is appropriate and beginning to lead students towards the higher end of Pohatu's (2011) spectrum of "State of being Maori Ora" - Te Taunga o te Mauri Moe.
references
Bishop, R. (2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations on Vimeo [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49992994
Boyne, J. (2006). The boy in the striped pajamas: A fable.
Http://the-classroom.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Blue-eye-Brown-eye-activity2.pdf. (2014). Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Activity. Retrieved from http://the-classroom.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Blue-eye-Brown-eye-activity2.pdf
Http://www.janeelliott.com/
Potahu, T. W. (2011). MauriModel.pdf - Google Drive. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8swBIPJQ1N-RTd1ZUQ0dkp6VlE/view
Boyne, J. (2006). The boy in the striped pajamas: A fable.
Http://the-classroom.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Blue-eye-Brown-eye-activity2.pdf. (2014). Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Activity. Retrieved from http://the-classroom.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Blue-eye-Brown-eye-activity2.pdf
Http://www.janeelliott.com/
Potahu, T. W. (2011). MauriModel.pdf - Google Drive. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8swBIPJQ1N-RTd1ZUQ0dkp6VlE/view
One modern trend in education is how we deal with, and must become more open to, students' rights (human) to express their sexuality in a way that is suited to them. I open my blog this week with a link to the beautifully shot "Awa's Story" (Sunday Special, 2017) which explains Awa's life, growing up labeled male but feeling as though she had "a girl's heart." The heartfelt tale is fascinating, not only because it deals with the subject matter of transgender sensitively and from a Maori and young person's perspective, but also because it is filmed and directed by Awa herself. With my personal interest in film, I am inspired by the powerful way that this teen has portrayed a complex and heartfelt story and how she demonstrates, in an authentic context, her mastery of subject matter. I found myself asking - why aren't all families as supportive, open, forgiving and loving as this one is shown to be? and why aren't all teens given the means to demonstrate their skills through agentic learning that channels their interests so that they can create something powerful and evocative for assessment purposes that also serves a function in an adult world? This TV programme offers insights into transgender issues, family life, Maori perspectives and teenagers curiosity about a world in which they don't fit.
Primary and intermediate teachers could be alerted to future transgender children through Awa's younger-self when she wrote a metaphorical story about a cat that was confused about why people kept seeing her as a dog. As informed practitioners, we need to be aware that children can try to express pent up emotions creatively and allow our students the space to create and our parents the space to interpret. |
In the same way as Awa uses metaphor to convey the idea of her transgender, we as teachers need to create metaphors to enable our students (our future adult population) to become more accepting of each other and to eliminate racial and religious judgement. The new site, Stuff.co.nz, are regularly posting articles about the need for students to be offered choice in their uniform (if schools should have uniform at all when parents are financially challenged) and gender-neutral options as well as the PPTA (Stuff, 2017) the idea that gender neutral bathrooms would also be a positive move.
My view is simply this. In a world that is behest by seemingly senseless attacks on innocent and unsuspecting civilians going about their daily life, we as teachers have a moral obligation to positively counteract that through active teaching of compassion and understanding for people who do not necessarily fit stereotypical norms. We need to raise people who are prepared to question the status quo and teach critical thinking about why things are done the way they are. Luckily, forecasters predict that spending on education is likely to increase (Pearson, 2017) because education might be a way for the world to regain a sense of what is right. We ourselves need to be asking "why?" and we need to become better poised to answer our students' questions about why prejudice to such a horrific extent, exists in our world. |
references
Hickson, A., & Holloway, H. (2017). LONDON TERROR ATTACK: Five dead as knifeman rams car into crowd at Parliament. Daily Star. Retrieved from http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/599033/Shooting-parliament-gunfire-UK-attack-report-terror-government-London
(I am transgender (mtf), 2015) Youtube
Pearson. (2013). Global trends: The world is changing faster than at any time in human history. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZiTQy3g1g
PERSICO, C. (2017). PPTA gender-neutral proposal for school uniforms and toilets an 'amazing idea'. Stuff.Co.Nz. Retrieved from (http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/93304194/ppta-genderneutral-proposal-for-school-uniforms-and-toilets-an-amazing-idea) backing
Sunday Special. (2017). 3.
The OECD (2015) measures the school environment based on instruction time, student-teacher ratio, teachers’ salaries and teachers’ working time. As a teacher working in my third high school in as many years, I am extremely conscious of the idea of school culture. | I have to conclude that the nature of teaching is that teachers will generally strive hard to do better. This manifestation in a school's culture is reflected as either competitive, collegial or 'business-as-usual'. All cultures I've experienced are forward-looking and as a practitioner, it is probably a case of finding best fit for you as an individual. |
critical reflection
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Step 2: The issues that my analysis generated are linked to actions undertaken as part of my Teahing Inquiry. Namely, some parents, as with some students require specific follow-up. Whatever the reasons for this could be that they are busy making money to feed hungry mouths or that their background/upbringing means that it is not important for them to engage with/respond to teacher initiated surveys. Parents from the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum needed more follow up and added to my timeline. In addition, the surveys for the Asian students were not wholly directed to parents because these students have had to translate on behalf of their parents or I've had to talk to their agent. I believe my school works to professionally respond to poverty in a low key manner by offering informal breakfast club in some departments and by maintaining a business-like approach to dealing with international students and parents. The biggest issue I have to address is introducing modern learning practices to a traditional school environment. |
"IS this legit?" Parent email to high school teacher
As part of my ethical undertakings for my teaching inquiry this week, one parent wrote back to my formal email asking for engagement from them via a survey. His comment was simply "Is this legit?" - The father, a security employee, was seemingly surprised that a teacher had contacted a parent to gain their permission for class activities. From my perspective, I was entirely taken aback that this parent thought it appropriate to write to a teacher in such a non-formal manner. I guess the occurrence is a rarity and perhaps unexpected. I am none-the-wiser as to whether he was saying it in a supportive or derogatory way.
Stoll and Fink (cited in Stoll, 1998, p10) identified ten influencing cultural norms of school improvement. My school has the shared goal of 'improving relational learning strategies' and we meet regularly to discuss, compare and drive forward teaching inquiries. As I am fairly new, it is difficult to assess points 4 and 6 so my TAI will test these hypotheses. Factors 7,8 and 9 have been extremely evident to me. I'm guessing that the reason the 'humour' aspect is missing from our PLG is to do with the fact that we meet at 8am on cold winter's mornings. I am proud to be part of a community that is whole-heartedly comprised of 'lifelong learners' - (myself included!) - and am looking forward to the opportunity of presenting my TAI plan to the group in subsequent weeks.
references
Gargiulo, S. (2014). Principal sabbatical report. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Professional-information/Principals-sabbatical-reports/Report-archives-for-2007-2014/Secondary-award-recipients-2014/Gargiulo-Salvatore
OECD. (2015). Education at a Glance 2015: OECD Indicators. OECD Publishing, Paris.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2015-en. Retrieved from http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/96...
Stoll. (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture
OECD. (2015). Education at a Glance 2015: OECD Indicators. OECD Publishing, Paris.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2015-en. Retrieved from http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/96...
Stoll. (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture
He kura tangata – He kura whānau - A person educated is a community educated
Practising Teacher Criteria
12(iii). critically examine own beliefs, including cultural beliefs, and how they impact on professional practice and the achievement of ākonga
5(i). actively contribute to the professional learning community
Practising Teacher Criteria
12(iii). critically examine own beliefs, including cultural beliefs, and how they impact on professional practice and the achievement of ākonga
5(i). actively contribute to the professional learning community
Activity 1: Using Knox's (2009) questions as a guide:
#1) Who is your community?
My community of practice (COP) comprises of our professional learning group (PLG) at my school. I also am part of the Mindlab COP in the Google+ forum.
#2) What is the domain we share?
The shared domain is that we are all required to engage in a teaching inquiry.
#3) What are the layers?
The layers are generational, cultural, based on experience and specialist as we are all high school teachers but teaching different subjects.
#4) What are our connections?
At present, I am feeling very much like the 'newcomer'. As Wenger (2000) defines it, I am the 'child without a voice' as I am new to the school and observing how thing are done. The onus is on me to learn and build connections within this community.
#5) What are the issues?
As a newcomer, I need to identify how things were done prior to my arrival. I am also considering that we are operating more like 'teams' as management have instructed us which Professional Learning Group we sit in. However, this could equally be understood as 'fractals' as Wenger (2000) defines an appropriate mechanism for communities operating in large organisations.
Activity 2: Using Mindlab's suggested questions to consider the CoP:
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As a newcomer to the group, I need to make some enquiries about how the group was formed and how it operated last year. I am developing a relationship with one of the group leaders through his observations and feeling the 'energy' that is required, this is very much two-dimensional at present and I will certainly need to work to develop deeper relations with the rest of the community. I've been asked to present my work on student agency to the group and hope that I can generate a sense of excitement and create the 'energy' that is seemingly lacking at present. This is not to say that I'm the only one - I'm sure other members are doing exciting work, it's just not apparent at 8am on a Tuesday morning.
Knox, B. (2009). Cultivating Communities of Practice: Making Them Grow. YouTube. Retrieved 26 May 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMPRZnRFkk
Wenger, E.(2000).Communities of practice and social learning systems.Organization,7(2), 225-246
Wenger, E.(2000).Communities of practice and social learning systems.Organization,7(2), 225-246