My birthday has just passed and as a gift a fellow Deputy - newly appointed as a Principal gave me a journal on the proviso I would begin my book. Well I laughed it off and joked that one day it would happen. But the reality is, I liked the idea of the chapters being named after each of my many sayings and so I jotted them down. From there I started to record ideas and recollections of things that fit under each and I was amazed at how quickly the ideas started to form. For many years I have worked under the impression that coming up with the ideas would be too hard. It is now a case of which ones matter the most or would be noteworthy for others. I wrote my first paragraph for the chapter I have titled “what’s the purpose” and I just re read my previous blog and it will fit nicely with what I have already penned as they say.
I had a tough day today, having to sit in on a parent meeting to discuss a student’s continual non compliance and disrespect for his teacher. It was very apparent that the behaviour was learnt from the parent - nature or nurture - a question that is often debated. It continually amazes me how accepting of poor behaviour so many parents are today. So many students have poor manners, forgetting their please and thank yous when they ask for something or receive something. A sad reflection of society and something that should be a concern for all. The sense of entitlement and that the world owes them a favour continually astonishes and yes, saddens me. It may be an old fashioned concept but I really believe that as a society this is something we should work towards correcting. Perhaps it is the onslaught of media, perhaps it is an inevitable evolution process or perhaps and I suspect this is more the case, it is easier for parents to let these courtesies slide as it is hard to constantly guide and shape young people into respectful and responsible citizens.
I also worked with two teams of teachers today. One of mixed teaching experiences and lengths of service and one tightly knit group who socialise outside of work and share a perceived elitism due to the nature of the children in their classes. One group I was guiding through the enlightenment of inquiry based learning and integrated teaching units to help them work smarter not harder and put the fun back into teaching and the next was looking at innovate learning spaces and the impact on teaching and learning. In between I had to talk to Family and Justice Services about a student, go to the girl’s toilets and secure a broken door, organise a spare teacher to mark and assess a large pile of papers for enrichment screening and sort bags of lollies for an upcoming fund raiser. I finished the day by doing gate duty, keeping parents out of the car park for student safety as they completed an external assessment after school. My office looks like a bomb hit it and tomorrow is looking just as hectic.
I wish I was one of those neat organised glamorous looking teachers that look as good at the end of the day as they did at the start and always have a neat tidy desk but alas I am not. I am messy, busy and often frazzled looking but I am always always on the ball. Despite the look, I am a perfectionist and get very upset when things do not go to plan. I get frustrated when people judge me on what they see. I try hard but it is not natural to be neat, tidy, ordered. My room is how my brain works. I jump from thought to thought and juggle many things at once. I know what I am up to and where I am at I just wish others would stop trying to mould me into something I am not. I sometimes feel if tgey booked me into the beauty parlour I would leave a different person - but I doubt I would be happy with the result.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
A little bit of insight about me
I have always wanted to record the wonders of being a teacher and the amazing world that is the school and the classroom and have threatened to write a book so I have settled for this in an attempt to reach some well-being and purpose in my otherwise currently frustrating career journey.
As I have progressed through my career, there have been many positives and some not so positive experiences that have all come together to make my time in this environment both rewarding and challenging. As a senior executive member now I find it even more important to find an avenue to express my interpretation of the current educational arena and the challenges facing the new era of teachers. Having been an educator for the past 24 years, I have transitioned through many teaching styles and many educational revelations. I remember a little ashamedly the days where I filled the chalk board from left to right based upon the daily learning that I would present to my students and how passive the learning was now that I look back. I sometimes shudder when I remember how my classroom was set up and how dull and boring the acquisition of knowledge was achieved in those days. Passive copying down of information, rigid classroom timetables and little student direction.
I was fortunate enough to move to a very innovative school as a young executive and have one of the first interactive boards in the school. Oh the wonder when I introduced that into my teaching bag of tricks and learning became interactive - not only in the classroom but linked to the whole world.
When I left the classroom just four short years ago, I had a future focused learning environment with flexible learning spaces, a Genius Bar, round tables, cushions and low tables and one to one devices for all of my students. I was the facilitator of the learning and my students were in the driving seat, fully engaged in the educational journey that has allowed them to become strong independent learners. Movement in the room was the norm and no question was too scary to explore.
These days my role is to ensure the large and busy school I work in runs smoothly. Ensuring 42 classrooms have teachers before over 1000 children everyday and all timetables and changes to routines are happening, makes for what I call the busy work of my day. I love the challenges of educational change and reform but find that these days I am on the outside looking in struggling with the frustration of not doing. I like to keep current and being an administrator is often frustrating.
Every chance I get to enter the classroom, experiment with technology and pedagogy, I take. Kids make me laugh and the fact that they are generally curious beings makes me hopeful that there is a positive future out there and change is not scary for them, especially if they see the connections or purpose. I often look at teachers who are scared of change, not wanting to change the status quo because “that is what we have always done” and wonder where the curiosity went. I often get criticised for being over enthusiastic for things but I have always been of the belief that if it is challenging, new and can foreseeably make a difference to student learning then why not give it a go.
I’m not the most patient person in the world and do not suffer faults or weakness in others very well, I don’t always see the need to give information 10 weeks in advance knowing full well that it will change at least 5 times before being actioned (waste of time) and get frustrated when an idea that I am introduced to and reach the conclusion or outcome in 5 seconds requires me to wait for others to work through steps one at a time from one to ten and repeat a few along the way and I know I do not always speak in the softly guarded warm and fuzzy manner that seems to be the only way to make headway in this noble world we live in, but I am passionate about my job, I love being a teacher first and foremost and I believe that the education system of today is exciting and rewarding. And yes I understand emotional intelligence and the need to value each person and so forth but I value intelligence and direction more. I recognise that I don’t fit the mould so what can I say other than - Book me into the beauty parlour - and perhaps one day I’ll conform...........or not.
As I have progressed through my career, there have been many positives and some not so positive experiences that have all come together to make my time in this environment both rewarding and challenging. As a senior executive member now I find it even more important to find an avenue to express my interpretation of the current educational arena and the challenges facing the new era of teachers. Having been an educator for the past 24 years, I have transitioned through many teaching styles and many educational revelations. I remember a little ashamedly the days where I filled the chalk board from left to right based upon the daily learning that I would present to my students and how passive the learning was now that I look back. I sometimes shudder when I remember how my classroom was set up and how dull and boring the acquisition of knowledge was achieved in those days. Passive copying down of information, rigid classroom timetables and little student direction.
I was fortunate enough to move to a very innovative school as a young executive and have one of the first interactive boards in the school. Oh the wonder when I introduced that into my teaching bag of tricks and learning became interactive - not only in the classroom but linked to the whole world.
When I left the classroom just four short years ago, I had a future focused learning environment with flexible learning spaces, a Genius Bar, round tables, cushions and low tables and one to one devices for all of my students. I was the facilitator of the learning and my students were in the driving seat, fully engaged in the educational journey that has allowed them to become strong independent learners. Movement in the room was the norm and no question was too scary to explore.
These days my role is to ensure the large and busy school I work in runs smoothly. Ensuring 42 classrooms have teachers before over 1000 children everyday and all timetables and changes to routines are happening, makes for what I call the busy work of my day. I love the challenges of educational change and reform but find that these days I am on the outside looking in struggling with the frustration of not doing. I like to keep current and being an administrator is often frustrating.
Every chance I get to enter the classroom, experiment with technology and pedagogy, I take. Kids make me laugh and the fact that they are generally curious beings makes me hopeful that there is a positive future out there and change is not scary for them, especially if they see the connections or purpose. I often look at teachers who are scared of change, not wanting to change the status quo because “that is what we have always done” and wonder where the curiosity went. I often get criticised for being over enthusiastic for things but I have always been of the belief that if it is challenging, new and can foreseeably make a difference to student learning then why not give it a go.
I’m not the most patient person in the world and do not suffer faults or weakness in others very well, I don’t always see the need to give information 10 weeks in advance knowing full well that it will change at least 5 times before being actioned (waste of time) and get frustrated when an idea that I am introduced to and reach the conclusion or outcome in 5 seconds requires me to wait for others to work through steps one at a time from one to ten and repeat a few along the way and I know I do not always speak in the softly guarded warm and fuzzy manner that seems to be the only way to make headway in this noble world we live in, but I am passionate about my job, I love being a teacher first and foremost and I believe that the education system of today is exciting and rewarding. And yes I understand emotional intelligence and the need to value each person and so forth but I value intelligence and direction more. I recognise that I don’t fit the mould so what can I say other than - Book me into the beauty parlour - and perhaps one day I’ll conform...........or not.
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