Educating the Dragon

What an interesting morning.

I thought I’d challenge a group of 10 year olds to a project. Ted McCain style. I am only in the class today so it couldn’t be too involved.

I began by setting the scene through an email I recieved from a bookstore requesting the design of an e-mailable newsletter.

The news letter required the following:

A top ten bestsellers listing, a book review, a voucher that they could print out and take into the store to redeem along with contact details etc. Student’s could add anything they wished to the newsletter.

What was interesting was the fact that they immediately reached for the coloured paper and the glitter. I thought that mentioning the word ‘email’ in the piece would spark the need to use something like publisher. But nobody asked if they could access any of the 4 computers at the back of the room.

Several asked if they could go and ask the librarian for the bestsellers list. Not one did a google search for that information. I was anticpating a problem-solving session aided by technology. Instead several groups created individual drafts and then chose ‘the best one’

Despite not one of the groups writing a book review, creating a best seller list and only 2 groups designing a voucher in hand drawn bubble writing I hope there was a lot of learning going on at the plenary session: I asked the question What did learn from that the mindmap revealed the following answers:

Working as a team: sharing the jobs

Focus on the work and work faster

Listen more carefully to the presentation at the beginning

Ask more questions as we go on

Listen to the team leaders- they have ‘the plan’.

How can technology help us best?

If they think about these things the next time they do a group activity they will ha ve done well

Had a good conversation with some staff members today about the need for a mindset change for the future of education. We were talking about the fact that integration of technology into the school curriculum is really not one of those pendulum swings that we get from time to time in education but rather it is a progressive change that is going to continue to advance and gain momentum. How true. There is a real need for teachers to embrace the teaching of technology for the 21^st century. Not as a discreetly separate subject but that it needs to be draw into theclassroom practice of all ages, stages and subjects. Seen more as a tool like pencil and paper rather than a curriculum area to be learnt.

I have had one of those really special days. I was asked to relieve today in a class that had 7 new entrant children. Seven, seven, let me count them…..1,2,3,4,5,6,7.

Now I have never in my life taught new entrants but I have to say that with the combination of the students nd the planning left for me I really enjoyed the experience. There are so many more learning and experiential opportunities open to you if you have a really small number of students. Today, for example, the afternoon was filled with whole school singing, a drumming demonstation finishing off with free-time in the pool. They loved it. I was clock watching the whole time they were in the pool, not really sure of how long it would take for them to change back again and thinking also I would have to pull them kicking and screaming from the pool. That is not what happened. What actually occurred was after 10 minutes a couple of the 7 got out of their own accord. Then another 3 and the final 2 had to be asked once at the 15 minute mark. No moaning or complaining. While we were sat there waiting for the last few to get changed I asked one; “How often do you get to do this?” and he says’Everyday”. Wow! No wonder they were happy to get out after a few minutes. They KNOW their next opportunity is tomorrow.

It made me think of the power of little and often as a behavior management tool.

I have been listening to Wes Fryer’s podcast on K12 Online, trying to catch up from a summer unplugged. There was much in this talk of merit, as there is in many of his podcast, but a statement he made just seemed to jump up and slap me about the face, he said:

“I don’t like the word train….who do we train? Animals. Teachers aren’t animals. Both teachers and students are both learners…. treating them as professional learners is very important.” (Wesley Fryer, 2008-02-06-speedofcreativity)

I concur.

If teachers stop learning, adapting, developing and changing their practice over time than that has got to be bad for the students.

If teachers do not remain current in their knowledge of the profession and the wider world then that has got to be bad for the students.

If teachers are weighted down by the burden we call ‘Admin’ then the enersy they have for classroom practise is drained, that has got to be bad for the students.

If teachers are overwelmed by the enormity of the work through sheer numbers of students they have responsibility for that has got to be bad for the students.

But if the teacher is,

….free from the shackles of unnecessary paperwork,

….free to support and nuture the relationships within a supportive, moderately sized classroom,

… free to seek out learning opportunites for themselves and develop professionally in a direction of their choosing,

…. free to ENJOY their chosen career.

…that has got to be good for the students.

We have got to pass on the passion, model the ideal of being a life-long learner.

After all,

“Teachers make all other professions possible.”

-Annie Belott

Here’s the latest episode of On the Road. A few rambling thoughts as I drive back from the conference. Excuse the car noise… If anyone has ideas about filtering background noise on Audacity let me know.