It's Try Time!

Had a graduation dinner the other night for the 94 year six students who have had 6 years at our lovely kura (school). It is always a good night and I find myself up there thinking about the speech from last year and generally winging another spiel. Last night when faced with the leavers and their parents I realised how many interactions, how many stories, how many moments I have had with the very cool bunch. Having a daughter piled in with them was especially pleasing because I had closer interaction with the families of those daring enough to befriend the littler Podgorani.

I was really chuffed to see the many parents who have worked so hard to help there little guys. Parents who over the years have, mended books, volunteered for reading, been on camps and trips, turned up to assemblies. The thing that hit home to me is that you can have classroom performance as much as you like, but building a big family in a school is essential, treating kids like they belong, like they are loved, showing them and their families that you care, this is what truly makes the difference.

The thing is that I should care about their academic progress and I do desperately, but somehow I know that their interactions, behaviours, attitudes, families, still hold their destiny. Sure, we have got over the line with so many of these guys, but there are others who I know will stumble, and I hope there will always be someone to help them up. I hope our attitude and direction is enough for the rocky times. I do know though that those great teachers are out there to pick up my 94 mates and make sure they do get over the line. Kia Kaha to our profession and thanks in advance, oh and keep an eye out for Racheal she is gonna need a hand up occasionally.

Clever man at the ministry of education pockets 72 million

It's time to just ride the wave and get the job done, it's the silly season.

I've been coming to grips with the Ministry of Ed's new "low prediction of students" policy. Basically they predict you will have less kids next year and staff you accordingly. You see they are making an overall judgement (OTJ) but with your estimated roll numbers. The hidden agenda is that if the "OTJ" has lower numbers then you get less staff. If you knock half a teacher off every school you save $30,000 x 2400 schools, thats lots of cash and 1000 less teachers next year, just through an "OTJ", see what happens when you teach to the test, you pass! Just what the MOE man got from his boss, a pass with flying colours and a saving of $72 million.

If you think this is a conspiracy and a bunch of whispers then ring ten Akld principals and ask how much their staffing has been reduced by, I did, and the total from ten schools was 35 less teachers. I know times are tough but I wouldn't want to be a part timer or someone who is looking for a day here and a day there, the squeeze is on and education is like a wedge of lime sitting on the lip of a cold corona. More than half the schools in Akld appealed their staffing with over a hundred appeals being sent to Wellington for the boffins to over-rule, it happened, we got nailed people, join the dots.

On a brighter note I can tell you that the challenge of restaffing our school was seen as a opportunity to clarify what we think are the non negotiables and what we see as important in our school. I know we have found a great balance and we are positive about our staffing and the direction we are going. My comments above aren't actually a bleat they are just the facts. I am actually struggling to see why our beloved unions and associations haven't taken up the fight. Most probably the NZEI were fighting for some small % increase which was offered, I personally would have much preferred more staffing than a pay rise, the job would get done way better, with more time to dedicate to teachers and kids, and less stress.

Q & A

It's been a while, the podgorani has had heads down living week by week.

Question : Why has the ministry cut the staffing ratio for every school in NZ?

Answer : They gotta save millions so they tried it on, and with 50% of auckland schools appealing their staffing, they may just save a few bucks. Who hasn't appealed?

Question : National Standards, why are Karen Sewell and Anne Tolley making such a meal of the implementation ?

Answer : You cant force crap on schools and disguise it as a shiney answer to a complex issue.

Question : NS again, Who is advising Mary, Karen and Anne, or are they actually leading?

Answer : I think they are making the calls, no-one else could over-react like woman scorned, clearly pissed off, they wrote to BOT's giving ridiculous examples of charter targets, now they ridiculously decided to ring BOTs. Those actions will spur more to oppose!

Question : How many games does Joe Roks have to play before Ted realises that Ranger, Guilford, Gear, Jane, Maitland, Sivivatu are all better?

Answer : While they continue to pick Donald Duck we cant moan about Joe Roks.

Question : Why do I not unfollow more people on twitter.

Answer : I morbidly enjoy watching them butcher their online profile, and I sort of hope they don't have that twitter app that tells them they have been unfollowed.

Question : Why do principals always ask "how can you afford all this gear"?

Answer : You cant afford not to.

Question : Why do schools pack their term 4 calendars into something resembling the floor of the New York stock exchange.

Answer : We are suckers for punishment, we just hop on the wave and ride it through to December.

Question : Why do we continue to get ripped off in this country with mobile phone charges and say nothing or do nothing?

Answer : Kiwis are too polite to complain, we just wait for an uninformed media storm and jump right on the bandwagon (any topic, any bandwagon).

Question : How do you get a $50,000 garden for 10k ?

Answer : Get organised and get your community in to help.

Nigeria vs West Akld

The Bro, my fellow Podgorani, visited over the last couple of weeks. He has been in Nigeria for the better part of two years. He is right out in the jungle and the local "city" has about 12,000 people so there is some infrastructure there. So immediately I asked about school and classrooms. He decided this time to bring some pictures of the school and gave me a couple of videos. I was gobsmacked by what I saw. I wanted to know what I could do to help. The Older Podgorani's suggestions were not to bring the western world to them, yes medicine, yes education (but not as we know it).

I dont have any profound or uninformed suggestions just some pictures, a video and a small insight to a different world.

And now for the gold. eyes out for the sleepers. ears out for the classroom sound levels !

Recreational Writers

Several years ago sitting next to Harry Hood over lunch he recalled a conversation he had with Marie Clay about recreational readers. She said "you know whats wrong with this country Harry? We have thousands of kids who can read but don't". How many teachers roll their eyes, nod their heads or say amen to that one. My sons catholic school are so desperate to get their kids to read they have huge signs around their school saying "Boys who read ACHIEVE". The key is "foster a love of" not "able to" read. Harry made the point "recreational readers pass exams"

There is another step to this however. What about those people like me who haven't fostered a love of books, but have fostered a love of conversation, observation, discussion, we read only the relevant bits and watch and listen, we have plenty to say, is their hope for us? We have a love of what we do, our work, our sports, our families, surely Marie Clay has room for us. Through blogging we have become the recreational writers, surely recreational writers pass exams too!

For three years now I have followed a young mans blog he was 9 when he started. He loves sport and in the early blogs of 2008 his teacher/school cleverly used the Olympics as the hook. After a few posts I noticed that he was posting after 3pm and even at night.

The defining moment however came when Tanielu blogged in January in the middle of the school holidays. Name a ten year old pacific island boy who is recreationally writing in their christmas holidays. Yes there was a very real reason for the blog post but the boundaries between the classroom and home had become intertwined. Learning is everywhere, he wasn't writing because he was forced to, it was because he had to, he had something to say and he said it.

Other subtleties that come from this blog is that if you read todays articles and compare them to the very early posts you can see how his writing has developed amazingly (no need for moodle or mahara or scanning rubbish into an eportfolio). By the way Dan you are an observant, intelligent sports writer!

Tanielu keeps his cluster maps before they clear out annually, smart work Dan it can be encouraging to see those dots.

Search Tanielu in google, guess who is the number 1 hit.

If you check the comments you get people writing in Samaon. You get adults giving adult opinion. You get teachers encouraging (but not so necessary now). You get family members. You get classmates and kids from other schools. But the gold is you get someone called Dad, with amazing thoughtful, insightful, encouraging words. This is a winning story.

In many ways I can relate to Tanielu. I started blogging in 2008, I write because I have something to say. It takes time, process, thought. I know it takes maintenance, discipline but the bug is catchy, it's rewarding. When someone posts a comment it's cool. When you see a red dot on the map or follow the live traffic feed, its a buzz, and I'm a Benji Marshall fan too.

If you want justification for elearning, or you are thinking of blogging in your classroom then this says it all. I get ample visitors who look at elearning and I am certain they go back to their schools and do nothing. Stop the inactivity and get active, get the hook going with your kids now. As my old mate Jim Ferguson always said "these kids are year 4 once, make it the best year 4 ever". Foster a love of writing, it's not only possible, it's imperative.

Teachers this takes work, this is one small story, it's not a miracle, it is what is expected for 21st century teaching. Big ups to Dan's school you guys lead the way.

Go the Tigers !

Building Schools for Key Competencies

Three events have jolted my brain into action. A tweet from the seemingly ever pondering Cheryl (it's the photo). A visit from friends at Torbay School and a session with the ever popular Julia Atkin on building Key Competencies in your school.

Lets start with the fact that many schools are prefabs, crappy old buildings, toilet blocks jammed in cloak bays (cloak bays? never seen a cloak at school!), and disconnected learning spaces. So yes, some schools are fortunate to have new blocks, purpose built spaces bla bla bla. I dont think this automatically banishes you to a default mindset of "we cant do it". The KC's : managing self, relating to others, thinking, participating and contributing. So how do you physically set up a school that supports the KC's? How do you build a school on the KC's?

There are many ways to get the job done and this is one theory, its nothing new, and it's only a suggestion that works for us, it doesn't mean it will work for everyone.

Its the old chestnut - vertical forms - I look at it from a few perspectives. I believe that kids learn heaps of stuff when the teacher isn't around, those social skills, standing up for yourself, real role models from their peers. I might think this, but Nuthall did the research (see earlier post) teachers cant always control what kids learn. So if the learning, the values, the KCs are practiced and learnt when the teachers aren't there then maybe we should try to set up the school so that when we aren't there kids of differing ages (role models) are present. When teachers are present (we do the KC's too) we can direct and model the KC's, we can focus on them, have them as goals, but when its just kids we have no say as to what happens.

So vertical forms, multi level teams, small schools within a school, call them whatever you want, they work. Imagine the kid who is pissing around at a lunchtime and kids follow this behaviour, having kids of more maturity about when the 5 year olds are eating dirt, fighting over a toy, whatever. Role models are everything. How many 5 year olds are amazing role models? If you physically have classrooms of all levels together around the school you may be starting to encourage the positive role models, it's the KC's implementation on a real level. Having the kids work together when directed by the teacher, organising real interactivity between learners of all ages, going on trips together, sharing learning together will spill over into the playground if it's genuine. If your school is set up to make real collaboration work amongst kids then you are getting there.

Hows this: Mrs Podgorani was at pak n save and a mum came to her and thanked her for the way Little Podgorani (year5 at the time) was a great friend and genuine buddy for her 5 year old who had just started at school. The young 5 year old had gone home and talked about her friend at school, how they were mates, how her friend was helping her with her learning and playing with her in the playground. When two of your schools mums are talking at the supermarket about the success of the vertical forms then you've cracked it.

Recently I met a guy who said "yeah I do buddy reading", my mental model of that was one of a cold cup of sick. I know buddy reading can be great, but it can be rubbish too. So if it's setting up structures that support the learning community for our kids then I'm all over it.

So if you're in a Julia Atkin workshop, stuck at a table of teachers who do buddy reading and palm that off as vertical forms and role modelling, or reading twitter and looking at future schools discussions, or talking with kind hearted visitors about why you do things, then try to make connections. I want to draw a symbol like Prince and call it Extended Abstract.

Perhaps its easier to see rather than explain, but think vertical forms done well, on steroids, and working for kids.

Wonderful teachers might not be so wonderful

How do you know what kids actually learn? Teachers know what they are teaching, but what learning actually takes place? My mate Pezza has really gone deep on these questions and has looked at research that really has made a difference. I have read a few really interesting pieces and he has had great success tracking down the experts. Dr Graham Nutthall certainly was a man ahead of his time, and I keep coming back to what he said in an interview with Kim Hill. I suppose research can be difficult to read, but imagine listening to a radio host (who asks good questions) asking the researcher and getting the good oil. Interesting stuff.

So what can we learn :

Teachers hardly ever know what’s going on with their students.

How little the teacher impacts on the average student even though the teacher thinks he or she is doing a very good job.

In fact, we find out that a substantial amount of what teachers teach, or attempt to teach, is already known by a significant number of kids in the class. Up to 50%.

Hill: So when you talk to children or even adults ... People often say I had a fantastic teacher. Does that mean that teacher is fantastic? Is that the best kind of reference a teacher can get? Is that meaningful?

Nuttall: I think it’s meaningful within our cultural expectations of what good teachers are about; the teacher had a sense of humour, explained things clearly to us, he really cared about me, and a whole lot of things like that which motivates kids and makes them feel good. And those are the kinds of teachers which they will remember. The older generation will remember teachers who were pretty tough on them but made them work hard. But things like working hard and explaining things clearly and so on are all surface features. You could have in fact learned very little from these wonderful teachers.

I have put the whole interview here it may take 30 minutes to read but worth the effort.