The Superman Principle...

I love comic books.  I have a load of them over a variety of genres and titles and find it difficult to pick out favourites.  However, I have a soft spot for Superman.  It was the first comic book I ever bought and I love the films, Smallville, even the theme tune from the movies makes me smile...its just good fun.

Anyway I have noticed something the other day...I have called it the 'Superman Principle' and it goes like this.
How many times as teachers have we sat down and discussed a student with another member of staff and looked surprised when your vision of them is different to theirs?

Students react differently to different teachers, classrooms, subjects etc... we all know that but do we take it into consideration when teaching them? 

Where you are teaching 'Clark Kent' - all shy and retiring, hiding behind their glasses and hoping the world wont notice who they really are, your colleague is teaching 'Superman' - bold, confident and focused on achieving the goal in front of them.

By sharing your experiences with your colleagues you can build in the classroom opportunities needed to turn Clark into Superman.

We need to realise that teaching is all about the sharing of info  - no teacher is an island!

Got to...what?

I am really not a fan of most reality arty programmes. X-Factor leaves me cold and strictly can dance off as far as i am concerned!  There are far too many people who should be placed on a desert island on their own somewhere as they are so self absorbed its amazing (Cher Lloyd...Cheryl Cole...nuff said)

However, I have been won over by Got to Dance on Sky.  The judges are...well human and the acts really cool - and you don't have to sit through hours of bad ones just to make people laugh and further humiliate those who should be shielded from public abuse...

BUT its the kids who really hit me.  There are some amazing kids on this show and they just go for it!

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  the question I would ask is how can we make our classrooms the same - an environment where they just go for it?

Its all about safety.  They know going out there that the judges aren't going to be cruel (Cowell) or stupid (Louis) or pointless human beings with less talent than them (Cheryl). 

So if you want kids to go for it and shine in your classrooms give them space to ... fail!  I have said it before but they need to know that failure is OK its a necessary part of learning how to succeed.  If they don't feel safe they wont step outside their comfort zone, they wont try, they wont experiment and they wont take risks.

Got to what?

Got to be a risk taker...only then will they build the confidence needed to fulfill the potential they have.

A seasonal message...

To all who have looked, peeked, thought, written, responded, challenged, shown interest...etc... in what I have had to say over the past 12 months I thank you.
May your Christmas be a good one and I wish you blessings and breakthroughs for 2011

All the best !!

Are we human or are dancer?...

I love the Killers.  As a band they appeal to my musical taste and live they are amazing.  On top of this their song 'Human' seems to be crossing my path a lot at the moment.

I am a great believer in things coming across your path in life for a reason. So when I walk in and out of shops, turn on the radio etc... and find the same song I think 'What am I being shown here?'

So I listen and I look at the words.
My interpretation...as I say to my RE classes you can have an opinion...this is mine.

So the tag line from the chorus 'Are we human or are we dancer?'
Its how I feel right now.

Am I a free spirit with thoughts and dreams and hopes, with ideas which will drive me forward and things I want to achieve?
Do I have the right to think about my future in a way which allows me the freedom to develop and drive on to make something of myself and influence those around me...am I human?

Or am I directed by the invisible strings of someone else?  Am I led a merry dance by those who seem to think they have power and control over me because their paycheck is bigger or their title grander?
Am I a puppet dancing to the tune they play and always wondering what its like to cross over and be free, to cut the strings and step out and just be?

Its a question I want to find an answer to...and as long as this song keeps tapping away at me I will keep pushing doors to find the answer...

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Champions are made when no-one is watching....

How often do we as teachers end a lesson having spoken to all the members of our class?

There are always some who slip through the net and they are the ones who consistently do the work. Our time is taken with the behaviour issues and academic struggles but we miss the group of champions. Thats what they are...champions. They keep going when others have stopped and they stay focused when others are causing problems - yet we miss them.

Try and make sure you speak to all the students in your class - make them feel valued and welcome and your quiet champions will become vocal heroes.

The creativity of daily life...

I posted earlier on Twitter 'Is reality a block to creativity or an untapped catalyst?'

You see I have listened to many people talk about creativity over the past 3 years and read a lot as well and it seems that a lot of people out there seem to pinpoint creativity for them as being the point when they let go of reality. A point when all the stresses of the day are pushed aside and they can just think.

I agree to some extent but what if they are all missing a trick? I don't propose that I am better than anyone else or that I have more knowledge of this subject than those who are published and making money on speaking circuits but what if?

The world we inhabit and move through on a daily basis is full of opportunities for creative thinking and ideas. When we have a problem we look for a solution we don't drift into our happy place and wait for inspiration...well not always!

What we react and interact with each day - our environment - maybe the biggest source of inspiration for creativity. Let me give you an example. A little while ago the route I take to school wasn't possible because of road works. So I began to weave my way through the back streets until I reached my destination. I didn't sit down and plan it, or turn on my phone sat nav and have some Aussie surfer dude lead to my destination. Yet I just dismissed this thought process that had taken place without a second thought.

Looking back it could have been a cool class exercise. OK Mr Johnson (not me) lives here and needs to get here but cant - whats the quickest route?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

That's just one example of what we do each day.

We are creative beings...I think we know that...we need to realise that it is something we ALWAYS are...be creative take risks live life to the fullest!

Time to take a risk...

When my Yr8 RE class came into the room today they found a single question on the board. After a period of general chatter they began to wonder why I wasnt saying anything and questions began to come out

'Do we copy that question down?'
'Is this for us?'

I responded by saying it was for them but they had to work out why it was on the board.

There was a moment of silence and then they began to talk about what they thought it was on the tables. After a period of discussion more questions.

'Can we use textbooks to answer this?'

I said they could and they started looking at the books eventually all the tables had the same book and were sharing information.

As the lesson went on they found out an answer and started to come up to show me.
I said to check it with each other so they went back and began to share info from their answers and add to the work they had done.

Eventually I took over and asked them what they had learnt.

What came out was that they had learnt how to find out their own answers and that working together was useful as they found out things from people they had missed and felt their answers were better after discussion.

Finally they created their own learing objectives linked into working together and taking responsibility for their own role in the classroom and the work they had produced.

Took a risk to do but very rewarding...

John Cleese pure genius...

I enjoyed this...a pick up on the weekend...

New starts sometimes need a jolt...

So coming back to school is never easy. The old joke of the mother talking to her son about the fact he had to go to school because he was the Headmaster is one I can relate to after the summer break.

However, sometimes all you need is a jolt to push you from a position of looking down to driving up.

If that is true for us as staff how much more is that true for the students we meet each day.

Target/challenge for you...

Give out praise to as many students as possible in your classes - and go overboard! Make them feel valued in your class and they will value your class!

Anagrams....

Found a great site for creating anagrams....and solving them!

Have a play...I found out the Peter Tatchell is 'Tell that creep'...quite subtle that one...as allegedly he is a creep!

I said allegedly!!


http://wordsmith.org/anagram/

Does anyone know...????

We always seem to get loads of people round the area we live knocking on our door for charities etc... so we are obviously a targeted neighbourhood.

If anyone has any idea when opportunity may be coming into our area and knocking could they let me know as I dont want to be out...

The night before the year to come....

So its the evening before the grindstone reopens and I have to put my nose back to it.

...maybe time for a change...seasons come and go its all about knowing when to jump as its the end of yours...

Summer rest.....

Ok so for all those people out there who think all we do as teachers in the summer is put our feet up, drink Pim's and laugh at those who are working I would like to dispel that myth.

So far first week off - preparing for decorating everyday, all day,as per wife's instructions...
A few days away next week - but so do a lot of people...
The next week is my one week free - I shall be resting up and may drink Pim's if I so wish!...
Final two weeks spent in and out of school preparing for next year - tidying up, preparing class lists, sorting out schemes of work etc...

Rant over...

A quiet goodbye...

I find it amazing how at the end of each school year the same routine happens. You have the excited students - except Yr11 who have realised that actually they didnt mind school and now want to stay! - the staff who are leaving and the foot being taken off the gas by those remaining who are knackered by this point!

Its a weird feeling. These are people you spend more of your year with than almost anyone else and now you wont see them for 5 weeks...not sure there is any other industry this happens in.

The end of the last day quietly winds its way to its conclusion with a few drinks and some speeches and then that awkward 'how long do we have to stay?' hanging around that happens.

Its been an interesting year. One of hope which ends in frustration and broken promises.

To any Yr11's who may catch up with this I wish you all the best. Each of you has the ability to be successful, chase your dreams and fight for what you want. May your successes all be large and more importantly you always be happy.

So I wish 2009-2010 a quiet goodbye and look towards year 2010-2011 hoping.

:)

Running to stand still...

Over the last couple of weeks I have noticed how the more I try and make something happen the more it doesn't. Its the old picture of the duck on the lake - calm on the surface and kicking frantically underneath!

I would compare some of the things I have tried to achieve as being as successful as attempting to row with one oar...round and round in circles and the only thing that happens when you add more effort is you go round faster!

What you need is the other oar! The journey wont happen without it and it will become more and more frustrating as you can see where you are aiming for but as you spin round it goes out of sight. A glimpse of success with no way of getting there is more frustrating than no potential for success at all.

This also rings true of some of the students in class. They are the ones who are reluctant to work with others...due to many reasons. I have worked hard to encourage all students to value each others opinion and work and be able to critically comment on others work - in a constructive way. This is building in them the ability to trust others and be open about what they and others need to do to improve.

Its about TRUST really. Who do you trust to hand over your work to and let them 'pull it apart' but in a way that will benefit you in the long term.

Until we can trust people (which relies on their honesty and willingness to have their work assessed) we will always be the spinning oarsman...running to stand still.

Watch and Learn...

So question for you this sunny Friday! How much do you watch what is going on in your classroom? 'Oh but I am always watching my students and checking they are on task'. Not what I meant.

How much do you WATCH what they are doing? Their interactions with each other, the promotion of students into team leaders roles, the way they react to situations, the response to an unknown element to the task etc...

You can learn so much about how your class works by really watching them in action. It gives an insight into how they are coping with tasks and where their strengths and weaknesses lie as a group.

From this you can then structure what you do in the future to address these weaknesses and continue to build on their strengths.

Watch and learn...!

Deep thoughts...

Descartes said 'I think therefore I am' and Popeye said 'I ams what I ams'.

Hmmmm.... most of my students dont think so does that mean they dont exist and are just a figment of my imagination?

When the dust settles...

So what happens when an enforced change is dropped upon you from a great height with no clear guidance or respect for what is happening/being achieved right now?

Think I know the answer to this one...you run!

By placing constraints on the teacher in the classroom, and removing the 'get out of jail' card they may wish to play if things get a little ropey with some of their students, the only outcome is removal of risk.

Its risk that keeps the interest in the lesson, that allows students to be released and try, that removes the cobwebs of conditioning and habit from teachers and allows the class to experience something that all parties will remember.

Remove the ability to take risks and when the dust settles the textbook is king...

So why should we unleash creativity in our classrooms?

Ok, so creativity is personal, unique, individual etc… overall it’s unpredictable.

So why should we unleash it in our classrooms when it’s so unpredictable?

Hold that thought.

We see our classrooms as our territory it’s our land that these students have come into too learn and we are the controllers. We decide what happens there and it’s our rules in our yard.

What I am saying is we need a change of perspective.

My classroom is an open door to learning. I have no idea what the students are bringing in and allow them to unload there in anyway they want to. The only real ‘rule’ I have is to leave having learnt something new. That could be a skill, a fact, a key term etc… but no-one should go out the same person they came in – me included.

Philosophy of Frogger

Life isnt always forward motion...sometimes to step forward you need to move sideways!