#Nurture1314: That was the year that was…

2013: that was the year that was about…

1. TeachMeet Liverpool. I organised the first Liverpool TeachMeet in April. It was a fantastic day and showcased some excellent teachers and educational professionals. It was a labour of love. It was a Saturday. I’m not sure my SLT quite ‘got’ what a TeachMeet was when I first mooted the idea, but hey, I think they are now convinced. I am currently planning the next one, so watch this space!

2. #TLAB13 One of my professional highlights was my attendance at the Teaching Learning and Assessment Conference at Berkhamsted School. What a day! It started very early on the first London train from Liverpool but it was worth it. Not only did I get to hear some fantastic speakers, but I came away energised and enthused. For a profession that gets almost constant flak, us teachers are a pretty incredible bunch. One of my posts about the day is here: http://wp.me/pYpwi-4Z

3. Visiting Joseph S. Clark Prep in New Orleans. I was lucky enough to visit a high school when I went to New Orleans. It was a fascinating insight into how teachers are working in a very complex educational system. (There is a blog post; I need to finish it!)

4. Getting to grips with being (Acting) Head of English. Maternity cover is never easy. You want to do a good job but, at the same time, it’s not your job, you’re a caretaker-manager. I had the privilege of stepping up from second in department to Curriculum Leader for English for six months. It was hard work. Luckily, I work with a great team.

5. Getting to grips with being Head of Year. In September I became Head of Year 12. Wow. After five years with a departmental TLR, the pastoral side of school life has been an eye-opener. I have really enjoyed this opportunity and am sad that, come January, I am moving back into curriculum leadership. However, I feel that my experience as a pastoral leader will have added much to my leadership.

6. Meeting Twitter pals in ‘real life’. I value the inspiration, knowledge, ideas and support I get from twitter and the connections I have made as a result of being on there. In 2013, it was good to meet @joanne_rich, @mrpeel, @ChillEdU, @deadshelley, @learningspy, @nickdennis, @danpo_ and many more. It was also lovely to be reacquainted with @KristianStill. There are some who I can now call friends and others I consider virtual colleagues, rather than just random screen names and 140 character witticisms. That’s a great thing.

7. Team English. I work with some fantastic colleagues. I’ve already said that, but it cannot be over-stated. It has been a pleasure and a privilege.

8. About seeing people’s true colours. There were a difficult few weeks at work. It hardened my resolve to be the best I can be.

And 2013 wasn’t just about work, you’ll be pleased to know…

9. Finding a lost friend. Earlier this year a friend of ours went missing. It was a harrowing time for his family and closest friends. I was humbled to see how people pulled together and worked to get his name and face out there. It worked. He’s back and on the road to recovery.

10. Rediscovering a love of live music. In 2013 I have been privileged to experience some brilliant live bands. New Orleans was a feast of music, from start to finish. I also (finally!) visited Ronnie Scott’s for the first time. It will not be my last visit.

Jazz in the Park: George Porter, Jr & Bill Summers

Kermit Ruffins at the Blue Nile, June 2013

Soul Rebels, RNCM.

Irvin Mayfield at Wednesday in the Square

Treme Brass Band at dba, New Orleans

11. Cats! I can’t really do a summing up of 2013 without mention of McNulty, who I adopted in January and who is a joy. Alas, Brontë the beautiful stray who I adopted in August was sadly run over. She is missed.

McNulty: Jan 7th 2013

12. All about New Orleans. My city. I have never felt as truly ‘me’ anywhere else. It was an incredible experience to return and I will definitely not be leaving it as long next time.

Bayou Metairie, New Orleans City Park. May 2013

Free Hugs? Jazz in the Park, New Orleans.

Jackson Square, May 2013

Reminders of Katrina: N. Rampart, Treme.

13. A reminder of the importance of friends. I lost a friend this year. He died suddenly and unexpectedly. It reunited me with a group of friends I’d lost touch with. It made me appreciate the fact that friends are friends no matter where or how you met, or indeed how often you all get to meet up. He is much missed.

Neil: wordsmith and wit extraordinaire.

And 2014? What will this be the year of?  

(I’ve left a few blank… I’m hoping 2014 surprises me!)

1. Health. I am pledging to get fitter. I need to make time for exercise to balance the mental workload. And hey, if they want me to work till I’m 69 then I’m going to have to be seriously fit to do so!

2. Doing. And not just saying I am going to do. My biggest flaw? Maybe. I am the Queen of Procrastination. In 2014 I will be a doer and not a thinker-about-doing. Professionally and personally.

3. Marking. I’m making a concerted effort to mark smarter. I am focusing on D.I.R.T and making my marking meaningful.

4. Reading. I’ve set myself a ‘Fifty Books in 2014’ challenge and shall be blogging my progress. I want to read more for pleasure.

5. Writing. Years ago I wrote all the time. Now, I seem to forget what an excellent tool it is for reflection, idea generation and all round relaxation.

6. KS3 Curriculum. My big professional challenge as Acting Curriculum Leader is to re-vamp our KS3 curriculum in preparation for all the changes that are coming. A big job, yes, but one I am looking forward to.

7. Appreciation. Saying thank you and really taking time to recognise and appreciate those around you is often overlooked. I’m putting it on the to-do list as a permanent item in 2014.

8. Photography. In 2014 I’m determined to get out and shoot more.

9. Career. I think this is the year for me to make some decisions. Hopefully they will be the right ones.

10. De-cluttering. I need to do a bit of this. Physically and metaphorically.

11. Learning and getting better at being a teacher. #TLAB14 and Northern Rocks are two main teaching CPD events I’ve got booked into the calendar so far. Generally though, here’s to a year of collaboration and learning.

12.

13. 

14. New Orleans. I have to go back. My favourite Chris Rose quote kinda says it all: “She is a New Orleans girl, and New Orleans girls never live anywhere else and even if they do, they always come back. That’s just the way it is. This is where she belongs. End of discussion.”

Bill Lucas at #TLAB13

I found Bill Lucas’ keynote interesting. It wasn’t only what he said but, through the power and instant nature of social media, the things others in the audience and beyond were making of the speech as snippets were being tweeted throughout. To say it was controversial and opinion-splitting is perhaps an understatement, but let’s be honest, it’s good to be challenged.

(Professor Lucas had the unenviable post-lunch slot. Maybe we were just a tad restless, like our pupils often are in that first lesson back after lunch!)

Anyway, I digress. His talk.

I’m going to focus simply on the key take away points which resonated with me. I will link to the whole presentation at the end.

Bill suggested we need to consider how we can look at our praise systems. We need to think about what we praise. His suggestion: “Don’t just praise the outcome – praise the effort, process, journey.”

This made me reflect as I travelled back to Liverpool. I checked my recent use of our Vivo system and the commendations I’d given: was I praising or rewarding outcomes or efforts? On balance, I probably praise effort more than achievement and yet, during lessons, could I say the same? In the moment, am I recognising the processes or journeys my pupils are going on or just the outcomes?

I’m setting myself a challenge: when we return to school after the Easter break, I’m going to ask our PGCE student to observe some of my lessons and keep an eye/ear out for my use of praise. I think we should praise/recognise the efforts made by our pupils. They need to reflect on the processes they go through and understand how to learn from any mistakes. Praising this, pointing it out to them, might make a difference.

The next point I have taken away from Bill’s presentation, is the need to move away from the traditional three Rs of reading, writing and ‘rithmetic . 

The 6Rs

Obvious? Well, yes. Despite the best efforts of the Gove-ian machine, we’re not teaching in the 19th century. We’ve moved on. So why was this suggestion so thought-provoking?

Bill Lucas suggested we need to promote six, not three, Rs:

• Resourcefulness
• Remembering
• Reciprocity
• Resilience
• Responsiveness
• Reflectiveness

(This was tied up, as you might be able to see from my dodgy mobile pic above, in a push for some of his publications. This was one of the grumblings – I think – about this keynote. It did feel, at times, like a sales pitch.)

But again, I’m digressing. The 6Rs.

Do we teach our pupils these skills? Do we embed them in our curriculum? Do we need to? This is what I’ve been pondering post-Lucas.

Some of my pupils are not resilient. If they “don’t geddit Miss” then they seem unable/ill-equipped to try again, to fail again, to fail better. “Do I need this for the exam?” is a question that sends chills right through me. They can be incredibly resourceful (especially when trying to check their BBM or text messages in class!) but how resourceful do they need to be when they can just rely on Google for the answers?

I’m an ex-retail manager and recruitment consultant. I understand that employers want world-of-work-ready pupils when they leave at 18 or start their first job post-university. I think this may be why this part of the keynote spoke to me.

Are we equipping our pupils with the skills they need? You may not agree with Bill Lucas’ 6Rs, there may be other things you’d add to that list. Can we ever hope to future-proof our pupils in such a fast-changing world? I think we have a duty to do our best and try.

You can watch the full presentation here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdGsmaizgZs

Professor Bill Lucas was speaking about the Expansive Education Network http://www.expansiveeducation.net

Books I recommend

I’m a terrible hoarder of books and, since becoming a teacher, have found a wealth of weighty educational tomes to add to my collection.

I thought I’d share a few that have made a real impact on me:

The Lazy Teacher’s Handbook by Jim Smith 

The Lazy Teacher's Handbook

I bought this at the end of last academic year and am excited to put some of the lazy philosophy into practice this year.

The Pefect Ofsted Lesson by Jackie Beere (Edited by Ian Gilbert)

The Perfect Ofsted Lesson

This is a great little book… and I say that in the nicest possible way! One of the best things about this is its size; it isn’t a weighty tome you have to be daunted by. It’s small but jam-packed with practical lesson planning tips. If you’ve an observation coming up or if you just need some basic but refreshing tips on how to make your lessons better then read this.

The Teacher’s Toolkit by Paul Ginnis

The Teacher's Toolkit

Now this is the kind of book you can dip in and out of. It has a range of activities which can be adapted to suit different phases or subjects. For every activity it gives you suitable room layout, equipment needed and ideas of how it could be adapted to different subjects. Love it!

 

More to follow…

“Have you read all these books then, Miss?”

“Have you read all these books then, Miss?” asked an enquiring Year 8 pupil, as she helped me take some texts back to our Aladdin’s Cave of a stock cupboard.

Regretfully – but probably not surprisingly – I had to say no. I’m lucky to work in a school with a long tradition of success in English Literature. That makes for a well-stocked text cupboard. As I looked round I was aware of the many gaps in my reading knowledge. Perhaps worryingly, this didn’t seem to surprise the Year 8 pupil, who nodded sagely at my answer.

“To be fair Miss, if you had read them all then you’d not really have much of a life, would you?”

Try as I might on the walk back to the classroom, I don’t think I convinced her that actually reading more would be a great thing to do. Shame I couldn’t instantly recall these wise words:

“When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.”

Maya Angelou

Whilst I couldn’t convince her to give one of the classics a go, before we left the room I persuaded her to take a copy of Neil Gamain’s Coraline.  All reading is good reading in my book!