Tuesday afternoons

I have this really annoying thing happen on Tuesday afternoons.  A huge group of boys from my class go and have a private chess lesson.  This 45 min period of time has been a real thorn in my side in terms of delivering curriculum.  I don't want them to miss out on some learning but I don't want the kids who aren't at chess to miss out on learning either.

I started the year with a structured and planned afternoon program but what has evolved is something quite special.  It started when somebody asked if they could have some time to finish something.  It then morphed into everybody working on their choice of activity.

Suddenly there were kids working individually, in pairs or in groups with focused attention.

Suddenly there were projects.

Suddenly the children have hacked the class and created their own version of Google 20% time.

And the best bit for me is that I get to really relax as a teacher in that time and become a student.  I sit side by side with my students and talk about their projects.  I have rich conversations in which I really get to know my learners and their learning.

I think that my next step is to introduce the students to more possibilities around what those projects could be and provide a platform for students to showcase their projects.  I am really interested to know exactly what they would like to learn more about!

First steps towards digital collaboration

This week I ran a staff professional development session on how to set up a YouTube account and utilise this amazing resource.

I decided just to offer it as an after school activity for anybody that was interested. Taking the compulsory factor out of it and making it about staff making proactive choices about their own learning.  I had nearly every staff member present including our Principal!

No pressure Leanne!

My aim was to have everybody logged in and using YouTube to create playlists of resources that could then be shared with others. I found that some staff were using videos as resources already but were not using YouTube as a tool.

I had also created a Google site for the school. This holds the information from the session so that teachers can readily go back and find notes on how to do things.

One of my colleagues is a prolific user of YouTube and had never ever created a playlist before.  He was having the search the depths of his brain every time he wanted to re-watch or re-use a particular video.  In passing the next day we discussed the potential for connections and sharing within the team which then got us discussing sharing other types of resources too.  His playlists alone are going to be game-changers within the school.

And I guess that is the point I wanted to reflect on.  For me, presenting some information about how to set up a YouTube account was pretty straightforward.  As my colleagues 14yr old son said to me "so you basically taught them how to use YouTube? But that's so easy!". Well yes it is easy but actually to those who are new to the digital platform it is like reading a whole other language.  Their are new symbols along with new possibilities and I imagine the experience for some was quite overwhelming (in a good way). But what I have hopefully achieved through this small thing is opened a door towards more collaboration and sharing within the school. It may just be a very tiny opening to begin with, but I have plans in place for how to kick it open even wider.

Much kudos must go to the master of YouTube himself Jim Sill who inspired me at the GAFE summit in Auckland earlier this year. That man has so many playlists that I imagine Google created the "Ctrl f" search button just for him.

The Pink Debate

The introduction of Pink Shirt Day evoked some interesting comments and expressions from the classroom.

"Boys can't wear pink!" "Yes they can!"

I decided that everybody needed to hear each others voices in this debate.

Students had time to discuss their thoughts with a peer then an invisible continuum was constructed across the room to show that there were two extreme arguments (and everything in between).

Students decided which side that they felt more strongly aligned to and also had the choice to stand somewhere in the middle.  One student chose to stand on his own, swaying slightly towards the anti-pink agenda.

Each student was allowed to say one sentence to argue why boys should or should not wear pink, in the hope that they could sway the person in the middle.

The anti-pink team started first.  All 6 of them had very valid arguments as to why they felt the way that they did.  As a teacher, and an informed adult, it was easy to see the influence of marketing and stereotypes had shaped these young people's minds.

The pro-pink team consisted of both girls and boys.  Their comments were absolutely phenomenal.

"There is no such thing as boys and girls colours."

"Everybody should be able to choose to wear whatever they want to."

"If you can't choose what to wear, how can you ever feel free?"

These are only a few examples. Our lone fence sitter chose to go towards the pro-pink end.  I also gave the option to the anti-pink debaters to change which end they were at too.  They all took a few steps towards the others (all except one who was standing his ground about a totally different issue - that he should have to go purchase a pink shirt).

Our whole class discussion then stemmed into stereotypes, and into marketing.  I used Lego to get them talking. We discussed the difference between Lego Friends (pink girls Lego) and general Lego.  The keen female Lego enthusiasts were horrified to think that they were supposed to only play with Lego that was pink.  As one of them valiantly replied "I play with Lego because I like to create!". We also discussed the lack of female characters in Lego including what sort of roles the existing ones had.

This discussion was completely impromptu.  It came from me telling the kids that it would be cool to support Pink Shirt Day and it's anti-bullying agenda. But this for me is an example of engaged learning.  The discussion was very powerful, it came from the children and provided a framework for discussing a range of societal issues. I had a student teacher observing me at the time and I wish I had taken a picture of our faces as the debate evolved.  We were just blown away!

I am helping to create a classroom of thinkers that don't accept things at face value.  They are willing to challenge each other and each others ideas.

Chasing my tail

So as the term draws to an end (2 weeks to go!). I fear that I am only really starting to get organised now.  I have realised that the downfall of being a beginning teacher is that it takes a lot of time to collate resources so that you have everything on hand that you might need.

The laminator and photocopier have become my friend.

It takes time to set up reading and maths rotations.  It takes time to scan the resource room for which reading books you need.  It takes time to find everything!  Which can be really challenging when you are "teaching in the moment".

You start getting into the flow and then suddenly there is a school trip, release, a course, or an assessment that changes the routine again.

Teachers need to be able to juggle, be flexible and chase their own tails...all with a smile on their face!

Where to start?

So this is my first time beginning the year in a classroom and to be honest I don't know where to start.

And I am not the only one.  Right now their are lots of beginning teachers (BT's) running around like headless chickens fretting about what they need to be doing right now.  The old hats are telling us to "just wait" but I know that I am going to need lots of time to think and plan about what to do.

I have been collating lots of ideas and resources for the past two years and have spent the last few days revisiting them.  I am keen to do lots of things but I also am hesitant as I need to wait and see where my school is at.

I always thought that when I finally got my own classroom we would have a class blog, be doing lots of blended e-learning, have a really integrated curriculum and be a little bit free range in terms of where our learning would take us.  I know get the feeling that this isn't always as easy to implement as one would hope.

My new school doesn't have blogs yet, or student emails and I see the red tape forming in front of me.

So I am using this planning time to revisit all my ideas and see if I can link some of them.  I will also be ready to present options to my school team and sound like I know what I am talking about. My Evernote folders are neatly organised!

I am also identifying the "regular" parts of the curriculum that I want to be more confident in.  I have asked for The Writing Book out of our Literacy budget and have been rewarded.  I feel the closest thing to attending a Sheena Cameron Workshop is to at least have one of her books on hand.  I have also investigated and purchased a pile of read alouds for the year and thought of activities to help us all get to know each other.

I'm calling on my biggest resource - my Professional Learning Network, the people I know in real life and the Twitterati (teachers on twitter) to help me, guide me and mainly just inspire me while I wait for it all to begin.

New Year, New Job, New Blog

As I reflect back on what I accomplished last year I am still a little in disbelief.

I decided to work full time as a Resource Teacher of Vision and complete a Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Primary) online.  Thankfully I was able to use my experience as an early childhood teacher and as an ORS teacher to help me with my assignments.  It wasn't all new, but it was engaging and it made me want my own classroom (which I did in Term 4 - see below).

One of reason's why I did so well in an online capacity was because I already have a good comprehension of what it takes to be an "online" learner.  I have gathered lots of information via my PLN (professional learning network) about e-learning and blended e-learning.  I was also already engaged in the world of a teacher.

In January 2013 I set up a Facebook group with another student for the other 15 or so people in my original tutor group.  None of us had met before.  That group of strangers became my best friends.  They were my rock they were there for me in the late hours of the night when I needed them (I did most of my work in the evening and luckily 2 students were in other time zones hours behind!).  I also ended up being a mentor for my group.  The one with "connections" to the profession, who was already practicing what we were learning.

From this I set up my "Northern Suburbs" study group with 2 of the guys in my tutor group and our first exam study session involved craft beer and corn chips.  We have celebrated both sets of exams with craft beer and pizza at Goldings Free Dive and I know we will be friends for life.

On our residency we all came into the Karori campus and saw each other for the first time.  We became instant friends.  We were the only tutor group to go out for dinner together.  We were in it together right from the start.

So it turns out that the person I study best with lives in Nelson.  Skype is one of the most amazing tools.  So are Google docs.  So much collaboration, so much moaning, so many wines!  I even took a study trip to Nelson for a change of scenery.  Again a life-long friend was made.

So on reflection, my success comes down to the people I surrounded myself with.  That people are a valuable resource.  That networking is a fantastic skill to have.

And yes I did get my own classroom.  In term 4 last year I started teaching a Year 5/6 class.  It was hard slog picking up something new and still studying.  I also went on camp for a week and returned that weekend to do a 5000 word portfolio to hand in on the Monday! I tell you! I am nuts!

So this year is a little bit special for me.  I only have to focus on one thing - Teaching.  Something I love to do and something that I love to share with others.