I still remember my school librarian from primary school. It didn't matter what time you went into the library, she was always there ready to help. She was warm and friendly, just like the library. My friend's mum was a teacher librarian at a neighbouring school. She wore a rainbow clown wig just like Margaret Mahy and had the most amazing dress-ups that she used as part of her storytelling. Both had different approaches to librarianship but both people have stuck in my memory.
So what is going to happen to school libraries in the future? The idea has been floated with our re-build that there might not be a centralised library but bookshelves spread amongst the school. I am not quite sure how I feel about that. I already miss the fact that we don't actually have a librarian at our school! Are we moving towards more digital resources? The Government seems to think so. The changes to the National Library Service are ridiculous. We can't even order subject specific books any more to help boost our own stock. It's not that I don't believe in reading for pleasure (see my last post) but the NLS is an amazing resource for schools and this just does not do it justice.
My own beliefs about school libraries is that they should be a hub for learning. Whether reading for pleasure, finding resources/information, a makerspace, a drama space, a community space to meet. A teacher librarian would be the cherry on the top, somebody who made sure that the space was a living, breathing, learning space. Somebody like Alison Hewett who to me embodies what a good librarian should be. She loves books and she wants students to love books too. I've been following Alison on twitter for awhile now and love engaging in discussion with her around reading and books. Imagine how much influence she would have on my practice if she was the librarian at my school!
The space itself needs to be whimsical and full of wonder - just like books. It also needs spaces to curl up into, spaces to spread out, spaces to sit with a friend, and spaces to be a group. There needs to be access to digital resources too including audiobooks and podcasts. Libraries should hum with people using them.
It will be interesting to see what comes up in the school consultation about libraries. I wonder how other people view the role of libraries in the future of schools?
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Blindness as a social construction - looking at expectations
Over the school holiday period I got rather addicted to listening to podcasts (Serial should get a mention here) and came across a new series called Invisibilia which looks at the invisible forces that control human behaviour.
The episode called "How to become Batman" looks at whether blindness is a social construction i.e. can others expectation help someone who is blind to see? Now I found this all fascinating of course because in a past life I was an Orientation and Mobility specialist working with visually impaired children. I saw first hand the effects of expectation on children's ability to be independent in a "sighted" world.
Daniel Kish and his way of using echolocation is one of the main subjects of this podcast. Daniel as a young child taught himself how to navigate his surroundings and was known for some time as "that blind kid who could ride a bike". He now teaches others how to use this technique and to gain vision through doing so. There is a real poignant moment in the recording when he is working with a young child and letting him walk towards a busy road. As the child approaches the road his Godmother runs to stop him in fear for his life. This is so common for visually impaired children, for people to stop them from taking those risks that allow them to learn.
If we apply this to the "sighted" world, how often do we stop children from taking those risks that are integral for their learning and their sense of self? Is failure a social construction? Carol Dweck also features on this podcast. I am a big fan of her growth mindset research. So much so that I used it with my class last year. Carol reiterates that sometimes we may not even be aware of the expectations we are conveying to others. It can be as subtle as the distance we stand from somebody. Our expectations can change the behaviour of another person.
We have to be so careful as teachers about the expectations we have for students. National standards and summative assessment can trick us into fixed mindsets about student achievement. For example, if we think they are not good at maths then they will live up to that expectation.
So back to my original thoughts about the social construction of blindness... if we say somebody can't do something because they are blind then it is us forcing them to not see. If we say a student is not capable of achieving then again the fault lies with us. So think of this for all students, different genders, ethnicities, socio-economic status, disability/abilities... our expectations hold so much strength.
The episode called "How to become Batman" looks at whether blindness is a social construction i.e. can others expectation help someone who is blind to see? Now I found this all fascinating of course because in a past life I was an Orientation and Mobility specialist working with visually impaired children. I saw first hand the effects of expectation on children's ability to be independent in a "sighted" world.
Daniel Kish and his way of using echolocation is one of the main subjects of this podcast. Daniel as a young child taught himself how to navigate his surroundings and was known for some time as "that blind kid who could ride a bike". He now teaches others how to use this technique and to gain vision through doing so. There is a real poignant moment in the recording when he is working with a young child and letting him walk towards a busy road. As the child approaches the road his Godmother runs to stop him in fear for his life. This is so common for visually impaired children, for people to stop them from taking those risks that allow them to learn.
If we apply this to the "sighted" world, how often do we stop children from taking those risks that are integral for their learning and their sense of self? Is failure a social construction? Carol Dweck also features on this podcast. I am a big fan of her growth mindset research. So much so that I used it with my class last year. Carol reiterates that sometimes we may not even be aware of the expectations we are conveying to others. It can be as subtle as the distance we stand from somebody. Our expectations can change the behaviour of another person.
We have to be so careful as teachers about the expectations we have for students. National standards and summative assessment can trick us into fixed mindsets about student achievement. For example, if we think they are not good at maths then they will live up to that expectation.
So back to my original thoughts about the social construction of blindness... if we say somebody can't do something because they are blind then it is us forcing them to not see. If we say a student is not capable of achieving then again the fault lies with us. So think of this for all students, different genders, ethnicities, socio-economic status, disability/abilities... our expectations hold so much strength.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Waitangi Day
One of my friends puts Waitangi Day as her number one public holiday. She puts it above Christmas and Easter. For her it is one of the most important days of the year. Last year she hosted a lunch that included a secret santa (not sure what you'd translate that to?), and games. This year she visited Archives NZ to see the Treaty and then we caught up for a drink in the sun.
When I asked my class if anybody knew what Waitangi Day was about only one student put their hand up. This made me feel so sad and disheartened. Admittedly they are only 7 & 8 year olds but they know what Christmas is do they not?
At that very moment I made the decision that every student in my class would have the opportunity to learn about their bicultural heritage. That as New Zealanders they have the right to know it but also the obligation to be part of it. I started off by presenting the 3 P's to them:
These are the 3 principles that I will weave into my daily practice and conversations with the children. They need to have an understanding of why we use tikanga and te reo Maori in our classroom. I want them to leave my class at the end of the year with the understanding that it doesn't just stop once they leave my class. I will fulfil my obligation by making sure that I work in partnership with the tamariki and their whanau, that I protect the taonga of New Zealand (which includes the tamariki), and that we participate in tikanga and te reo Maori on a daily basis.
note: apologies for the missing macrons. Blogger was not cooperating on this!
When I asked my class if anybody knew what Waitangi Day was about only one student put their hand up. This made me feel so sad and disheartened. Admittedly they are only 7 & 8 year olds but they know what Christmas is do they not?
At that very moment I made the decision that every student in my class would have the opportunity to learn about their bicultural heritage. That as New Zealanders they have the right to know it but also the obligation to be part of it. I started off by presenting the 3 P's to them:
Partnership
Protection
Participation
These are the 3 principles that I will weave into my daily practice and conversations with the children. They need to have an understanding of why we use tikanga and te reo Maori in our classroom. I want them to leave my class at the end of the year with the understanding that it doesn't just stop once they leave my class. I will fulfil my obligation by making sure that I work in partnership with the tamariki and their whanau, that I protect the taonga of New Zealand (which includes the tamariki), and that we participate in tikanga and te reo Maori on a daily basis.
note: apologies for the missing macrons. Blogger was not cooperating on this!
Reluctant Readers
Last year I spent a whole term building up a culture of reading in my class. I used Donalyn Miller's the "Book Whisperer" to help guide my thinking and her 40 Book Challenge as a catalyst for the students. Reading and talking about books was just what we did. We loved books!
Now as I start with a new group of students I have to build this culture again and this time I have quite a few reluctant readers. I spotted them the first time round when I took the class to the library. They were the ones who didn't find a book to put on the pile for the class, still hadn't got a book for themselves when it was time to issue, and sat together talking about pictures in non-fiction high interest books.
One of the ways that I collect data on reading behaviours is by using the Reading-Interest-A-Lyzer (Donalyn Miller) to find out how often kids read for pleasure, what books they like, do they read for pleasure, and there access to books. The same kids I spotted in the library (no surprises here) came up as having reading as a low priority activity. They didn't go to the public library, they did not want a book as a present and they certainly did not read any books in the holidays.
I have a bit of work to do!
As I build relationships with all the students in my class I am also collecting information about them that will help me build their confidence as readers. I also believe that I can get those reluctant readers on board by matching them with the right book. I don't think is going to be an easy job and for some of the kids I am going to have to be quite creative in my approach. There has been a glimmer of hope already though. One of them put "reading" down several times in an activity where the students designed their own timetables. I said to him "I didn't think reading was a top priority for you?" and he replied "it's not, but I really want it to be". And that made my day.
I think we beat the love of reading out of kids when they start school. Reading becomes an arduous task and so formal. For some this makes them lose interest. My goal is for all students to see themselves as readers and to enjoy reading. I want them to explore different genres, find new worlds, relate to characters and grow their imaginations.
Now as I start with a new group of students I have to build this culture again and this time I have quite a few reluctant readers. I spotted them the first time round when I took the class to the library. They were the ones who didn't find a book to put on the pile for the class, still hadn't got a book for themselves when it was time to issue, and sat together talking about pictures in non-fiction high interest books.
One of the ways that I collect data on reading behaviours is by using the Reading-Interest-A-Lyzer (Donalyn Miller) to find out how often kids read for pleasure, what books they like, do they read for pleasure, and there access to books. The same kids I spotted in the library (no surprises here) came up as having reading as a low priority activity. They didn't go to the public library, they did not want a book as a present and they certainly did not read any books in the holidays.
I have a bit of work to do!
As I build relationships with all the students in my class I am also collecting information about them that will help me build their confidence as readers. I also believe that I can get those reluctant readers on board by matching them with the right book. I don't think is going to be an easy job and for some of the kids I am going to have to be quite creative in my approach. There has been a glimmer of hope already though. One of them put "reading" down several times in an activity where the students designed their own timetables. I said to him "I didn't think reading was a top priority for you?" and he replied "it's not, but I really want it to be". And that made my day.
I think we beat the love of reading out of kids when they start school. Reading becomes an arduous task and so formal. For some this makes them lose interest. My goal is for all students to see themselves as readers and to enjoy reading. I want them to explore different genres, find new worlds, relate to characters and grow their imaginations.
 |
| Credit: Karin Schreier Hallett, liquidliteracy.wordpress.com |
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Keeping the balance - find what feels good!
As per usual the beginning of the school year has been a wild rush of go, go, go and already I have fallen into a terrible routine/ rut of being too busy, rushed and feeling like I have too much left to do.
I actually need to implement a plan in which I can balance school and life and really look after myself physically and emotionally.
Teaching mindfulness to children was a debated media topic at the end of last year. But what about mindfulness for teachers. How often to teachers get to totally disconnect? I know that I have real trouble doing this. I think about stuff for school constantly - while I'm driving, watching tv, doing chores, walking, breathing... it just doesn't stop. Could teachers benefit from having a period dedicated to mindfulness during the school day? Do we need to disconnect in order to reconnect?
Recently I was introduced to an online yoga guru by the name of Adriene Mishler. She has a website and youtube channel and she is nothing like you would ever imagine. A native Texan, she has a lovely colloquial way of relating to her audience. I feel like I've known her for ages. She's fun and even though I am totally unflexible (extremely tight hamstrings) she makes me feel like I can do it. She also has one motivational saying. That is, to find what feels good. I'm adopting this as my mantra for this year.
Yoga is a great way to help you discover mindfulness and I really hope that I can incorporate it more into my week. I thought I might look at some meditation too. +Karen Melhuish Spencer has mentioned in her recent blog post that she uses the Headspace app to get her mind set for the day. I'm imagining now what a 10 minute "disconnect" at lunchtime could do for my brain each day... I'm hoping that it "feels good".
I'll keep you posted!
I actually need to implement a plan in which I can balance school and life and really look after myself physically and emotionally.
Teaching mindfulness to children was a debated media topic at the end of last year. But what about mindfulness for teachers. How often to teachers get to totally disconnect? I know that I have real trouble doing this. I think about stuff for school constantly - while I'm driving, watching tv, doing chores, walking, breathing... it just doesn't stop. Could teachers benefit from having a period dedicated to mindfulness during the school day? Do we need to disconnect in order to reconnect?
Recently I was introduced to an online yoga guru by the name of Adriene Mishler. She has a website and youtube channel and she is nothing like you would ever imagine. A native Texan, she has a lovely colloquial way of relating to her audience. I feel like I've known her for ages. She's fun and even though I am totally unflexible (extremely tight hamstrings) she makes me feel like I can do it. She also has one motivational saying. That is, to find what feels good. I'm adopting this as my mantra for this year.
Yoga is a great way to help you discover mindfulness and I really hope that I can incorporate it more into my week. I thought I might look at some meditation too. +Karen Melhuish Spencer has mentioned in her recent blog post that she uses the Headspace app to get her mind set for the day. I'm imagining now what a 10 minute "disconnect" at lunchtime could do for my brain each day... I'm hoping that it "feels good".
I'll keep you posted!
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
The fear of (perceived) change
This year the staff at my school will take a huge shift towards using digital technology in the classroom. Despite being a high decile school, the technology being used (or should I say not used) is dated and dying (literally, like one netbook a week dies). Teachers use the existing technology for mainly accessing the internet for student research. There has been some use of forums (third space) to help create an audience but only 1 or 2 teachers still continuing with this.
As you can see, the term e-learning is slightly dangerous, unknown, threatening and scary for some.
It was evident in a discussion yesterday as part of a session I ran, that some teachers thought they they would have to change their practice and their beliefs in order to have digital technology in the classroom. I had to reiterate that with such strong pedagogy underpinning everything at our school why would this change? They say that successful integration of digital technology requires a sound pedagogy. But does it have to be an e-learning pedagogy? Can it just be pedagogy? Can it just be about learning?
Yes!
Digital technology enhances our teaching and creates multiple possibilities for communication and connectivity. However that is also how the world operates now. It would be archaic to keep doing what we've always been doing and not keep up with the rest of the world. Ultimately it has to come down to what dispositions we want our learners to have. The ones that resound with me the most are Resourceful, Resilient, Creative and Persistent. I'd probably chuck Playful in their too. Digital technology opens up possibilities to develop these dispositions in a real world context. A real world context because the reality is that most students will start school knowing more about iPads than their teachers, are exposed to digital technology everywhere they go. It is their world.
So coming back to the fear of change... perhaps taking the e out of e-learning makes it less threatening and allows teachers to build on their teaching philosophy rather than destroying it? So that they see the change as a natural progression because isn't that what technology is?
As you can see, the term e-learning is slightly dangerous, unknown, threatening and scary for some.
It was evident in a discussion yesterday as part of a session I ran, that some teachers thought they they would have to change their practice and their beliefs in order to have digital technology in the classroom. I had to reiterate that with such strong pedagogy underpinning everything at our school why would this change? They say that successful integration of digital technology requires a sound pedagogy. But does it have to be an e-learning pedagogy? Can it just be pedagogy? Can it just be about learning?
Yes!
Digital technology enhances our teaching and creates multiple possibilities for communication and connectivity. However that is also how the world operates now. It would be archaic to keep doing what we've always been doing and not keep up with the rest of the world. Ultimately it has to come down to what dispositions we want our learners to have. The ones that resound with me the most are Resourceful, Resilient, Creative and Persistent. I'd probably chuck Playful in their too. Digital technology opens up possibilities to develop these dispositions in a real world context. A real world context because the reality is that most students will start school knowing more about iPads than their teachers, are exposed to digital technology everywhere they go. It is their world.
So coming back to the fear of change... perhaps taking the e out of e-learning makes it less threatening and allows teachers to build on their teaching philosophy rather than destroying it? So that they see the change as a natural progression because isn't that what technology is?
 |
| The times are a changing |
Monday, February 2, 2015
Tomorrow, tomorrow... it's only a day away
Tomorrow, 27 learners will come together for the first time. There are certain things that they will expect and know, and others that will be unknown. They will be looking at me as some kind of beacon, a light to guide them around the rocks.
I have included myself in the number of learners. This is because I do not know what I will learn this year from my class. I have a little awareness of some of the students interests but I don't know who they are yet. This makes me both anxious and excited. Pretty much the same as most of those children will be feeling tonight.
There is going to be tension as we figure each other out. There will be gaps in the rhythm of the day, awkward pauses, and the embarrassing moments of getting each others names wrong.
Starting out is hard!
So this is just me taking a little time to reflect on how my students will be feeling tomorrow when we come together. Perhaps we will need some quiet moments to relax and lose ourself in. Perhaps we will need something to laugh about together. Lets just play it by ear...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)