The people have spoken

Well there we have it.

We have no option but to listen to the voice of the people and the people have said they are happy (in the majority) with National Standards and the National Government.

That means that we have to do all we can to ensure that our children are not the ones who loose from this- that is I/ we need to do all we can to mitigate the risks , ensure that our schools are still vibrate, positive places and that our children are engaged, motivated, confident, connected life long learners and that they achieve to the best of their potential.

I respect the choice and the decision of the people.

My job is to make this work.

Kia kaha

Neill

Last Chance

Tomorrow we decide

Do we want an Education system based on passing Standards or based on meeting children's needs?

Do we want a system based on schools competing against each other for ranking on league tables or co operating and collaborating?

Do we want teachers pay based on how many children they get to meet the standard or based on value added?

Do we want schools recognised for their innovation, quality practices, systems of self review by the Education Review Office or recognised for their Decile Rating (which will in turn impact on ranking for National Standards)?

Do we want to retain our World Class Curriculum and Internationally recognised teachers or do we want to revert to a 1950's system of Standards and failing children as young as possible?

Wake up New Zealand our Education system that ranks so high in the world is at risk tomorrow.

This Government have made their policy clear. The implications are very serious.

What is the purpose of school?

Often we are told that our business is to improve outcomes for learners- and to some degree this is true.

We are also told to fix the ills of society (teenage pregnancy, environmental destruction, financial woes, crime, racism, bullying,religious intolerance and hatred) and while schooling can't actually 'fix' these things it does have a part to play.

Usually these expectations come on schools when society is failing in some way or another or when a group wants to exploit schooling for some other agenda.

Our National Curriculum states:

Our vision is for young people:

• who will be creative, energetic, and enterprising
• who will seize the opportunities offered by new knowledge and technologies to secure a sustainable social, cultural, economic, and environmental future for our country
• who will work to create an Aotearoa New Zealand in which Māori and Pākehā recognise each other as full Treaty partners, and in which all cultures are valued for the contributions they bring
• who, in their school years, will continue to develop the values, knowledge, and competencies that will enable them to live full and satisfying lives
• who will be confident, connected, actively involved, and lifelong learners.

It is perhaps the last bullet point that is most compelling. If we as a nation are to succeed (and I don't just mean economically) we need individuals who are lifelong learners. Herein lies the challenge of schooling. How do we create/enable/encourage "confident, connected, actively involved, and lifelong learners".

I believe that Schlechty sums it up beautifully below:

The business of schools is to produce learning that is so compelling that students persist when
they experience difficulties and that is so challenging that students have a sense of
accomplishment, of satisfaction- indeed of delight, when they successfully accomplish the task
assigned (leaning)
so...
The job of the teacher is to make learning so compelling that young people find it more satisfying
to learn than to attend to any one of a score of competing possibilities”
Phil Schlechty in H Lynn Erickson “Concept based Curriculum and Instruction” pg viii 2002

So our challenge/ my challenge to schools is to unpack how we might make learning "so compelling" that all else falls aside. All inappropriate behaviour, all distractions, all texting....

Our challenge (and I understand that it is a big challenge) is to engage children and through exciting/ challenging/ motivational/difficult learning.

I believe we can achieve the vision in the New Zealand Curriculum rather than that which is dolled out in truck loads every time there is a problem in society (or an election). I also believe that this is a far more exciting challenge than any National Standard or Ministry imposed "3R" challenge.

Maths

It the numeracy project the answer?

Some schools in New Zealand have been implementing it for over 10 years. Is it making a difference? Well the NEMP report released in Sept 19 2010 showed that there had been no improvement in achievement for Y8 for over 12 years and overall between 2005 and 2009 no improvement for any year level. There could be a lot of reasons including:

- a lack of skill and understanding on the part of teachers in the numeracy framework

- variation in implementation of the numeracy project nation wide (it is not compulsory)

- where it has been implemented variation in the quality of teaching

- confusion over how and when to promote children through the stages

- lack of rigor around follow up activities after teaching time

- removal of maths from a real life context and problems

The last reason may also impact on enjoyment. Children need to know more than having several strategies. Then need to know and understand maths in a real life problem solving context. Is it time to make time for real problems, real issues and then teach maths in context just in time rather than endless amounts of just in case teaching?

It is time to look at what we are doing in maths once again.

National Standards con't...

We are doing our best with National Standards despite:

- A total lack of effective PD

- Confusion at the highest levels about specifics around implementation

- A lack of research and meaningful justification as to why we would report against age for the first three years of a child's schooling and then suddenly switch to year end reporting

- Conflicting statements from the various PD providers about how to implement the standards

- All the providers suggesting that we go back to school and determine what the standards mean to us (are they or are they not National Standards?)

- funding

But this is not the biggest issue. The biggest issue is that the standards have done and will do little if nothing to help the underachieving children in NZ. It was interesting to hear the media and Government acknowledge the massive issue of child poverty in NZ (200 000 children!)- Start there folks- look at the link between poverty and underachievement, address poverty and social inequities and you will begin to deal with under achievement.

National Standards will not help!

Despite this my staff and I continue to comply and do all that we can to ensure that the children at Windsor are not disadvantaged because of the standards (i.e being labelled "Below" in 2011- a year of unprecedented change, disruption, crisis and turmoil!)

We have entered the stage where our children are now guinea pigs for an untried, unproven and questionable practice- what a shame

Neill

Canterbury Children

I was amazed last week.

At our Learning Celebration Assembly (LCA) we had so much to celebrate that we were still going well after 3:00pm! Our children started the LCA with a moving rendition of the National Anthem on the eve of the launch of the Rugby World Cup. This was followed by children sharing their learning, their PRIDE challenges, our Jump Jam teams (who came 2nd and 7h respectively out of 143 teams nationally) performed and then Chris from World Vision spoke. This was the highlight for me. In a year when so much has been taken from the families of Canterbury the children of Windsor raised more money than they ever had for the children of Timor. Such was their generosity that our school was the top school in the South Island. Go Canterbury, Go Windsor , Go our children!

Lifelong and Self Regulated Learners

Randomly interview 32 children from 16 classes about their learning goals with no warning and allowing no prompts and what would you expect? I expected they might know something about their learning- like perhaps a few goals.

What I found was really exciting.

The majority (80%) could talk to me about their goals and next steps in reading, writing,maths and even a Key Competency (especially self management) goal.

These children could articulate what they were learning, why they were learning it and how they would know if they were successful. What a transition from 10 years ago when we "Did" learning to children. Now we engage and empower them, we encourage them to take responsibility for their own learning and we have an expectation that they can communicate their progress.

The aim of developing lifelong learners is very admirable, the reality- seeing it in practice is awesome!

The next step- if I, or someone asks a child What are you learning at the moment and why?"- can they respond in a meaningful manner, is there a close link between what the teacher was intending (the learning intention) and the learning that is taking place?

Skillful Thinkers

I recently had the pleasure of attending a workshop by Edward de Bono in Belfast Northern Ireland. His presentation regarding "Thought full lesson design" really resonated with me. Two key aspects struck a note:

1. To ensure that we are fully aware and plan for the understandings that we want the children to develop in a rich context

2. To plan to develop skillful thinkers by the language we as teachers use in the lessons as well as the teaching strategies we teach the children.

It sounds so simple yet it is so critical. What are we trying to do if not to develop skillful thinkers?

Yet to do this a teacher needs to consider:

- the type of thinking that is required for the child to be successful

- replacing "I want you to think about..." with " I want you to consider or debate, or discuss, or analyse etc..."

- the understandings (and what this actually means) to be developed and then the process to achieve this- this goes well beyond rote knowledge and is based on a conceptual curriculum

That is we become more precise about the type of thinking we are asking to child to engage in.

At Windsor we staff have placed large copies of words to use in place of "think" on the wall to provide prompts to themselves and children. Just one small step but I believe a powerful one. In addition they have planned for the type of thinking that will be required in the lesson and they have continued with developing specific deep understandings of concept based curriculum in their Inquiry Modules.

Thank you Edward for complimenting our work and providing some very useful insights to develop our children's thinking!

Why do we do what we do?

One of the biggest challenges in education is critical reflection.

It is a challenge because without it we (educators) do what we have always done and what was done to us. Why wouldn't we , we are a successful outcome of a western education system so why not replicate it.

My belief is that we should reflect deeply on all that we do, and be immersed in the best research and studies about teaching and learning so that we might improve our learning environments. You may think I am stating the obvious but if reflective practice was occuring regularly in our schools why are so many practices the same as what was evident 20-30 years ago?

Why in many schools:

- Are there still "Parent, Teacher " interviews without the child present?

- Do we still have seating that is all groups or all in single tables?

- Do teachers ask most of the questions in the classroom?

- Is homework unchanged from our parents day?

- Are lessons set between 9:00 and 3:00 and children at 5 years have the same length day as children at 12 years in NZ?

- Do we get children to line up in two straight lines

- Do we give the message to parents and children that successful learners are "Good and listen to the teacher and don't talk" rather than "Creative, questioning, critical, collaborative, interacting and active"

- Do children still not know what they are learning, why they are learning it and are aware of the success criteria

- Are facts and memorising information for tests valued

- Do we still teach topics (on a bi annual cycle) that often have no meaningful link to the child's world

I believe that if we are reflective, look at Best Practice Evidence and research about learning we might just challenge the above which are at the tip of the iceberg in terms of questionable practice in schools in 2011.

Laugh Out Loud! (LOL)

Why not laugh?

I attended a workshop at ICOT in Belfast last week that was literally a laugh (http://www.laughteryoga.org/).

The underpinning premise was that laughter is healing, heathy and restorative. The workshop had me doubled over laughing with a group of people I had never met before- I laugh a lot so this was not an entirely new experience for me- and we connected on a different level to all other workshops at the conference.

I wonder if you laugh enough?

As an educator it is very easy to look at the negatives in school- constant earthquakes, we were burgled last night at Windsor $100000 worth of i pads stolen, stressed staff, troubled children, upset parents, however it is relatively easy to adjust my attitude- just visiting the playground at interval or lunch and I will see and hear children laughing, usually our staffroom is filled with laughter.

Children appear to be able to laugh at the drop of a hat- as we get older we appear to be conditioned to take more care about why,when, where, how and with whom we laugh- and often we don't do it at all. One of our Teaching and Learning Beliefs at Windsor is " A positive and challenging learning environment", you can bet that means bring on the laughs (as well as giving 100% in our learning)

If you are an educator ask yourself the question, "Do I enable laughter and a positive learning environment?"

If not then I suggest you re think your role with children. Children are a joy, they bring joy with them, life is hard enough (we can attest to this in Christchurch), find a way to encourage laughter today in your school, workplace, classroom, staffroom or home.

You will have nothing to loose, your day will be happier and those around you will not complain that they were upset because together you laughed!

Pass on a laugh tomorrow!

Resilence

Since my last post from Ireland I returned home early to New Zealand following ongoing quakes and announcements about land remediation or zones that were to be totally wiped out due to excessive ground damage.

On my return I was struck by the resilience of our staff, children and the community. Despite repeated setbacks the team continue to provide a stimulating and challenging learning environment for our children. Families continue to smile and press on despite homes that are far from safe and in many cases at risk of severe structural damage in the event of another substantial shake. What strength, heart and fortitude. I am indeed proud to be a Canterbury resident and the Principal of such a school in such a resilient community.

The strength of our staff and children is written on the faces of our children.

Kia kaha Canterbury- be strong!

Dublin and Belfast ICOT 2011

I am currently in Belfast at ICOT (International Conference on Thinking) having spent four wonderful days in Dublin.

Having visited schools in Ireland I can say that in NZ:

We are very fortunate with our school environments

Our autonomy under Tomorrows Schools is worth its weight in gold (and student engagement and achievement)

Our teachers have wonderful professional development opportunities in general and support as beginning teachers

Our staff are empowered to be reflective practitioners due to the systems and processes that we have in place

Our lack of a formal second language is debilitating

The imposition of National Standards is a move back in time and will do little to help our children

We have a beautiful country!

Having listened to some top international speakers such as Art Costa and Edward de Bono I am challenged about some of our practices and indeed about the risks inherent in moving to a narrow curriculum focussed on numeracy and literacy. I am reminded of the absolute need to help our children to be skillful thinkers and of the need for teachers to utilize strategies that will empower and enable our children.

I am also challenged by the difference between "real learning" and "school learning" and how we might reduce the gap between the two so that learning is more meaningful for our children.

It is an honor and a privileged to travel here to learn about teaching and learning from such an expert field. It is also a privilege to teach our children in New Zealand.

As the children and families struggle with ongoing earthquakes in Christchurch I am again reminded about the amazing job that the dedicated staff at Windsor do in providing a positive and challenging learning environment.

Kia Kaha Christchurch and Windsor!

Neill from Belfast June 2011

Risk Taking and Mistake making

Do we need to take risks (or as a member of our discussion group this morning said "Have a go") to learn?

We debated this point this morning. It was an interesting discussion. We did agree that we needed to talk to our children about the learning process and aspects of their learning that involved taking a risk- in fact discuss what "taking a risk" means. We reflected on the NZ Curriculum and the key competencies of participating and contributing and of managing self. Both involve taking risks (with the chance of making mistakes) to learn and grow. Certainly once children leave the compulsory schooling years they will be in an ongoing range of situations where they have the choice of taking a risk (having a go) with the possibility of making mistakes and the consequences of this or of staying in their comfort zone.

If they do not learn to take risks and make mistakes in the safety of the schooling environment when will they? Will they venture an opinion in a group discussion with the risk that their opinion could be perceived as wrong (Participating and Contributing) if they are scared of the consequences. How do they learn to manage self if they are not put in the situation where they can "have a go"?

Will their experiences through school encourage or discourage them from taking a risk?

Do our classrooms and schools have a culture of encouraging risk taking and accepting "making mistakes" as a critical part of the learning process?

Time to observe, talk to our children and our staff and find out!

Integrated Learning, Questioning and Assessment

I was having some great discussions with a group of principals (critical friends) yesterday regarding integrated learning and assessment. In particular we are interested in what is meaningful and useful to assess, what we do with that information, how it will inform teaching and parents and be of value to the child. We looked at a number of approaches. At Windsor we have experimented with the knowledge aspect, the skills strand and the application of PRIDE Values.

This year we are exploring the Key Competency of Thinking and in particular the ability of children to explore into their world and the concepts/ contexts we are studying through effective questioning. We have developed a questioning matrix and are looking to see the children develop their ability to ask questions, (closed first) then use the seven servants to broaden their inquiry followed by the use of key words and then the ability to pursue a course of inquiry.

What we have found out along the way is that while children enter school at 5 with non stop questions about their world that these appear to reduce in quantity and quality as they progress through our education system. This is a real concern if their are to be lifelong learners and are act as active rather than passive learners. In fact it appears that the one who asks the most questions in the classroom in school is the teacher....

Do we want children exiting school only able to answer questions (i.e. find the correct answer) or ask their own questions and then explore, inquire and find some solutions?

Hands Up - IT Solution

Matt Bush read my blog and suggested that while ice cream sticks were good the Randomizer is better- check this out!

Hands Up!

Why do we ask children to put up their hands to answer a question in class?

A very short observation will show you that:

- One or two children typically get their hands up before the question is even finished because they love to talk and can think on the spot

- Those who take time to process the question (as all should) feel pressured by the fact that child A and B have their hands up already (now trying to process and cope with added pressure)

- Those who were not wanting to answer are relieved and sit back thinking "Thank God I didn't have to answer that one"

- Others who have their hands up waiting for their turn to answer cannot listen to others contributions because they are busy trying to remember what they were going to say!

- and others might not even want to answer as they have realised this is a "Guess what is in the Teachers head" at times!!!!

What to do?

Have a "no hands up policy" in the classroom.

Instead discuss with the children

"When I ask a question I will give you time to think, then I want you to share your idea with a partner then I will choose anyone, or two or three to share with the class" (Think , pair, share)

Use icecream sticks with the children's names on. Each time you ask a question wait 10 seconds and then draw a name from the pot then everyone will listen, think and be ready to contribute.

Remind children there are many possible responses and that there is not usually just one correct answer.

Ensure that the question prompts thinking and generates discussion.

Do not repeat their answer/ response your children are probably not hearing impaired so let the response be theirs.

Provide meaningful feedback to their response.

Whatever you do try to get rid of the "Thinking stopper" of hands up!

Schoolwork, homework or learning?

Do semantics matter? I believe that they do. Consider "learning" and "work" in the school context.

When children come to school to learn there is a implicit expectation that their is an effective learning environment for them, that the learning opportunities are relevant, appropriate, provide a suitable challenge and that the children will know when they have succeeded or otherwise. The message will be "What are you learning at the moment?, Make the most of the learning time, Do you need assistance with your learning?" etc. At home the "learning" they do should support what was learnt at school- it should not be work or a chore- homework very often leads to family stress and turns children off learning. School (the 8:30-3:15 place of learning) should be an exciting journey of learning not a daily grind of going to work! Likewise Home Learning should be an enjoyable experience for parent and child (yes this is possible!!)

When children come to school to do schoolwork the message is often "get on with your work", "Let me see your work". There is also plenty of room for "busy work" that is, activities that do not challenge the learner and in fact do not encourage learning at all.

We do not have time at school for busy work, or time filling work (worksheets another example) we only have time for powerful, meaningful, exciting learning!

Do semantics count? Most definitely- I challenge teachers, parents and school leaders to try switching to "learning" in place of "work" you will quickly see a difference in yourself as well as the opportunities you provide the learner

Earthquakes, Fundays and Resilience

It has been a busy term to say the least!

Following the devastating earthquake the children have had a fantastic time as they returned to school. The staff have been organising wonderful learning opportunities for the children and we have had a variety of exciting "Funday" activities to re ignite the joy about school and to help with the transition back to the "new normal"

We were fortunate to have a school that is still in very good condition while all around us homes have been significantly damaged.

As you can see from the photo we now have a new wee lake on site

following the earthquake! We have also been working hard on the Windsor Alps in the background. The Alps will be a play/ exercise area with hills, bridges, tunnels and native plants. Thanks Murray and the Team from NZ Build for this awesome space.

As much as possible it has been learning as usual with the children. While we have been experiencing a number of aftershocks the vast majority have gone un noticed by the children. We have had wonderful community support since the quake and the school is moving in a positive direction with all showing amazing resilience.

We have been focusing on "Making is safe and Making it fun!" since we returned and we really seemed to be achieving our goal. Next Term is a wizz bang term of science- "Making it Amazing!". We have a term of science that will really challenge the children and in particular we are planning to develop the children's key competency of "Thinking" through exploring quality questioning in science.

Remember we have a Facebook page for regular updates

Welcome back!

Kia ora and welcome to our new families and our returning families in 2011!

We have had a wonderful start to 2011. The teachers had an inspiring day with International consultant and writer Tony Ryan. Tony is renown for developing the "Thinkers Keys" in the 1980's and was an early advocate of explicitly teaching the skills of thinking to children. Tony inspired the staff with his practical teaching strategies, he challenged us all with his questions about why we teach and the important role that we have in the life of a child and he gave us plenty of great strategies about how to manage the challenging role of teaching 20-30 children for 6-7 hours a day, planning, assessing, building relationships with the child, their family, contributing to the greater life of the school, meeting Government expectations, meeting community expectations and still having a balanced life.

This day was followed by a fantastic morning where over 50 staff and BOT members spent time getting to know each other, re acquainting ourselves with our Vision, values and beliefs and clarifying our goals for 2011.

We have an amazing year planned! The learning opportunities for the children at Windsor are too many to mention here but with our Key Competency focus of Managing Self and our PRIDE Value focus of Excellence we expect to see some fantastic results.

Our PRIDE Challenges will be up and running shortly but have a look at the link to see some of the inspiring children from 2010. Such is the interest in the PRIDE Challenges nationally that they have become part of the NZ Curriculum Online series.

Our Theme of "Making it!" in 2011 we see the children immersed in Science and Technology for the year. We are going to have a lot of fun learning about ways of "Making it"

Huge changes have been going on over the holidays, new courts, painting, re fit of older building and the creation of breakout learning areas called CHILL Studios (CHILL- Children who Independently Lead their Learning). The projects are ongoing- as you can see by the digger above!

I look forward to seeing our families at the Meet the Teacher Picnic next Tuesday!

Regards

Neill