Gina's Blog

I was chatting to a friend the other day who told me her husband (a secondary teacher) says this all the time. I hear different versions of the same thing all around me from teachers. 

Why?

You could blame NCEA. 

You could blame the government.

What about the lack of parenting skills in our society?

Or how about the good ol' 'the younger generation is the pits' line that has been around for about 5000 years at least.

I get bogged down in it myself  - when working with teachers I know they would do anything to have more engaged students delighted with learning but they have obligations to meet and gradings to make and parents to please. And if you can't throw away everything we have and start over, can you make small changes? Try one unit of work differently? Take a deep breath and give over more to the students? 

DK introduced me to the idea of 'desire paths' at the CORE breakfast  on social media in education yesterday. He said, 'you have the curriculum, sure, but let the students decide HOW they get there'. (my paraphrasing!)

And Stephen Heppell delighted me with this 7 minute talk that exudes faith in young people and unflagging optimism on what the future of learning is/will be/can be.

Ironically the research we are conducting into schools being interrupted by Mother Nature keeps being interrupted by Mother Nature…

This week I had planned to visit three schools to survey students, parents and staff about their experience of site-sharing, caused by the battering of earthquakes we have had here in Canterbury. I was snowed in for all of the scheduled visits. Over the last few months our CORE research team has missed interviews and surveys due to ongoing earthquakes and bad weather resulting in school closures. I sometimes feel like we are making two steps forwards and taking three steps back as the saying goes.

It strikes me though that this is indicative of the kind of year we have had here in Christchurch as the occupiers of a relatively unaffected house. There has been enormous stress to deal with at times yet since the shock of the last big quake in June, this has subsided into a sense of flatness – of working as hard yet failing to make significant headway or achieve goals. It feels a bit like running and yet standing still.  It's not a wholly unhappy or bad place – there is a sense of community and commeraderie also and I've noticed lately a lightening somehow as if, despite the snows, we sense Spring is on the way and we may have been through the worse of it all.

But I'm hanging out for this winter of interruptions to be…

Made glorious summer by this strong Canterbury spirit;
And all the clouds that low'r'd upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

(with thanks to Shakespeare and begging his forgiveness for a few little changes)

CORE would like to enable worthy educators to pursue professional learning opportunities – we invite you to apply for the following:

1. The CORE Education Travel Scholarship

Recognises New Zealand teachers’ and leaders’ contributions to educational thought by awarding a travel grant to attend an international education event.

2. The CORE Education Awards for Professional Learning and Reflective Practice

Recognises teachers and institutions that can demonstrate how they have applied lessons from professional learning to improve their practice.

There are two types of award:

i.             Individual Award, one each for:

• Early Years
• Primary/Intermediate
• Secondary

ii.            School/Centre Award, one award

Applications close Monday 29^th August 2011.

More information and applications:

www.core-ed.org/foundation or call me on 021 796 999

Forget movie trailers – here come book trailers! From award winning Kyle Mewburn comes a book for boys that has all the right ingredients – some of which I can't repeat here due to the professional and serious nature of this blog. Needless to say my 2 year old was delighted and I can't wait to show my 5 year old step son.

Will all children now expect books to have trailers? And will they be as cool as this?

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

CORE has been commissioned by the Ministry of Education to evaluate the effect of site-sharing amongst Christchurch schools as a result of the February 22nd earthquake. It’s an incredible opportunity to hear first hand what it has been like for these school communities. I’ve met with several Principals for initial chats and have completed interviews of staff and students from one school and am meeting some parents tomorrow.

As an interviewer, it has been a moving experience. There is still a rawness for all of us who live in this city. We are already starting to collate emerging themes as the CORE team journeys around the city. But there is one overwhelming message that struck me over the last few days.

Christchurch teachers have been exceptional.

Initially they protected their students from harm during a terrifying natural disaster. But perhaps this is the harder task – they have also, despite their own stresses, striven to create a safe and happy environment for the children and young people in their care, day after day after day. I saw the results as I sat chatting to some Intermediate students yesterday and could tell their sense of safety and security involved some hard working adults behind them.

Thank you Christchurch teachers.

CORE had an online staff meeting on Friday last week. We have had an extraordinary amount of changes to staffing and projects lately and this coupled with the recent earthquake has meant it was high time for a get together. We are spread out over the entire country but came together using Elluminate.

I asked for RSVPs by Thursday morning, checked numbers Thursday night and set up a meeting for the required amount. We were happily beginning the meeting when suddenly I was bombarded with texts and emails and phone calls and instant chats saying – help I can’t get online the meeting is full! This included Ali our CEO. Ops. We had to stop Derek in the middle of his session to set up and launch another meeting. Message to self – ignore RSVP numbers and make the meeting limit 3000. No one complained about this – on the contrary, I only received encouragement and good humour and everyone just got on with it.

I had also asked all new staff to make a short video of themselves so we could ‘meet’ them prior to the meeting. In retrospect I’m amazed at the trust and willingness and good will they showed in doing this. Imagine starting work in a company then being asked to do something like this after a phone call from someone you have never met. With this in mind, I decided that I could not ask anyone to do this if I wasn’t willing to model it myself, so I taught myself with some advice from Glen, and put together this request…

And what a result. A few examples can show you the fun and warmth and openness and humour…

There are probably 5000 manuals and books devoted to how to have a successful online meeting. However, like so many things in life, having a positive attitude and a willingness to make things work even through teething problems is key. So thanks to my colleagues for your attitudes!

This little parody just had Paul and I and our friend Tony howling with laughter until the tears were rolling down our faces – just what we all need in Christchurch – a good laugh!

Helen at our house - who needs an office when you have a kitchen table? 'Domestic' is the new 'Professional'!

Helen Cooper from the Ministry of Education came over today to familiarise me with Digistore, a teacher and student online resource that stores interactive and static digital content for New Zealand schools. I am organising a writers’ symposium in conjunction with the NZ Book Council to capture thoughts and ideas from their experience as Writers in Schools, and this work will be stored on Digistore.

As an interesting aside, a large proportion of Christchurch people do not have an office to go to at the moment and so all over the city we are clearing away the breakfast dishes and transforming the kitchen table into an office desk. This meant Paul my partner, who works for Renaissance/YOOBEE happened to be drinking coffee when Helen was showing me around the site and said ‘how does that compare with and relate to  iTunesU?’.

I wouldn’t have put those two initiatives together but because he happened to be as displaced as the two of us, he joined in and our conversation became the richer for it.

My new temporary office - the Dining Table!

Well it’s no doubt we have been rattled around a bit…my life and work was interrupted somewhat by the events of Feb 22nd. I am one of the lucky ones who still has a house and even water and power so you will hear no complaints from me. Just sadness at the loss of life and for those who have been injured and lost their homes. I have moments sometimes when I start to feel excited about what we can now create here in Christchurch. There is certainly so much to be thankful for …

• Twitter and Facebook – what would I have done without them?
• I miss the office but we have all found a space in which to work somehow and taken photos to prove it! I even had to have a meeting in a cafe this morning – lovely Misceos. By the look of all the suits around the place we weren’t the only ones!
• Cheryl Doig, that superb leader of us all has created the  Three Christchurch Blessings group to focus our thoughts on what we DO have.

I am more thoughtful about the good things we take for granted. In a developed country we forget that we live everyday with an illusion of safety but really we are at the mercy of Mother Nature. I hope this experience can make a lasting difference to how we see and respect the world around us. I know I have been reminded to live and love one day at a time.

I played Jack youtube nursery rhymes this week (thanks to Ashton’s wiki) and I had to get out the camera to try to capture his intense concentration. I could almost feel his brainwaves growing. Afterwards he could sing along with me when I sang some of the songs – not perfectly of course (he’s only 20 months!) but the whole episode astounded me.

My background is in the Secondary sector and I was a youngest child so I have never had anything to do with babies and small children until now. I have come to understand, through my Early Years colleagues at CORE and through hanging out with my son, that from the moment a baby enters the world, his or her brain is growing and developing at a rate that is far above and beyond that of an adult or even an older child.  I have come to have a respect bordering on awe for the liveliness of his mind and of the minds of my friends’ children his age.

I am no expert in the early years sector, but I do know one thing – it is easy to see that in the first years of a person’s life they are laying down the foundations for the rest of their lives. How can we afford to cut back on qualified staff in this country? How can we accept the cuts to the sector? It might save some money in the short term. However in the long term, what are we taking away from our children’s development?

I recommend a thoughtful blog post on this subject that articulately attacks the view that early childhood centres are just ‘baby-sitters’. We must be thinking longer term to invest in these lively minds.