A Personal Reflection on Learning

Learning
I've been in the field of learning my entire life but I'm not sure I really got what true learning was until the last year. I have learnt so much in the last 12 months and never more so than in the last month.

So I thought I'd reflect on what I've learnt.

I have learnt that I can travel:-
that I can sit on planes for 24 hours
that I can deal with airports, and foreign currencies and countries and people with different languages
that I pack way too much to take away with me
that I can wear the same clothes for more than one day and the world doesn't end

I have learnt that world is a much bigger place than the small corner of it that I've always known:-
that there are parts of the world with tremendous history
that there are amazing things to see and be part of out there
that there were some terrible atrocities in the world in the past and that we all need to be part of ensuring they don't happen again

I've learnt that my physical limitations are not as limited as I thought they were. I've learnt I could physically push myself a lot further than I have in the past.

I've learnt that anyone can learn new skills. I learnt to use a map, okay not well yet, but I've started. I learnt that to learn something new you have to want to learn it, that you have to engage with it, and that it helps to have someone to encourage you, someone who believes in you when you sometimes struggle to believe in yourself.

I know my world has been pretty narrow and I thought that was my lot in life. I've learnt it's not. I've learnt I can expand my life and try new things. If I can't do them at first I will keep trying. Baby steps are okay.

I've learnt that panic is a wasted state of being.  I've begun to learn how not to panic. I've gained a sense of calm that I will take forward with me into unknown situations. I've  learned to stop dwelling in the past, and worrying about the future. I've learned to stop over thinking about things that might or might not happen. I've learnt that I can't waste time regretting things I've done and said. That I just need to move on and learn from everything.

I've learnt that real learning is in doing. Listening to others, watching others, reading what others have done are all good.  But getting out into the world and doing things yourself...there is no better way to learn.

I've learnt that I don't have to get everything right, especially the first time. And that knowing I might not be able to do something shouldn't stop me from trying it. I've learnt I need to try new stuff to grow into a different person, a better person.

I've learnt to ask for help. I've learnt I don't have to do everything myself and that it's not failing to ask others for help and support.

I learned that a true friend will put up with your insecurities and your unfounded worries. They won't fix your problems for you, but they will be there next to you while you figure it out for yourself.

I've learned that a real friend won't tell you what you want to hear. They will be honest with you. And that may feel a little brutal at times. But it's what true friends do and it's what helps you to learn and to grow.
I've learnt that friendship can span generations, and continents and experiences. That sometimes you just find an equality and a connection with people that transcends the normal bounds of age, and of life experience and of distance.

I've learnt that friends can talk for hours about everything, and about nothing, and that both of those things are to be valued.

I've learnt that friends can forgive you when you say and do dumb stuff, and they can help you figure it out so you don't keep doing and saying the same dumb stuff.

So Jono, to one of the best friends I've ever had, to someone who knows me better than maybe anyone else I know, thank you. 

I would like to think I would have learnt a lot of this somewhere, sometime, but you've been an inspiration and a support in the last 12 months. Thank you for understanding my insecurities and even more so for helping me confront them.

The fact that our friendship has continued despite generational difference, through the separation of distance and the experiences in our lives is really special. And deep down past those nagging doubts hidden inside me about myself and worthiness that occasionally surface, I really do know that. 

You have been a real friend. You provoke me, you inspire me, you don't let me take the easy way out. And not too many people have ever done that. Partly because I don't let myself get too close to people. And partly because there's an equality in our relationship- both at work and as friends that defies normal bounds.

You have an incredible wisdom for someone your age, while still remaining so much someone of your age! Its a pretty amazing combination.

You know already I have immense respect for you as a teacher and a leader. 

I hope you know I have even more respect for you as a person and as a friend.

Thanks for helping me become a real life learner, not just a school learner!

Teach Like a Pirate. Dave Burgess

Note: So I bought this book ages ago, and read the first part of it and didn't like it very much so didn't keep going. I noticed it on one of the many lists of top books an educator should read lists that came out at the end of 2013 so decided to give it another go. In also thought there might be some good stuff, seen as I'm teaching full time for term 1 at least. My original opinion is pretty much the same. It's very Americanised. And very Focussed on making lessons an event, and content the most important thing, something we have definitely moved away from. However there's gems in anything and more than new stuff this just reminded me of some of the old practices I have used in a classroom to engage and sustain engagement. Using music as a hook was big in my teaching past so I'd really like to try that again with these kids, although there wills be a bit of work to get them to see the difference between music as a learning tool and as entertainment. Wouldn't really recommend the book for any of our staff though, it's a bit too Americanised for my liking!

If you haven’t failed in the classroom lately, you aren’t pushing the envelope far enough. “Safe” lessons are a recipe for mediocrity at best.

you notice that your class is not engaged by your presentation, it isn’t helpful or empowering to blame your students. Obviously, if they’re not engaged, they are providing you with some critical feedback: what you are doing is not engaging for this audience, on this day.

Try to evaluate and learn from that feedback, without taking it too personally.

Spend more time on your passions, hobbies, and outside areas of interest and then seek ways to incorporate them into your classroom. Cultivate new hobbies and watch new areas of your brain explode in creative output. Watch your life light up with a new energy as you rekindle the feelings you had for the passions of your younger days. Grow! Try new things and do those bucket-list items. Notice the world around you and treat it like the bountiful supply of creative ideas that it is. It’s not just good for your life…it’s great for your teaching. Exploring the world and your passions allows you to bring a new perspective and energy into the classroom. It allows you to become a powerful role model for your students. We always say we want them to be life-long learners, so we must show them what that looks like.

Note: This is a pretty powerful statement, for me at least.

always have three or four books on my nightstand, a book in my car, one in my school bag, and several more on my phone. I consider it one of the most important parts of my job to constantly expose myself to the high quality thinking of other people.

Note: Really important key to professional learning, especially if we individualise and personalise it like I am trying to. Maybe a discussion of latest professional reading should be an integral part of every personal learning conversation with each etcher each term.

I want my class to stand out in the sea of sameness that is the educational landscape. I want my class to be, as Seth Godin says, a Purple Cow. In his book by the same title, Seth writes, “Something remarkable is worth talking about. Worth noticing. Exceptional. New. Interesting. It’s a Purple Cow. Boring stuff is invisible. It’s a brown cow.

Note: Don't think I've read this book? Might be worth reading.

You have to have a vision of what your ideal classroom experience looks like if you want to have any hope of creating it.

Note: Newer version of the older class description. Getting teachers to set visions underneath the school vision. Started off doing this last year but didn't follow it up enough.

Proper positioning is one of the key techniques needed to effectively transform your class into a powerful, must-be place.

is no accident that the cornerstones of the Teach Like a PIRATE system are Passion and Enthusiasm.

have a ritual for starting class that puts me in the proper state to be effective (discussed in the Rapport chapter). It includes multiple elements of my physiology including posture, breathing, tonality, and movement.

use music as an anchor.

It doesn’t particularly matter what the subject is; our mission is to teach in such a way that who we are as human beings has a more powerful and lasting effect on students than what we say.

Note: There's a pretty good mission statement in itself!

it’s one thing to know you should engage your students. Actually being engaging requires planning, preparation, and presentation.

Note: This is why the middle years hasn't worked yet.There has been passion but not planning. Presentation but not preparation.

Far too many times, teachers capture the attention and engagement of their class and then lose it by adding some unnecessary delay between the hook and the delivery of the content. For example, they tell a powerful story that has the class in the palm of their hand. Then, upon finishing the story, they have the students get a piece of paper out of their notebook before tying it all together with their lesson. They knew that the piece of paper was going to be needed so they should have told the students to get it out before starting the damn story!

Note: How many times I have written this kind of stuff in teacher observations and feedback

Much of your success as an educator has to do with your attitude towards teaching and towards kids. The rest of your success is based on your willingness to relentlessly search for what engages students in the classroom and then having the guts to do it.

containing an element of movement can be extremely effective. The brain and body work best when receiving the flow of oxygen and blood; that doesn’t happen when students spend their days sitting at a desk. If your class is stagnant and energy has reached a low point, it may be time to incorporate more kinesthetic activities.

Sometimes it’s OK to do things in class because it increases the fun factor and fosters positive feelings about school. I want students to leave my class with a love of history, a love of learning,

Taking your class beyond the classroom walls is a shortcut to engagement because it is so novel. Of course, it comes with challenges.

and art can be incredibly powerful ways to engage our students and enhance our lessons. We have unbelievably talented kids sitting in front of us and many are starving for the opportunity to display their creativity. We should do everything we can to provide them the opportunity to hone their artistic skills and create. Even our students who consider themselves inartistic can and will benefit from the chance to explore and create.

Music is an unbelievable state and mood changer. It has the ability to touch our soul like few other mediums. If you want to change the atmosphere in the classroom, sometimes all that is required is a change (or addition) of song. The right selection can bring a serious and meditative tone to the class, or create a rowdy and rambunctious energy fest.

Associating your curriculum with current events not only increases engagement because it shows relevance, it also helps

students become more globally aware and connected. Teaching students how to see events from different perspectives and analyze bias in coverage is also fantastic for teaching media literacy and critical thinking.

the physical space of my room is one of my secret weapons. I am the director, producer, stage manager, and lead actor for the one hundred eighty different performances that will take place in and around my room. It is my stage, and I honor and value it as such. Anything I can do to manipulate and control the environment is fair game.

Note: I don't like this much at all!

THE BOARD MESSAGE HOOK What can I write on my board or have projected on my screen that will immediately spark curiosity and interest as the students enter my room? What type of message will create a buzz and provoke students to point it out and begin to talk to each other about it before the bell even rings? What can I write that will be intriguing and mysterious and compel students to approach me and ask questions before we get started? Can I just put a QR code on the board or screen and see what happens? Can I have an intriguing image projected that will eventually tie into my content?

Note: But I quite like some of this, and have done much of it at some stage in the past

I can think of no higher purpose or calling than teacher. We help shape the minds of future generations. We have the ability

We aren’t just teaching facts to memorize or skills to learn; we’re uplifting lives and helping students fulfill their human potential. We’re shaping the mothers, fathers, world leaders, entrepreneurs, and artists of tomorrow. Anyone with the most rudimentary understanding of geometric progression realizes that our students will interact and influence millions. It’s a mighty purpose, indeed.

We all have to find our own personal “drum” and then play it the best we can. For me, I never feel more truly alive than when I’m standing in front of a class of students or a seminar room full of teachers. That’s my drum I’m playing up there and I’m going to play the heck out of it. The line, “I played my best for him,” is a call to arms and a

challenge to meet. Forget about all of things you can’t control and play your drum to the best of your abilities. Play with all the passion, enthusiasm, and heart you can muster. Nothing else really matters. You can offer no finer gift or higher honor to the world than to find out what your “drum” is and then play it for all it’s worth.

You will be criticized! In fact, the more you step outside the box and reject the culture of conformity, the more of a target you will become. When criticism comes, take a moment to evaluate it. Is the criticism an opportunity for growth? If so, learn from that instruction. But realize, too, that your critic may have no idea what they are talking about! In that case, ignore it. You have to have the intestinal fortitude, self-confidence, and personal power to press on and do what you know is right for your students. Don’t allow misguided and ill-informed

critics to steal your enthusiasm for innovation. If you let them, they will sap you of the strength needed to persist in this brutally tough profession. You have to learn how to take a punch, bob and weave, and keep moving forward. What you do as an educator is too important to let somebody standing on the sidelines prevent you from being the absolutely most powerful teacher you can be. Some people will just never get it! That’s OK, that’s their problem; you can’t let it become yours.

Teddy Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Edit

Posted with Blogsy