Let me tell you a story ...

A story of what can happen when a teacher believes in the kaupapa of Manaiakalani.

My friend Ruth Blair taught at Yaldhurst Model School when Manaiakalani Outreach first began
supporting Uru Mānuka. I need to say from the outset that Ruth is an incredible teacher who brings joy, energy and fun to her classroom. She blows me away with her dedication to her craft that is teaching.

During her time at Yaldhrust, Ruth was supported by Mark for a year of in-class support. Ruth enjoyed the learning and supported the kaupapa of Manaiakalani. She changed her practice based on what she learned and quickly became very fluent in the affordances of digital technologies in her classroom. The Woolf Fisher team found her classroom to be ahead of the curve at the time and she received many accolades from them because of what was happening in her classroom, particularly around student engagement. In 2017 Ruth left Yaldhurst Model School to bike around the North Island. She blogged her journey for her students, friends, and family to follow. She was very committed to sharing her journey.

Following this time she did a lot of relief teaching in a range of Dunedin schools while trying to decide if she wanted to continue teaching full time. During this time she shared how she couldn’t understand the lack of knowledge on how to best use the Chromebooks so many of these schools had in their classrooms. It confirmed for her that her time at Yaldhurst Model School learning the Manaiakalani kaupapa was worth it.

Luckily for education, she has rejoined the profession and is now teaching outside 20 minutes out of Invercargill at Lochiel School. Lochiel Primary is a fantastic rural school with a very supportive community somewhat isolated from the rest of New Zealand.

Ruth has constantly stayed connected with the Manaiakalani kaupapa through conversations we have. She also helps my own development of ideas as she is someone that is always asking questions and learning. Currently, she has three different areas of learning developing for herself through school PD and her own PD of choice. She is incredible.

Enter Covid. Ruth was straight onto what she can do and use to support her learners and her staff so that they can do the best they can for the time of lockdown. Because she was already using blogs and was connected with a mini 'Tuhi Mai Tuhi Atu' she set up with a couple of teacher contacts through Mark and myself she had the beginnings of what was needed to help the students to fly. A quick whip up of a site, plus time spent as staff using the 'Limit the Links' doc to shape their way forward and Lochiel School was ready to go.

Mark Maddren said the following about Ruth:

Ruth's site and blogs that have been implemented this year are a real testament to the sustainability of Manaiakalani once a teacher has had the support and continues to stay connected with the programme through colleagues.

With this lockdown, Ruth has been able to upskill her colleagues and ensure their teaching and learning is also visible during this period.

So to end this story I just want to say that I believe that Manaiakalni kaupapa is not only powerful in the context of the Outreach, it is also something that can be adapted to any context. The pedagogy is rewindable, it is visible and most of all it is ubiquitous in any place where a teacher 'gets it'.

If you want to check out what it all looks like then head to these links. I'm sure Ruth would love to see some people checking our her class site and blog.

School site: http://www.lochiel.school.nz/

Class Sites for Online Learning

Below are the links to their online learning programmes for each class.

Room 1:  https://sites.google.com/lochiel.school.nz/room1-2020/home 

Room 2:  https://sites.google.com/view/lochielschool-room2-2020/home 

Room 4:  https://sites.google.com/view/lochielschool-room4-2020/home  - Ruth’s Class

Room 5:  https://sites.google.com/lochiel.school.nz/room5-2020/home 

Some examples of the blogging that her students have been doing:

https://lochielgymstar.blogspot.com/2020/05/bloggers-welcome-back.html

https://lochielcameront.blogspot.com/

https://lochielalexia-rose.blogspot.com/

And her class blog: https://room4lochiel.blogspot.com/

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

This year, 2020, started differently for me. I didn’t have a class to prepare for. I didn’t have staff days to attend. I didn’t have the noise in my head as my holiday began to creep towards its natural end. Sure, I still had the excitement of what was to come. The nerves of starting. But I had the added nerves of starting something new. A new journey, a new job.

Almost three months later I feel I am finding my feet. As Term 1 drew to an end I was feeling more comfortable in this new skin as an Education Programme Leader. I had spent time getting to know the people I am working with, getting to know their context and their students. Getting to understand how each school functions and how they relate to each other. I’ve watched for the unspoken culture and felt my way with different parts of the job.

This job is kind of like walking into a room blindfolded. You know there are walls and doors even though you can’t see them initially and while you trust that the people around you aren’t there to trip you up or push you over, you still feel very much in the dark.

I’ve been lucky though. I’ve had Mark with me, holding my hand as I feel my way forward. Guiding and supporting me, cheering me on and gently reminding me not to try and run just yet. I’ve also had Kesley to my side. I’ve watched her navigate this role for a few years now, so she has given me a blueprint with which I can follow. What an imprint too! Again, I feel so blessed.  To have an amazing whāhine around me, showing me what great humble leadership looks like.

I have been struck by what I’ve missed though. And what I haven’t missed.

I knew that I would miss my work-wife Angela. And I have. Badly. It is hard to know how much you become in tune with each other when working in a close environment. It is a pretty powerful thing, a good partnership in a classroom. We have weathered many a storm together, professionally and personally. I know that I am a better teacher because of this relationship. And a better person. Thankfully, we can still catch up, even in this weird bubble time, we meet and laugh and groan together.

I knew I’d miss my classroom and in particular, the students. There have been a few tears shed over what I haven’t been able to do with them. Over the end of the journey, especially for the Year 8’s. 3+ years is a long time to journey with students, you really get to know them well.

I know I’ve also grieved what we (Angela and I) could have done with them this year. We had that class humming by the end of 2019 and this year would have been a gift of exploring and extending with those amazing learners into things we hadn’t been able to do before.

I’ve missed the staff team too. There are great, passionate people that work at my former school. They love every kid that walks through the gate each morning, even when it is hard and challenging and they aren’t so lovable. It’s weird not walking through the same gate every day. (It’s also strange knowing that if I do get to walk through that gate again this year that I will be met with change and with people who won’t know me or care why I’m there.)

I haven’t missed the stress though. The drama. The frustrations. The difficult bits. The unending lists of stuff that you have to do but have no time for. And let’s not forget the behaviour management. I really don’t miss that. Mostly I don’t miss the feeling that it doesn’t matter what you do because it won’t make a bit of difference fo that kid or their situation because what it really needs is money and 1:1 support and … (insert list here), sigh.

I see that struggle though, in every school and class, I enter now. I see the strength, the determination, the tenacity and the beauty that exists in every teacher as they fight daily for the best space for each student to learn. Sure, it isn’t perfect all the time. It is messy and sometimes things go wrong, failure happens. But, it is as real as it gets.

So I feel glad and blessed, afraid and happy, excited and nervous. But I know that this new journey I’m on is the right one. I have a new team, a new set of people who I can engage in this journey of educating and the chance to grow in new ways. What a gift.

I started this blog thinking I would share some learnings but as I’ve written I realise that in this weird, bubble space we currently exist opens itself for reflection. So this is a reflection blog on what was. Tomorrow I might write about the learnings and the current things. But today I reflect and I remember. I wonder if you are taking some time for reflecting too?

Drones, hand held cameras, live YouTube and Me!

Today started with Kent from Point England introducing us to some pretty cool tech. Drones, handheld cameras and VidiUPro, all to be able to Live Stream. You can check out the presentation here: Presentation

Point England use Live Streaming to be able to include family members who are working, unable to attend or live overseas in the events and school life. They stream sports, performances, class items and other school events. Whanau simply join the link and watch what is happening live. St Francis of Assisi senior class has also used it to share learning one day. They didn't have the same equipment, they used teacher MacBooks to stream.

We had our own experience of failure today with Dorothy's link to us suffering from the dropouts and then having an alarm. Ironically it was about Connection ... but next week will be Connecting in person with Dorothy, as she is coming down to Christchurch.

Some notes from her chat with us:

• Being connected digitally is a way of empowering the learners and we can do it because the learning is shared and visible. It extends from the individual, potentially to the world.
• This is an inclusive model and again, taps into the human instinct to SHARE and to be connected with other human beings.
• Diversity is celebrated - what ties us together is the language of Learn Create Share
• Digital turbo-charges but face to face is also just as important. Digital allows us to do more or include those that can’t be there.

“If you are all paddling in the same direction, you have greater power, you are more efficient. There is an impact on the nature of teaching and learning because if the teacher and student each know what it is you’re meant to be focusing on you are more likely to reach your goals.” - Dorothy Burt

You will often find the words connected and share tied together in Manaiakalani resources and events- it is impossible to have one without the other. Because connection is a two way, two-person action. You have to give to get. If you want others to share with you, then you need to be a sharing kinda person.

Powerful learning, creating and sharing comes into it's own supporting a Connected network when teaching and learning is visible. Connectedness is powerful when teaching and learning is visible, learners (and teachers) have been empowered (have agency), and ubiquity is supported.

The rest of the time was spent exploring YouTube, Google Drawings & Google Slides. We saw some pretty great examples of Pick a Path and Animations made on Google Slides. Examples of planning in the Juniors and the Seniors done on slides. Comments can be kept private so that only those that have editing rights can see them. This can be powerful so you don't need to keep separate planning and teacher notes. 

I had a good play on Google Drawing and created myself. I've seen a number of my students do this and I have wondered if I could do it too. I don't think it is that amazing but I'm proud of myself. 

I think it can be challenging for our students to learn how to use a tool like Google Drawing. Even learning to manipulate the tools to create the shapes is hard. But it is important to learn, because 'we don't Learn Google Share, we Learn Create Share'. I think we as teachers need to model this more than we currently do, or at least I do. 

- quote, Mark Maddren.

So my aim this week is to try and show my students more examples of me being in the learning pit. 

DFI ... a new journey for me.

Beginning today I started walking a 9-week-long journey exploring digital fluency. Even though I have been teaching using digital devices for over 5 years I still have a lot to learn. Angela (my work wife) is also attending, which is and will make our teaching stronger. Already we have created a google doc for Maths Week using what we have learnt.

Today's session was called: Core Business. 

It has covered the origin story of Manaiakalani, shared succinctly and passionately by Dorothy Burt. Gerhard Vermeulen and Mark Maddren took us through a very full day. Mostly we were going over some google basics and how to work smarter not harder. I found it to be helpful, a reminder of things that I've forgotten, and new things that I want to use to be smarter in my teaching and work life. 

There was some simple learning; how to make your bookmarks icons only, how to copy and paste without formating (a key for blogging), how to use the explore tool in teaching and for our own work. I'm sure I've been shown these things before but these things slide out of your mind when you don't use them regularly. 

Some new learning for me was: 

• Using tables in docs but colouring the lines white and having the boxes coloured so it changes the way they look. 
• Getting a free icon sourcing page!
• How to use commenting and explore tool together for extending learning.
• Voice typing now has a New Zealand option. This is so great for us and for students.
• How to keep my personal and work Google accounts totally separate user account change in the toolbar, not just in the account. This is really great, especially to keep searches and work-life separate. 
• Command + number allows you to jump between tabs. This can make life faster when you are moving between tabs.

It was a good learning day. I am looking forward to what the journey ahead is going to bring. I feel that it will enhance my teaching greatly, as well as making me a more efficient teacher. I look forward to what it brings. 

Fear, why does it hold us back?

During our cybersmart lesson this week we started to look at who our audience is. A comment was made by Mark that my blog would be read by others. I laughed. See, I knew that my blog wasn't actually public. It was set up purely for my professional practice evidence and I didn't really want others to see it. But in that moment I was challenged.

I expect that my students will blog at least once a week. I expect that they will share the good stuff and the bad stuff. And I wasn't modelling it. Why not? Because I am afraid. I'm afraid about others reading my stuff.

I'm not a particularly eloquent person and my spelling is pretty terrible. People who know me, know this. I don't hide it and I don't really pretend that I am what I'm not. But putting something down on 'paper' means that more than just those that know me may read it. Does it bother me that others might notice my grammatical and spelling eras? Yes. Does it bother me that others might think less of me because of what I've written? Sort of. Do I want to put all my thoughts, reflections and ideas out into the world? Sometimes. But then again I might look a bit stupid if I do. And no one wants to look stupid to they?

But I expect my students to do this. I want parents to engage with their children's work; the good and the ugly. I want their learning and thinking to grow because of this engagement. And I don't want them to be afraid to put things out into the world. I want them to be brave and willing to be who they are, to put their creativity out into the world.

I have recently finished a book by Elizabeth Gilbert called 'Big Magic'. It's a book about living a creative life. In it she talks about fear. She talks about how fear is the killer of all things creative. She sums up a part by saying "Scary, scary, scary. Everything is so goddamn scary." And she is right, it actually is. It is hard to put your creativity out there. To be seen and judged for what you do. Flip, you might even fail. And of course most educators (and humans generally) don't want to fail. And it is worse when you fail in front of the class. When you make that mistake and the students see it and pay you out for it (the joys of seniors!). Or worse - the parents!!!

But what does Elizabeth Gilbert say we should do with our fear? Are we to be fearless and try anything? Nope. We need fear but we mustn't let it drive us. Fear can come for the ride but not stear. Because fear will stop us doing really dumb stuff but it will also stop us from living. And I don't want that for my students, my own children, my husband or myself. I spent a number of years being 'afraid' (and clearly I still am about some things) and I want to try and step beyond the fear.

And so here I am, writing my first 'post'. Not a post that is to record my 'stuff' for my teacher registration but something a bit more personal. Am I afraid? A little but that's ok. Fear and I are going on this journey and we'll see where it takes us.