Say a prayer for me and I'll pray for you (The Chapta)

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Yesterday, our senior students unfurled their sails and left for study leave before their NCEA external exams kick off next week.

It was sad saying farewell to my Year 13 class. They are a terrific bunch of girls, and I've thoroughly enjoyed helping them get their 14 UE credits in English this year.

It was kind of a hollow feeling sending them off into the world. A trumpet fanfare would have been an appropriate marker for such a momentous event but it was missing. I'm sure it will feel more solid and real as closure at prizegiving in a few weeks' time.

I was absolutely genuine when I told them I would miss them!

Use what talent you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best (Henry van Dyke)

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I saw a great post from Seth Godin this morning titled 'Not Yet'. His message was about training to get better. He concluded with the message:

Perfect isn't possible. Better always is.

I love that - it went up on my board at school immediately! 

Go slow and read the questions carefully (G. N. Purdy)

Jacky's picture of me at Tintern Abbey

My father's wise words are front and centre in my head whenever testing times occur.

Like the following quote from Kumail Nanjiani, it gives permission to take your time, be deliberate, focus, and give yourself a good shot at success:

You can go slow. Allow your dreams and goals to change, but live an intentional life.

Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day (Alice Morse Earle)

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Humans working in serene harmony together towards a common purpose is pretty rare in my experience.

I tend to have blinkers on most of the time (things happen around me all the time about which I'm blithefully unaware), but even at Macleans College I had some tetchy moments with a couple of staff.  

It can't always be smooth sailing, and it's never going to be perfect because when humans rub up against each other there are tensions.

I've come close to it a few times, and it's worth pursuing to an extent, but the emotional intelligence index is not consistently high within any school staff.

That said, a charismatic leader certainly helps.

Colin Prentice's leadership and strong moral compass at Macleans College is the main reason I felt a palpable feeling of esprit d'accor - a spirit of harmony, while I was there.  

As I said, it's pretty rare.

The best listeners listen between the lines (Nina Malkin)

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Here's a few more things needed to be a good listener:

• Some ears
• Eye contact (focus)
• Seek first to understand
• Look and learn (be observant)
• 'Hmmmm', 'Mmmmm' (avoid the temptation to interrupt)

None of that is hard. So why are the majority of people so pathetic at it?

Surround yourself with people who are going to motivate and inspire you (Charles M. Marcus)

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on Unsplash

Back to the brick factory this week.

I use that metaphor from time to time - comparing a school to a brick factory. The idea comes from William Goldman's great book about making movies in Hollywood, Adventures in the Screen Trade.

By using the metaphor (making movies and working in a brick factory), he's able to capture superbly and succinctly the challenges, complexities, unpredictability and chaos involved in making movies.

That has also always seemed a good metaphor for teaching in my opinion.
 

I think the one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention (Diane Sawyer)

 

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