Baggy Trousers

Take my hand, take my whole life too (Elvis)

2012-02-10T21:32:00.000-08:00

While I was writing the previous post and looking for some substantive research on whether teacher evaluations had any significant impact on student achievement I came across a great statement by John Hattie:

On the other side of this equation [the effects of the best rated teachers], having poor teachers can be devastating. The effects of poor teacher quality tend to persist for years after a student has had such a teacher.

These are the mediocre teachers that Todd Whitaker talks about in his work.

While the superstar teachers have high expectations of their students, create high self-esteem, and will be fine no matter what, the mediocre do untold damage by having low expectations and teach in a uniformly boring way to the whole class.

Why don’t we let the superstars and backbones get on with it and limit the damage of the poor teachers by concentrating on them? If the mediocre teachers can’t or won’t adapt then let’s get rid of them.

Believe me I know that’s easier said than done. I have been involved in competency meetings/decisions in NZ, England and here in the UAE. None were fun but all were a case of needs must.

Gervase Phinn includes this poem in one of his books:

Remember me?

"Do you remember me?" asked the young man.
The old man at the bus stop,
Shabby, standing in the sun, alone,
Looked 'round.
He stared for a moment screwing up his eyes,
Then shook his head.
"No, I don't remember you."
"You used to teach me, " said the young man.
"I've taught so many," said the old man, sighing.
"I forget."
"I was the boy you said was useless,
Good for nothing, a waste of space.
Who always left your classroom crying,
And dreaded every lesson that you taught."
The old man shook his head and turned away.
"No, I don't remember you, " he murmured.
"Well I remember you," the young man said.

I still haven't found what I'm looking for (U2)

2012-02-07T04:44:00.000-08:00

The dust is starting to settle on the teacher evaluations - only five teachers saw me today with their concerns - and I'm starting to reflect on the effectiveness of teacher evaluations on student achievement.

I did a Google search and it wasn't very helpful.

There were complaints aplenty about evaluations being unfair and summative in nature when they should be formative as well (and inform teachers of improvements that need to be made).

There are papers showing how appraisal/evaluation is good for teachers (well yes - of course it is if the teacher is open minded enough to listen and heed advice) but I couldn't find anything that indicated beyond a series of platitudes how it was good for students.

John Hattie in his Visible Learning book says that 'almost everything works' in so much as 95% of all things we do in teaching are positive. As he says, "one only needs a pulse and we can improve achievement". I'm not arguing with him. I'm sure teacher evaluation systems have a positive impact.

But how much? And how much given the length of time and amount of energy expended on them? As one of my teachers who complained to me today said, "I could go away and generate some paperwork evidence but how do you know it achieves anything?"
Those are three good questions.

The closest I've come is the aforementioned new guru of student achievement - John Hattie. And it's not good news for the advocates of teacher evaluation.

Specifically considering student feedback to teachers (often used in teacher evaluations) he reports that feedback derived from student rating of the quality of teachers and teaching 'rarely leads to improvements in their teaching and the effectiveness of their courses'.

Those three good questions remain then. Someone out there in the interweb must have some answers but I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

Driving down the road I get a feeling that I should have been home yesterday (John Denver)

2012-02-05T03:30:00.000-08:00

Haar haaaaaarrrrrrrr (a sigh is sometimes written as the far less dramatic 'phew').

I have finally (finally) finished the teacher evaluations. They have straddled two trimesters, taken all of January and first week of February to complete, and have completely monopolised the work schedules of the Principal, his Vice Principal, my translator and me for over a month.

So again - haaaar haaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Forget that we have to do this beast of a job again next trimester - at least we all have five weeks to get the students prepared for high stakes examinations in March.

My company is fond of asking the "So what?" question lately.

Now that we've all finished measuring the teachers - so what did it tell us? Did it tell us anything?

Not really. It confirmed what we knew already. I wrote a post some time ago about how the Principal knows his staff well - he can make the three groups Todd Whitaker lists in his book (Superstars, Backbones and Mediocres) without too much thought.

So what did the evaluations tell us? It gave us a rankled (sic) list of our teachers from top to bottom that we could have produced two months ago. Not roughly - exactly!

To be fair, it also gave the teachers valuable information about how they can improve their teaching and contribution to the school. Unfortunately they are not really focused on that though. And I'm mindful that continually measuring the pumpkin doesn't make it grow any quicker. Best to chuck some blood and bone around t'roots.

So what is the real legacy from the evaluations? Division and resentment - all the teachers are comparing their scores (a 100 point system provided the score) and moaning because someone in another school, who's not as good as them, got x. Lack of confidence and a dip in morale - teachers who do great work but couldn't prove it got lower marks.

And guess who it was who immediately organised themselves to make improvements based on their evaluation. Thas right - the four superstars!

All in all I think I would have preferred the rest of the teachers to have been focussed on how they can make a difference to their students, rather than having their difference measured by a 100 point score.

Home is just another word for you (Billy Joel)

2012-02-01T02:59:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe, but we are still knee deep in teacher evaluations. Even by doing four interviews a day we are still some way off actually finishing this particular task. I would hate to be in a bigger school with a much greater number of teachers to get through.

It is a worthwhile exercise, there is no doubt, but it has meant little time for the other important demands that are cheerfully sent our way. All prefaced by the cliched, "I know you're really busy, but..."

Never the mind, I have Gervase Phinn to cheer me up. Here he is relating a delightful story from one of his classroom visits. One of the boys he reads to is a boy named John. The classroom teacher tells Gervase a story about John.

       John lived on a farm way out across the moors. He was expected, like most children from farming families, to help out around the farm. When he was little, Mrs Brown told me, he had been awakened by his father one night and taken into the byre to see the birth of a black Angus calf. The vet had suggested that it was about time the boy saw this miracle of nature. John had stood on a bale of hay in the cattle shed, staring in the half light as the great cow strained to deliver her calf. The small, wet, furry bundle soon arrived and the vet, wet with perspiration and with a triumphant look on his face, had gently wiped the calf's mouth and then held up the new-born creature for the little boy to see. John had stared wide-eyed.
     "What do you think of that?" The vet had asked him. "Isn't that a wonderful sight?"
     John had thought for a minute before replying. "How did it swallow the dog in the first place?" he asked.

It's just another day (Paul and Linda McCartney)

2012-01-29T07:57:00.000-08:00

I’ve just discovered Gervase Phinn. More accurately – having bought the book months ago from Magrudy’s Bookshop in Bawadi Mall – I have just rediscovered it on my bookshelf at home and started reading it.

It’s a non-fiction, funny as heckfire, account of his time as a school inspector in the Yorkshire dales. The book is called The Other Side of the Dale and the blurb on the cover is spot on:

The James Herriot of schools…Gervase Phinn writes warmly and with great wit.

I loved the meeting he had with the Headteacher at a remote primary school.

Gervase is new to the job and goes to Backwatersthwaite School. He meets the Headteacher (Mr Lapping) and asks if he might see the School Development Plan.

Mr Lapping says, “My what?” and then reveals that he hasn’t got one after Mr Phinn explains what it is. More than that Mr Lapping provides a wonderful reply:

You know, Mr Phinn, I’ve been a teacher in this school for near on forty years. I came here as a boy, taught all the children’s parents and went to school with most of their grandparents. This school is a part of me. I live and breathe it. Look around. Outside is one of the most magnificent views in the world. Inside is a richness and a range and quality of work which speaks for itself. Every child in this school can read and write well, every child knows his or her tables, can paint and dance and sing and they all get on as you’ll see on your next visit. I would never leave this place. When I visit the town I see all the people rushing about, with appointments to keep, no time to stop for a moment, to see the hills rising around them or the colours in the sky. You town dwellers have a lot to learn about us country folk. It’s a different way of life. It took fifty years for the Reformation to reach us up here in the Dale, Mr Phinn. I’ll do my best of course, but I reckon it’ll be a while before you get your School Development Plan.

I started looking and the bubble burst (Coldplay)

2012-01-25T19:10:00.000-08:00

Lord knows I am no mathematician (my brother inherited the paternal science genes, not me). Shock horror revelation.

But it is hard not to be amazed by this guy. I guess there's a trick to how he does it (as he says it's partly magic which implies it's a trick) but it remains a great exhibition of numerical dexterity.

The bad news for me is that I can no longer even entertain the notion that I will attain any maths skills.

According to the Guardian - scientists in the UK have done research that shows we all lose cognitive skills from the age of 45 onwards (not from our 60's as previously thought - obviously by people over 45).

They found that over the 45-49 decade there was a 3.6% decline in the mental reasoning of men and women.

Men aged 65 - 70 have a decline of 9.6% while women fared a little better with a 7.4% decline.

So halas to mathematics for this guy who has lost about 5% of my reasoning skills by now, I guess. At least I think I have - maybe it's more.

I hear the sound of a gentle word, on the wind that lifts her perfume through the air (Beach Boys)

2012-01-23T05:34:00.000-08:00

I know I posted comments about the teacher evaluation process a while ago. It feels like months ago actually, and we are nowhere near finished.

We have now entered the final stage though, having observed all the teachers, held our Evaluation Team meetings and come up with our judgments.

The next bit is meeting with the individual teachers and giving them the draft forms for their comment. If they disagree that's no problem - they just have to produce evidence to back up their belief that the judgment is too low.

We can probably fit three of these meetings in a day but it's complicated by the fact my subject advisors are only at school two days a week.

The deadline imposed on us (February 15) to have everything completed and loaded on the ADEC portal is looming!

This has all been time consuming but worthwhile. And it's why sometimes we've been doing little else for the last few months.

Of course there are many other things that have been going on.

One is the data analysis of Trimester One results. I was thrilled to see the huge improvement in Arabic Reading which has been a major part of the School Improvement Plan for Arabic Studies this year.

Last year the boys did superbly in Arabic Writing but Arabic Reading was poor by comparison.

The reading results from last year show the boys are now out performing the writing sections. Wooaahh!! Great stuff. Especially given how reading in any form is not a big part of the Arabic culture. It's much more aural in nature.

Now - if we can only get through these interviews and get back to normal and continue these improvements!

Honey, you're the reason I can't sleep at night (The Blue Ridge Rangers)

2012-01-19T04:45:00.000-08:00

All up - a crappy week.

This doesn't happen often. In fact I can't remember when I last had one - probably when I was a Principal actually when an event would turn into quicksand. The more you struggle to get out of it the deeper you get.

This week had a variety of off putting moments capped off with the theft of 15,000 dirhams from my cashbox (see http://wozzasplace.blogspot.com for the whole sorry saga).

The problem with a doozy like that is that it stays in your brain for ages and it doesn't go away unless (like in quicksand) you remain calm and wait for the cavalry to arrive.

So in an attempt to retrieve the week somewhat - I'm aiming to end it on a positive calm note.

I went to Stuff.co for some NZ news to cheer myself up with. Doh - earthquakes, road carnage and holiday beach disaster were all on offer.

But then a headline caught my eye - I beg your pardon...Nuckin' Futs??

A snack maker, marketing its product to pubs, nightclubs and other entertainment venues, is calling its snack Nuckin Futs, after getting the green light from Australian regulators.

The Trade Marks Examiner initially decided Nuckin Futs was scandalous and inappropriate and rejected a trademark application.

The company's lawyers had argued the four-letter word implied in the product name by juxtaposing the words' initials, is a normal part of Australian speech and therefore not offensive.

The trademark was eventually allowed on condition the Queensland owner does not market the product to children.

The edible snack, which contains nuts, will only be sold in pubs, nightclubs and other entertainment venues.

Thank God for mad Australians!! A normal part of aussie speak eh?

I've always felt they were nukin' futs! I feel better already!

Purple words on a grey background (Neil Young)

2012-01-17T04:26:00.000-08:00

The teachers at school are being appraised at the moment, except that they aren’t.

The appraisal word has been banned. That was so last year.

The current term is an unequivocal ‘Evaluation’. I think there would be an uproar if my company used the term ‘evaluation’, and yet that is the term the Abu Dhabi Education Counsel (ADEC) has refreshingly used. Refreshingly? You betcha!

It’s interesting that the current term used by Cognition, ‘Performance and Development’, tries to have the traditional bob each way.

Am I being evaluated on my (past) performance? Well yes, I am.

Am I a work in progress that needs some (future) help to develop? Yes - that too (except I have no future beyond my contract end date of July with my employing company so it’s really just an evaluation but it’s not called that).

The perennial attempts at making employees accountable have always tied the two things together and the ampersand has thus become invisible.

As F.R Levin (Boston College, Faculty of Education) says,

‘The problem is that this melding of "development" and "evaluation" has gone on for so long that it has become "devaluation". In many places, neither the development nor the assessment is being done with much success. Development has become a list of issues that the developer/knower thinks they know more about than the developee/knowee. The problem here is that in many cases they don't.

His advice is to ‘separate out the roles of development and accountability…We have to stop pretending that they are the same thing’.

Well someone in ADEC must have been listening.

The next month will be a busy time as interim app…sorry – evaluation forms are filled out and discussions take place with the teachers about their ratings.

There are four standards: The Profession; The Curriculum; The Classroom; The Community.

Each standard has a number of components that are rated on a five point scale from Pre-Foundation to Accomplished.

Gentleman – start your engines!

Don't let the loving go cold (Exponents)

2012-01-14T01:47:00.000-08:00

I read an interesting article recently in the McKinsey Quarterly called How Leaders Kill Meaning At Work. I offer the salient points here without an editorial comment.

Even incremental steps forward—small wins—boost what we call “inner work life”: the constant flow of emotions, motivations, and perceptions that constitute a person’s reactions to the events of the work day. Beyond affecting the well-being of employees, inner work life affects the bottom line. People are more creative, productive, committed, and collegial in their jobs when they have positive inner work lives. But it’s not just any sort of progress in work that matters. The first, and fundamental, requirement is that the work be meaningful to the people doing it.

In our book and a recent Harvard Business Review article, we argue that managers at all levels routinely—and unwittingly—undermine the meaningfulness of work for their direct subordinates through everyday words and actions. These include dismissing the importance of subordinates’ work or ideas, destroying a sense of ownership by switching people off project teams before work is finalized, shifting goals so frequently that people despair that their work will ever see the light of day, and neglecting to keep subordinates up to date on changing priorities for customers.

The authors of the article cite four traps

Mediocrity signals (inadvertently signaling the opposite through words and actions)
Strategic ‘attention deficit disorder’ (not allowing sufficient time to discover whether initiatives are working, and communicating insufficient rationales to their employees when they make strategic shifts)
Corporate Keystone Kops (When coordination and support are absent within an organization, people stop believing that they can produce something of high quality. This makes it extremely difficult to maintain a sense of purpose.)
Misbegotten ‘big, hairy, audacious goals’ (goals can become grandiose, containing little relevance or meaning for people in the trenches. They can be so extreme as to seem unattainable and so vague as to seem empty. The result is a meaning vacuum. Cynicism rises and drive plummets).

The best executives we studied internalize their early experiences and use them as reference points for gauging the signals that their own behavior will send to the troops. “Try hard to remember when you were working in the trenches,” Hamilton says. “If somebody asked you to do a bunch of work on something they hadn’t thought through, how meaningful could it be for you? How committed could you be?”

Interesting comments aren't they? Rhetorical question!

Those were our young years, our wings were drying in the sun (Dragon)

2012-01-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

Mention of Dr. Neil Hawkes in my previous post reminded me about a great definition he made when asked, “What is education?”

His response:

Education is a conversation between generations on matters of importance; it’s about the flourishing of humanity.

I love this!

I often thought about this definition when faced with difficult situations when I was a Principal.

Education is not, of course, limited to the younger of the two generations. I often felt that the student was much more prescient, wiser and more mature generation, and the other one (the generation who thought they were in power) was the immature, petulant, and narrow minded one.

I recently had a conversation with a former student when I was visiting a shop in New Plymouth (NZ). He was doing well and thriving in his dreams to be an internationally renowned free runner. He enthusiastically told me of his progress and his plans.

During the conversation he remarked to me that many of his teachers and the school as a whole frowned on his exploits and dreams. When I said to him, “But I didn’t”. he agreed with me.

Too often we limit the conversation and misread what is important. I would much rather that Daniel had his dream and worked towards it, and it think it’s important that we supported his flourishing, rather than impose our own limits on him.

Go hard Daniel. Kia kaha!

State of love and trust as I busted down the pretext (Pearl Jam)

2012-01-08T00:27:00.000-08:00

We’re back!

Holiday breaks are great but it always takes a little while for my brain to re-engage with school routines.

Things that happened three weeks ago, before the holiday break, have been consigned to the back lots of my brain and it always takes me a while to dredge up names and details.

I’m sure I’m not alone.

I was amazed this morning at the first taboor of Trimester Two how happy all the staff looked to be back at school. Genuinely happy.

The rituals of Arabic greetings are especially present after an extended period of being away from each other. Each culture has some slight variations on the greeting ritual too. Jordanians do something slightly different to Egyptians and so on. But, as in Maori culture, everyone greets everyone else.

I often think back to something Dr. Neil Hawkes said at a Principals’ conference I attended in 2008: It was a while ago and I need to paraphrse but in essence he said, In a good school there may be a hierarchy of roles but there is no hierarchy of relationships.

This is very true of Ali bin Abi Taleb School and I was mindful of this as I watched the advisory staff and the school staff (leaders, teachers and support people) exchanging greetings this morning. It was wonderful to see and be a part of again.

The highest branch on the apple tree it was my favorite place to be (Crowded House)

2011-12-16T22:23:00.000-08:00

In 2007 I saw graphic evidence showing the sharp drop in engagement of NZ students from primary to secondary school . Generally Year 10 continues the drop and then there is a steady improvement until Year 13 but even that is still below the high engagement figures from primary years.

I’ve been considering that graph in student engagement ever since and wondering why it is that students become more and more disaffected.

What we ultimately end up with is a load of disaffected students in our secondary schools. I recently found a helpful definition of all these terms.

Engagement versus disaffection in school refers to the intensity and emotional quality of children’s involvement in initiating and carrying out learning activities…Children who are engaged show sustained behavioural involvement in learning activities accompanied by a positive emotional tone. They select tasks at the border of their competencies, initiate action when given the opportunity, and exert intense effort and concentration in the implementation of learning tasks; they show generally positive emotions during ongoing action, including enthusiasm, optimism, curiosity, and interest.

The opposite of engagement is disaffection. Disaffected children are passive, do not try hard, and give up easily in the face of challenges…[they can] be bored, depressed, anxious, or even angry about their presence in the classroom; they can be withdrawn from learning opportunities or even rebellious towards teachers and classmates.

I am interested in this apparent correlation between engaged students and positive behavior patterns. On the surface it seems a no-brainer. We need to continue the flavour of primary high engagement through to secondary school (particularly for boys).

Why is it we are unable to do this. An inquiry method investigation would help with this.

As I’ve blogged recently – the behavior of our students at Ali bin Abi Taleb School is relatively good and the emotional engagement of students at our school is reasonably high given the Arabic context for males (many are eventually headed for government jobs - the police force or the army are two lucrative career paths).

In a NZ context it would an interesting area of action research. Maybe it's already been done?

I'll consider this and get back to you. I'm off tomorrow on holiday back to New Zealand. It's the end of the first Trimester here, the second starts on January 8.

While I'm away I will endeavour to keep up with the blog but you'll understand if it's not so regular for a while.

All things in moderation, including moderation (Mark Twain)

2011-12-13T05:04:00.000-08:00

This week has been quite busy at school with all of our students doing tests in English, mathematics, Islamic studies, Arabic studies, science, geography, history and social studies.

The first trimester ends this Thursday and we have a three week break over Christmas before Trimester Two starts on January 8.

My dream team of advisors assist in English, mathematics, science, and Arabic so we have all been heavily involved with moderation of marking (Gavin is the ICT advisor but there are no ICT tests for him to moderate).

I’ve posted on this before but it’s worth repeating – Nu Zild educators could learn heaps from the rigorous moderation procedures we use here BEFORE the teachers mark their tests. They then have a benchmark to mark against. It so much harder to moderate after the fact.

And less is more, as this extract indicates (and Mark Twain's quote summarises):

Moderation is considered a key part of a person's personal development in Taoist philosophy and religion. There is nothing that cannot be moderated including ones actions, ones desires and even thoughts. It is believed that by doing so one achieves a more natural state, faces less resistance in life and recognises one's limits.Taken to the extreme, moderation is complex and can be difficult to not only accept, but also understand and implement. It can also be recursive in that one should moderate how much they moderate (i.e. to not be too worried about moderating everything or not to try too hard in finding a middle ground).

Anyway - here is a selection of photos showing the moderating process at work in mathematics with Jan, English with Peter and Arabic studies with me, without being too try hard!

Maths - Ahmed (HOD), Samir, Samer, Jan juggles the glasses.

English - Peter, Nidal (HOD), Hichem, Jalal.

Arabic studies - Abdulla, Salem, me, Abdelazim (HOD), Shaban.

Monsters! Dying! By axes! Bleeding in the burning light! (Dream Evil)

2011-12-11T01:26:00.000-08:00

Professional Learning and Development (PLD) appears to be the new fancy way of saying Professional Development (PD).

Don't ask me why we needed to overthink this and add learning to the title - maybe we weren't learning anything while we were being developed before. Who knows?

That’s a rhetorical question by the way.

Here’s some more:

Why do we do PLD?
What does it look like?
What impact does it have?
And – How do we know?

Actually I lied – these ones aren’t rhetorical at all. They are monsters to be slain by axes!

I’m going to have a go at answering them. My success criteria is to do so without overthinking it and without being too glib and hip (to the jive daddio). I'm going to leave them bleeding in the burning light!

Yes - I know, it's a tough job but somebody's gotta do it.

Less is more.

Here are my answers:

No brainer - because learning is intrinsically good for us.
It looks like this, according to me –

     3. It improves teaching practice and results in improved student learning.
     4. And we know this because our teacher observations indicate improved teaching and
         examination results indicate improvements in learning.

Halas!

I love my job.

Chinese music under banyan trees, here at the dude ranch above the sea (Steely Dan)

2011-12-07T05:19:00.000-08:00

Further to my musings on the generally good behaviour at my school from a couple of posts ago – I have recently revisited an excellent little article by Jon Saphier and Mathew King called Good Seeds Grow In Strong Cultures.

They make a couple of good points.

School improvement, they say, emerges from the confluence of FOUR elements

The strengthening of teachers’ skills
Systematic renovation of the curriculum
Improvement of the organisation
Involvement of parents and citizens in responsible school-community partnerships.

Underlying all four though is school culture.

It can either energise the four or undermine them.

At Ali bin Abi Taleb School we have a team of advisors from Cognition Education (lead by me) who aim to address the first, third, and fourth ones. The Abu Dhabi Education Council is aiming to address the second one.

But without a positive school culture it’s a house of cards...built on sand...with a howling asefa rum liah (desert dust storm) blowing. You get the idea – school improvement is not going to work without it.

So, back to my little school.

Because of the strong, positive supportive culture here, (according to Saphier/King) improvements in instruction will be significant, continuous, and widespread.

In short – good seeds will grow in a strong culture.

Now that's a comforting thought!

She was gazin' to the future, riding on the Jack of Hearts (Bob Dylan)

2011-12-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

The UAE celebrated its 40th birthday last week with fireworks displays, outrageous car decorations and blaring horns. Here are some images from the general UAE wide celebrations.

At school we had our own series of events for National Day. These involved a selection of animals, singing, dancing and poetry.

A selection of AbAT's finest.

Nidal leads the choir.

Wayno with a python at Khalifa Boys'.

Ali bin Abi Taleb staff and students

Some of the boys brought their hunting dogs for the day.

Jan with a falcon.

Hisham tries to translate falcon-speak.

The falcon's owner with the Principal (Mohammed).

I believe in a celebration, I believe you set me free (U2)

2011-12-04T03:53:00.000-08:00

Punishment and reward. I've been musing over behaviour management of late.

In my little school there are very very few discipline moments. No exclusions, no suspensions, no malignant defiance of staff, no assaults on staff, verbal or otherwise, no drug or alcohol issues, no physical assaults between students.

Oh sure - it's a boys' school so there are the incidents of name calling and teasing and rough and tumble during the day, even a fight between boys from time to time but they are resolved quickly, and the spill over into serious discipline incidents is very rare.

Even the minor stuff is resolved quickly and without fuss (no detentions, no keeping in at break time, no punishments that I can actually name aside from boys who are not paying attention in assembly are moved to a visible position in front of their peers).

The answer from what I can see is good relationships and positive reinforcement of behaviours. Actually - forget good relationships, fantastic relationships. Fantastic relationships that start before they arrive at school.

The quality of attachment (early in life) predicts later development, positive relationships with peers, teachers and performance in school (Ngozi Onunaku).

The father son relationships I hear about and witness in school bare testament to this.

The great relationships that I see between the teachers (plural and to a man) and the students builds on this foundation.

Which all leads to a conumdrum.

Is it possible that this situation can be replicated in a New Zealand school context? Or is it unique to an Islamic/ Ali bin Abi Taleb context?

Mmmmm? I'll ponder that one for a spell.

So round and round and round I go, and where I stop I don’t know (Edgar Winter Group)

2011-12-01T22:51:00.000-08:00

This post is about some great teachers. But first some back story.

I had some dental work done this week and while I was waiting (unsuccessfully) for the anesthetic to kick in I had time to chat with my dentist - a lovely Hungarian lady called Monica.

I asked Monica about when she had decided to become a dentist. She answered that she trained to be a dentist as a mature student; she'd flirted with other jobs before deciding that that would be her career.

She said, "No one can decide what they really want to do when they are 15 or 16 years old".

And I said, "I knew I wanted to be a teacher when I was 12". She was amazed.

Mr. Lindsay at Manukau Intermediate was my initial inspiration. He was a mathematics' specialist and a young enthusiastic guy but he was only my actual teacher for a short time (I had the deeply unpleasant experience of having Mrs. Kay for the bulk of those two years at intermediate).

When I went for my out of zone interview for Mt Albert Grammar in 1970 and the Headmaster (Mr. Hall) asked me if I had a job in mind for when I eventually left school I said, "I want to be a maths' teacher".

My father (another Mt Albert Grammar old boy) who came to the interview with me must have looked at me in an interesting way. I don't remember articulating this desire to him or my mother before this interview.

So my bliss found me aged 12 in August 1970.

I love the fact that I'm a teacher. It's all I've ever wanted to be; I know, in one form or another, it's all I will continue to be.

Anyway this post was spost to be some great teachers so here's a random gallery of some great teachers who are no longer with us that have sprung to mind in the last five minutes. That would be Siddhartha Gautama (a.k.a. Buddha), Jesus of Nazareth, Walt Whitman, Frank McCourt, Confucius, Henry David Thoreau, and, finally, with the TV show Lost in mind - John Locke (you'll be able to suss who's who).

For no apparent reason (Anouar Brahem)

2011-11-30T00:10:00.000-08:00

I haven't included many photos of school activities lately so I'll correct that now with a few from this week.

Before taboor with Ahmed, the music teacher.

Mathematics certificates (with Jan and her three maths
teachers on the far right)

Abdulla is the MC, Mohammed is between me and student.

Arabic studies students in the library.

Adbulla has never met a microphone that he doesn't love.

Shaban wraps up the festivities.

Khamis shares a joke with Jan (maths advisor)

Some of the students work at recreating the UAE flag.

Your destiny may keep you warm (Oasis)

2011-11-27T19:39:00.000-08:00

Data driven teaching is today's topic.

I am so grateful for the Cognition Education twin thrusts on data driven improvements and evidence based inquiry. It gives such a solid foundation for building improvement, and while it seems absolutely self evident it is surprising how much we’ve got it wrong in the past.

Okay – how much I’VE got it wrong in the past.

Not through negligence, through ignorance.

And I’m not alone (pheww). Generally teachers and most administrators are not assessment literate (Popham's claim in 2001).

Oh sure we’ve looked at test scores and summative results and done some data analysis on that to a lesser or greater degree. But it’s hit and miss.

I now realise that I’ve been bad at making assumptions about students and their learning in the past and I haven’t asked the right kind of questions to improve their classroom conditions, instruction, and provided a repertoire of interventions to properly differentiate my teaching.

I didn’t learn how. I loved my time at teacher training college in 1982 but that was a long time ago now.

I’ve done a lot of management development over the last 12 years in New Zealand (a Masters degree in Educational Management) and the UK (the National Professional Qualification in Headship) but it took working in a little school in the UAE for me to properly appreciate how to use data properly to improve teaching and why it’s important.

My job here (and the other advisors) is basically to prod teachers to collect meaningful data on their own and ensure that they begin to ask questions and change their teaching practice.

The beautiful thing (yes beautiful) is that it’s happening!

Teachers here are challenging their assumptions, challenging themselves to find out more about their students. They are looking at their results for trends over time and talking to their colleagues in new ways.

I was really thrilled that the mathematics advisor (let’s call her Jan Thomas) organized a meeting for all the Cycle 2 mathematics teachers recently.

Obviously this is not new in a NZ context but it was a revelation here and the teachers communicated in a new way – they talked about teaching strategies and how to improve their students’ learning. Fantastic.

Who would've thought? English teacher me - a cheerleader for data driven improvements!

Don't give me that, you snotty faced heap of parrot droppings! (Monty Python)

2011-11-24T00:12:00.000-08:00

A colleague gave me an article recently called, Forgetting about friendship: using conflict in teacher communities as a catalyst for school change by Jorge Avila De Lima (thanks Jan).

Along the way he makes some challenging comments about collaboration, collegiality and communities of teachers. For instance he says;

It is ...clear that not all communities of teachers are favorable to educational change. The propensity of these communities to foster this change will vary with the nature of the elements that bond its members together.

My past experience has certainly been that some staffrooms are much more receptive to change than others. In fact I can only think of two staffrooms where the whole staff was united as one community and moving in the same direction as the Principal. The first was Macleans College when I was an English teacher there from 1985 to 1989, and the second is my current school - Ali bin Abi Taleb School in Al Foah (Al Ain, UAE).

But I didn't really want to focus on that bit of the article.

In analysing the community of teachers he identifies three elements.

1. Community of understanding (common values, shared beliefs)

2. Community of practice (mutual support, collaboration, collegiality)

3. Community of affection (meaningful relationships)

In a statement that I know my friend PJ will embrace whole-heartedly De Lima says:

The only thing that seems to be absolutely imperative that teachers share in order to form a community of professionals is a deep commitment to students’ learning, development and well being. Strong personal bonds are by no means essential (my emphasis).

But I didn't really want to focus on that bit of the article either.

De Lima goes on to discuss the idea of trust in close relationships. Trust in close relationships reflects ‘confident expectations of positive outcomes’ from a partner.

Interpersonal trust can be defined as ‘the confident expectation that a partner is intrinsically motivated to take one’s own best interests into account when acting – even when incentives might tempt him or her to do otherwise’.

My company has embraced the concept of a ‘Performance Enhancement Payment’ scheme this year and we are required to submit a ‘stretch goal’ (see earlier posts on this concept).

A colleague who is also a friend, let’s call him Colin Donald, suggested we work on ours together as we have a history of working together on Professional Development ideas in Qatar a few years ago.

I had no problem placing my faith in his benevolent intentions and saying, “Yes – great idea”. We have that interpersonal trust and I have that confident expectation of a positive outcome.

It comes from history and the mutual professional trust that has built up. He trusted me in Qatar to do my job. I trusted his leadership abilities.

Of course, Colin and I didn’t need to be friends to work in this collegial way but it helped that we trusted each other’s abilities and motives.

But I didn't really want to focus on that bit of the article either.

De Lima makes a good distinction, when discussing collegiality and interpersonal ties in teaching between being friendly and being friends with colleagues.

While friendship ties us to others through positive sentiments of affection; due to our desire to establish some interaction beyond the relationship implied by our formal role, we often maintain friendly relations with others to whom we are not particularly attracted or whom we may even dislike somewhat.

[This is very blokey isn’t it? I can just imagine saying to Colin – I’d like to work with you because of a personal sentiment of affection. Yeah right!]

The point of the article promised in the title is coming soon I promise. But we need another slight digression.

When I attend meetings called by representatives of my company I can’t help notice how the men always sit together and the women sit separately. Partly this reflects the segregated nature of schools and society in the UAE. I am in an all boys’ school with no female teachers. Girls’ schools have no male presence beyond the security guard at the gate. Boys and girls have staggered bus timetables so they are not on co-educational buses.

But there’s more to it than that.

The male advisors gravitate towards each other, so do the women (although less so). Friendship, especially at deep levels, is developed among people who view one another as similar. The male advisors are similar not only in race and sex but also in interests. Yes we do like to talk about sport and masculine pursuits.

De Lima’s thought is that in a schooling change scenario teachers not in close friendship groups can open doors of change wider than can the ties that bind together very close friends.

This is contentious. Andy Hargreaves says that in order to work successfully teachers need to feel some kind of commonality with the people with whom they gather and work.

As indicated above, for men that means other men.

Okay so…cognitive conflict (De Lima’s term and no pun intended with the company I work for – Cognitive Education).

De Lima’s point (yes we got there) is

Instead of pursing deep levels of friendship and harmony among teachers, sponsors of educational change in schools would be better off by going after cognitive conflict, by arranging ways of bringing together previously unacquainted colleagues in new and innovative combinations across subject areas, grade levels and even school buildings.

Basically – conflict is good. Even more than that, ‘school cultures will not flourish and develop dynamically without internal controversy’.

Gosh!

If you’ve made it this far you deserve some more Monty Python.

Well everybody's hoppin', everybody's boppin', boppin' at the High School Hop (Jerry Lee Lewis)

2011-11-21T20:59:00.000-08:00

This post is brought to you courtesy of the inspiration derived from Michael Smith's PrincipalPage blog (link is in my blog list on the right).

Here's my list (in no particular order) of 25 things to be thankful for in my job as Lead Advisor at Ali bin Abi Taleb School.

The laughter I hear in the corridor outside my office every day (from a revolving cast).
Air conditioning - couldn't do it without you Mr General.
My dream team of advisors. Take a bow Jan, Peter, Davego, David, and Gavin.
Sharing an office with our translator, Hisham (a mutual support network of two).
The band at taboor (assembly) every morning.
Watching the teachers walk arm in arm with students.
Shaking hands with students at break time.
The Arabic teacher meetings - a riot of laughs.
Morning greetings with the staff and handshakes all 'round.
It's a boys' school with an all male staff - alhamdolilah (praise to God).
It's a Cycle Two school (Grade 6-9) so nowhere near the same pressures as in Cycle Three.
Mohammed, the Principal.
Holy Qur'an readings by the students which float in the morning breezes.
The view of the trees outside my office window.
School rituals.
The music coming from Ahmed's room (with Nidal's singing from time to time).
Abdulla (one of the Arabic teachers) and his daily greetings.
The boys' enthusiastic singing of the national anthem at taboor.
The friendly warm relationships.
Vice-Principal Fadhil's laugh and cheeky smile.
The enthusiasm for learning and embracing change.
The lack of private agendas that sabotage improvements for students.
The sweet black tea.
The open gate that symbolizes a lot about the welcoming atmosphere at the school.
Blogs from Michael Smith that keep me amused, grounded AND inspired.

I'm deep inside myself, but I'll get out somehow (Neil Young)

2011-11-17T18:43:00.000-08:00

Time for another TED talks experience. The ICT advisor (Gavin) suggested this talk to me and it's both fascinating and timely given what we are doing in our schools technology wise.

I notice that the Labour Party in Nu Zild is advocating laptops or tablets for every student. Michael Fullan would say that that is the wrong driver and I'd agree with him. Improving teachers and teaching is much more powerful than handing a new tool to a student.

Larry Lessig in this talk makes some powerful points about what we are doing to our 'kids'. It's worth watching until the end!

Larry Lessig on laws that choke creativity | Video on TED.com

I also came across this Larry Lessig talk where he explores the same theme.

On a boat in the middle of a raging sea (Cream)

2011-11-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

Today's hot topic at school was the Student Support Team's meeting.

Actually it wasn't.

Not even close!

The hot topic was really the upcoming National Day festivities.

My Student Support Team meeting was after the staff meeting that discussed how we were going to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the U.A.E.'s founding and I kept some of the staff (those on the team) from a Jordanian lunch so I wasn't very popular.

Ah well. In the grand scheme of things it's a shrug of the shoulders.

But...it would be great if the hot topic was students with Special Educational Needs (boring but great). That's what the Student Support Team is all about - focusing on the less and more able. That equates to roughly 5% at each end of the student spectrum in my school.

I was interested that one teacher took issue with me for using the word 'weak' as in 'the really weak students' to describe the ones who needed the Individual Educational Programs (IEP). I can see his point (he didn't want to stigmatize those students) but I don't see anything wrong with the acknowledgment of weakness.

I love playing tennis and my game is pretty sound but I am weak on a topspin backhand. As in I can't do it. I can slice and hit it flat but topspin? Forgetaboutit! No one has showed me how to do it effectively.

It would have been good if someone had said to me when I was 12, "Hey Warren, your backhand is a weakness in your game - mind if I give you some pointers? We could design an IEP for you and the backhand would be as good as your forehand."

You're the apple of my eye (Badfinger)

2011-11-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

It seems that there is an awful lot of Steve Jobs product out there at the moment. I'm talking about books and articles on him rather than the ubiquitous ipad, iphone, ipod, Pixar, iMac presence in our world.

Bookshops are full of him. I can't help but notice the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson and there is also a book being advertised called I, Steve by Mr Jobs himself.

I bought the latest Rolling Stone magazine yesterday, with a cover story on Steve (I'm sure he won't mind me be overly familiar - he feels like everyone's favourite uncle).

I love the pose in each of these covers. We don't change much in fundamental ways and we can't run from our genes.

I started reading the article in the bookstore and got hooked. Mainly because his former girlfriend (who he had a daughter by that he claimed wasn't his until DNA proved otherwise) wrote such a loving piece about him.

Until the last paragraph that is. Later he became (according to her) 'a despotic jerk'; before then he had shared a romantic youth with her and others.

The accounts I've read of him seem to bear out her characterisation.

In shorthand - he was a romantic dreamer in his youth with abandonment issues (he was adopted by the Jobs' family), a seeker of enlightenment, a Dylanologist, a hard driving visionary boss who embraced capitalism, a despotic jerk, and finally a micromanaging Apple figurehead who came to terms with his life and loves after the cancer diagnosis.

Like any shorthand it's both wildly unfair while containing grains of truth.

Whatever and whoever he was as a man (and he's nothing if not fascinating) he was someone who changed the world.

I love this quote from him when challenged about starting up a for-profit company like Apple:

Remember in the sixties, when people were raising their fists and saying, "Power to the people"? Well, that's what I'm doing with Apple. By building affordable personal computers and putting one on every desk, in every hand, I'm giving people power. They don't have to go through the high priests of mainframe - they can access information themselves. They can steal fire from the mountain. And this is going to inspire far more change than any nonprofit.

Mystery train smoking down the track (Elvis)

2011-11-09T05:48:00.000-08:00

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” Einstein.

I love the idea that imagination is more powerful/important than information. J.J. Abrams' mystery box is a TED talks presentation that uses a number of modern references (Star Wars, Lost, ET and more) and Abrams' own career to illustrate this essential point.

You've also gotta love his energy and sheer enthusiasm. His vitality and forceful delivery takes a bit to get used to but I was hooked as soon as he mentioned his own grandfather.

Ev'rybody's gonna need a ventilator (Rolling Stones)

2011-11-08T00:08:00.000-08:00

We are currently enjoying an Eid break (three days holiday, back to work tomorrow - Wednesday).

The students didn't arrive for school in any great numbers on the Thursday before Eid so the school sent them home early. We are not expecting students at school tomorrow or Thursday. Usually the government extends Eid to include these two days but, unlike every other Emirate and Arab country around us, this year it hasn't.

The minister has said that Abu Dhabi needs to be more serious about education and not take extended holidays.

Upshot is though that the families and students will take the two days anyway.

My school was very relaxed about all this. Very philosophical. No problem.

As last Thursday was unfolding it was great to see this. I suspect in New Zealand there would have been large scale angst and hand wringing about the boys losing class time and there being no structure for the boys who did come to school. With only about 30 students arriving some composite classes were run for a couple of hours but then the place was empty by about 10am.

There was no panic, no sense of events spiraling us out of control. It was all very calm and orderly.

It was most impressive.

We could learn a lot from how this was all dealt with.

Take me disappearin'...down the foggy ruins of time (Bob Dylan)

2011-11-02T03:10:00.000-07:00

From time to time I have wondered whether Human Resource Management (HRM) is an area I'd like to move into more.

As a Deputy Principal and Principal I used to enjoy resolving personnel issues. This was part of my overall job (a very small part come to think of it), but a bit that I was good at.

Then I came to the Middle East and witnessed the business model HRM at first hand, where it is a distinct area of expertise, and I realised it is not going to be part of my future career thinking.

Being involved as an educational advisor at Ali bin Abi Taleb School has made me realise how much I love being in a school.

I have nothing against the people tasked with HRM - they are wonderful human beings. Certainly all of the ones I've met in my company involved with HRM are very accommodating, uniformly helpful, upbeat and cheerful. I don't know how they do it.

I now realise it would drive me mad!

Peter Drucker is one of the best-known and most widely influential thinkers and writers on the subject of management theory and practice and he once said (before Star Trek was on TV):

The constant worry of all personnel administrators is their inability to prove that they are making a contribution to the enterprise.

I've lost count of how many restructuring exercises have taken place in HRM during the year.

It seems that HRM's image of itself is also rather nebulous as well.

I did a Google search on 'HRM images' and there was an abundance of either group shots or vastly complicated organizational diagrams.

Does HRM actually make an impact?

It is generally thought that HRM affects performance for the better but it is difficult to understand HOW they produce an effect. It may even be impossible because they are dealing with so many variables: people's feelings and foibles and difficult to measure things like how much they influence the climate of an organisation.

Like I said - I don't know how they do it (nor does it seem like anyone else does either).

Brain salad surgery (Emerson Lake & Palmer)

2011-10-31T01:49:00.000-07:00

I'm home sick today from school - sore throat has gone but it has been replaced by a runny nose. This means a stuffy head full of mucus and waste bin full of tissues. Just the right conditions to write about today's subject - the brain!

I am, by nature, both fascinated by and suspicious of many of the latest edufads - learning styles, De Bono's damned hats, talk of the right and left brain hemispheres, the knowledge wave and so on.

In education I often get the distinct impression that an interesting idea gains fadhood by being essentially misunderstood. It then goes viral and every educator who wants to appear au courant propagates and increases the misunderstanding

The Knowledge Wave idea gained fadhood a few years ago in Nu Zild. Everyone was quoting Jane Gilbet's book (Catching the Knowledge Wave?). It became a catch phrase, a conference theme, a training website, a T-shirt and Marvel were considering making a movie of it. Okay I'm making that last bit up (I hope).

Thing was, I don't think many people actually read Gilbert's book. I did and it made sense to me as a way of dealing with the production model of education.

The right and left brain people would have us believe that we are one or the other. Educationalists, who always appear to want to simplify things, therefore seek ways to accommodate each side's characteristics in teaching practice.

I found this talk recently which may take a few views to follow but I enjoyed both the delivery and the message.

We get some rules to follow, that and this, these and those - no one knows (Queens Of The Stone Age)

2011-10-26T03:05:00.000-07:00

The book I'm reading (Evidence-Based Reward Management) poses some interesting and pertinent questions.

Before I get to them - they make the point that:

The tendency is for organizations to ignore research evidence and base their HR and reward policies on generalized 'truths' that have little foundation in that evidence.

That would certainly be my experience thus far. I have seen or heard no research based evidence advocating a reward policy, nor have I seen or heard any rationalisations about why we need one.

Some of those questions:

How effective will the performance related incentive scheme be?
Will it add value?
What would happen if we swapped from an individual incentive scheme to a team emphasis?
How do rewards affect the levels of engagement and performance of the employees?
In fact, do we have any evidence whatsoever that our pay and reward arrangements make any difference?

That last one's a doozy isn't it?

Ehrenberg (1990) answers this when he says, 'There is very little empirical evidence on whether compensation policies have their intended effects either at the individual or corporate level.'

Food for thought surely...

You must be some kind of superstar (Jamelia)

2011-10-25T02:44:00.000-07:00

I started my formal observations of the Arabic teachers today. Given that they teach in Arabic this is tricky. There is only so much my translator can give me while I am filling in 18 boxes of criteria. Each with 6 areas of rubric to consider. Sheesh.

I like Al Burr's differentiation of teachers into three groups:

Superstars, Backbones and Mediocres

I discussed this will Mohamed today and he could easily place his teaching staff into one of these three categories.

Superstars (the cream - the top 5 - 10%) - we have 4 or 5.
Backbones (the middle 80 - 90%) - we have 21 in this category.
Mediocres (the foot draggers, the gripers) - we don't have any. Amazing but true. We had some last year but they have moved on.

Mohamed and I also discussed what makes an effective teacher.

This is his answer:

He (we are in a boys' school and all the teachers are male):

is well prepared;
uses modern teaching techniques;
has clear learning objectives for each class;
ensures success criteria are met;
is student centred in his approach;
differentiates to include different learning abilities and styles;
reinforces good students;
motivates lower achievers;
uses co-operative learning techniques, group work;
reflects on what the students are doing;
explores his own learning to improve his practice.

Wow - this is a great list.

I then asked him how many of his staff would match this list and he named his four superstar teachers (I would include one other but that's by the by).

The following article is worth reading on what makes a great teacher.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/01/what-makes-a-great-teacher/7841/

I'm one too many mornings and a thousand miles behind (Dylan)

2011-10-24T03:07:00.000-07:00

Evidence based management is what we are about in our local work in the sandpit.

In a nutshell this means asking two essential questions: What is it you think you know? How do you know it?

I like evidence based management and I like these questions.
They get to the heart of the matter. They question assumptions.

Frinstance - I am an advisor for Arabic (as well as being the Lead Advisor) in my school and I know that, compared to other boys in Al Ain, our boys struggle with reading and are excellent at writing. I can prove it by comparing exam results. Evidence. Powerful stuff.

It means we can put some things in place to improve the boys' reading. And when I say 'we' I mean the Arabic teachers who are uniformly terrific.

I am reading a really interesting book at the moment, Evidence-Based Reward Management by three UK business writers.

The following statement of purpose jumped out at me:

[Reward management] is also about helping to create a climate of trust between management and employees in which the former recognize that they must apply the principles of both distributive and procedural justice and the latter believe that the management will act fairly in 'delivering the deal' as evidenced by what they do and how they do it.

As I gear up for having an incentive scheme done to me, I thought this was quite pertinent.

It's an excellent book - all that and I'm only up to page 14!

All I want is someone to believe (Billy Joel)

2011-10-19T03:36:00.000-07:00

Still with the Whitaker book - he struck a chord with me when talking about autonomy and recognition.

He quotes Al Burr's discussion that truly outstanding teachers need two things to make them content and motivated - autonomy (freedom to do the things they know are best) and recognition (can be formal or informal)

Let them take chances and risks and watch them implement innovations.

The best leaders I had gave me both.

The best of the best was Colin Prentice at Macleans College. He used his Monday mornings before staff briefing to distribute his yellow bits of paper containing his personal recognition of staff. We would look forward to Mondays and the chance of getting those yellow bits of paper. When we did it was an exhilarating feeling.

Intrinsic rewards (and not extrinsic rewards) are the best drivers.

While I was there I wanted to start a media studies department. He allowed me to do so and left me to it. I really appreciated that!

Greg Taylor at Mt Albert Grammar left me alone to run the boarding hostel and gave me the freedom to make mistakes and complete innovations.

So I did - honours boards, dorm names, refurbishments and so on. It was a thrilling time.

In my current job I work with subject specialists who are experts in their fields. I aim to give them autonomy and informal recognition.

I figure I can't do their job any better than they can so why would I try?

Hot hot hot stuff (Donna Summer)

2011-10-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

Internet frustrations are hard to deal with. We've had a couple of days where I couldn't access the internet and therefore emails.

So I had to relax, let it go/build a bridge and work on boring stuff like making an English version timetable for the school instead and breathe through the fact that I couldn't access emails from my bosses (I have a few!).

I did an English version last year when our non Arabic speaking inspectors came so I put this year's version on that.

And made lots of mechanical errors. Frustrating!

I was tired, it was a boring mechanical job, I had loads of interruptions, a headache from concentrating so hard, the computer screen is small, there are thousands of small entries to make on the spreadsheet, the sun was shining, it was hot, I was dehydrated....etc etc.

I did find it hard to concentrate on the task though. Luckily one of my errors was spotted when I published it and I did a more careful check of the document. As I was doing so I realised that I should have shared the task with someone. That way there would have been more accuracy.

Been thinking about two statements in the Todd Whitaker book (What Great Principals Do Differently):

1) Make every decision based on the best teachers (i.e. keep your superstar teachers in mind when making decisions and not the backbone teachers or the mediocre ones) and...

2) Don’t have a 'principal's pet'. As Whitaker says - our true superstar teachers don't want to be singled out for special treatment in front of their peers.

This is tricky. In my current school the Principal has go-to guys he trusts as a sounding board for decisions. Being human, we naturally gravitate to a few people whose judgment we trust.

Whitaker again - our superstar teachers will tell us the truth in a way that we can accept.

The balance is between reality (bouncing ideas off a trusted few to make better decisions) and perception (having principal's pets). As I said - tricky.

In one of my schools the Principal created a formal Advisory group that she would call upon when she needed advice on sensitive situations. Mohammed has an informal Advisory group to do the same.

I think the informal works better - it can be more flexible, people don't get upset when not consulted, it doesn't create an aura of division in the ranks and avoids the potential for the wrong perceptions to circulate.

Interesting.

It's a goal (Winston McCarthy)

2011-10-13T02:31:00.000-07:00

The education world loves jargon. Jargon and acronyms. First and second place.

A colleague of mine at Waimea College asked me once what the difference was between an 'objective' and a 'goal'. As an English teacher (and someone with a brilliant mind) he knew the subtleties at play.

What he was alluding to was the unnecessary obfuscation of language that seems to emerge on a daily basis in teaching. I'm sure he'll be spluttering while reading the next sentence.

A new addition (or at least, new to me) is the term 'stretch goals'.

It seems a 'stretch goal' is:

A goal that cannot be achieved by incremental or small improvements but requires extending oneself to the limit to be actualized. Stretch goals are used, not to drive short-term action, but to inspire longer term innovation processes aimed at making desirable outcomes, that are currently impossible, achievable at some future time. While it might be hoped to achieve a stretch goal either in large measure or in full within a defined time frame (usually quite some time into the future) the timing of the achievement of the stretch goal cannot be guaranteed - it can only be striven for.

A “stretch goal” is any goal “which seems to be unobtainable with the existing resources”. The intent behind stretch goals is to force employees to think creatively for solutions to apparently impossible problems.

Interestingly, I am currently being asked to come up with such goals (three or four) that need to be achieved in a nine month period. No really!

Methinks the term has not quite been understood.

Oh, my old man's an All Black, he wears the silver fern (Howard Morrison Quartet)

2011-10-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Sunday Roctober 9) was a pretty tough day. Loads of stress, shouting, banging on tables frustration, heated arguments and ultimately - relief.

Yes The All Blacks played Argentina in the quarter finals of the world cup and we were at work!!

In between visiting classrooms, meeting with the Principal and watching the English teachers doing their reading program I kept an eye on proceedings at Auckland's Eden Park. A place I know well.

A colleague sent me a link to a live stream of the game (bless him) and so the kiwi advisors clustered around computers or checked on the score as they came and went about their business.

The locals think we're mad (they checked out the images but all those men running around throwing a ball away from themselves confused them no end).

We'll do it all again next Sunday at work when the mighty All Blacks take on Australia at fortress Eden Park.

Go the ABs!!

I'm stuck on your heart (Tina Turner from 'Simply The Best')

2011-10-05T01:07:00.000-07:00

Back to Todd Whitaker's book. I like the approach he has.

According to him there are only two ways to improve schools.

One - get better teachers.
Two - improve the teachers you have.

In the UAE context getting better teachers is a fluke. This is because Principals can't choose who gets terminated and who gets a job in their schools.

At the end of each year a termination list appears in the school. Last year we lost seven staff. We're not sure why. Four were of retirement age but three were not (and they were good teachers).

This year we arrived on the first day of school and met their replacements. There had been no imput by the school into their employment. By a fluke we appear to have strengthened our teaching staff.

The whole chemsitry of the staff is a fluke here. A nicer bunch of men you would be hard pressed to find. The relationships they have with each other and their students is a constant source of inspiration for me.

For us then it is a matter of improving the teachers we have.

But let's assume for a minute that the Principal could employ someone. What is Todd's advice?

Employ talent!

Simple. What does he define as talent?

Love of students. Bright mind. Positive attitude. Congenial personality. Great work ethic. Leadership skills. Charisma.

I love the list because they are mostly qualities that are inherent in a person, rather than learned.

My conviction is that great teachers are inherently great.

I listened with all of my might (Laura Marling)

2011-10-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

Tuesdays mean a meeting at 9am with the Principal. Today is Tuesday.

We have just had a great session for 40 minutes on the data analysis that informed our School Improvement Plan (see previous post).

I went through the process of tracking each grade in Arabic Reading and Arabic Writing for our school compared to all schools in Abu Dhabi and boys schools of our status.

Basically our boys perform really well at writing but poorly compared to other boys in reading (actually it's more specific than that - it's that our middle ability boys are not making improvements into better grades).

Their scores in writing are far superior.

So I went through this process with Mohammed.

Mindful that he is tired and preoccupied with family things. One of his daughters is in a hospital in Dubai. Poor guy - for some weeks now he has been travelling each day and spending long hours with his family and daughter there.

He told me this morning that he was leaving for Dubai after our meeting today which is why I restricted it to 40 minutes.

It was a good 40 minutes though. Less is more (always).

Made me think about how difficult it is to listen with all of our might. All the time.

Our boy brains are zapping from thing to thing and it's often difficult to sustain an attention span.

Boys in class are no different.

Jacky asks me sometimes, "What are you thinking?"

I usually answer - billions of things and I'm not lying.

I think we need to remember that the people we work with have a number of things on their minds and giving us some undivided attention is at times impossible.

Basically we need to cut each other some slack!

If you don't dig the jive you better scat (Joe Montgomery in Cool Cat)

2011-10-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

I have just finished the School Improvement Plan (aka SIP) for Ali bin Abi Taleb for this year.

I didn't write it all. I compiled a lot of it.

It runs to 22 pages.

Yikes!

22 pages! The cynics among you will have a field day.

But it's actually a really good document. It details our action plans for the year as a school and for the individual subjects.

The trick of course will be to monitor the progress and adapt as we go.

Cognition has turned me into something of a data analysis junkie. I actually enjoy sifting through the screeds of data we collect to determine where the gold is.

School improvement depends on pertinent data analysis, then an action plan, then revision and reviews (that progress thing), then more action plans.

From what I've read the Inquiry process (summarised in that last sentence) is the way to go. So that's the way I'm going.

Dear diary

2011-10-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

I have decided to rescue Baggy Trousers out of its self imposed hibernation.

Why?

My creative juices have been re-energised by working at Ali bin Abi Taleb School. Simple.

I have decided to operate this weblog as a kind of diary for a while to get back into it - so a weblog in it's purest form.

I also want it to be livelier.

Today is Monday in Al Ain and a normal school day. I only have a mathematics advisor here on a Monday so it's a comparatively quiet day on that front.

I'm working on material for my Principal's PD and so I'm reading a book by Todd Whitaker called What Great Principals Do Differently (15 things that matter most).

I'm up to lesson 4 - treat everyone with respect, every day, all the time. Yeah right!

I try hard to do this but when others don't do it back to you it's a tad harder to accomplish.

I hate all the hidden agendas that are often at work in a NZ school context. They exist everywhere I guess but they seem a lot less in this current place.

Mohamed is a great example because he does aim to treat all his staff and students with respect, every day, all the time.

And its got to be an aim right? No one is perfect. No one can do this every day, all the time. We all lapse.

I think the message in the book is to remember this. Treat people as you wish to be treated. And recognise when you don't.

Take a positive approach every day.

Respect. Every day. All the time.

And fix it when you don't succeed.

Recently I was interviewed for a Principal position.

I did a lot of preparation for it. Being an advisor has sharpened up my analytical skills a lot.

The interview was odd though. I could sense that the interviewers weren't really interested in my answers or my ideas for the future of the school.

Just a feeling.

I could tell. They were polite but they weren't really listening. I was telling them some hard truths about their school and they didn't really want to know.

It didn't daunt me or cause me to pause. I was paying them respect.

I didn't get the job. It went to someone whose stated reason for applying was that he owned a house in the town that he couldn't sell. That was it.

I wanted it because I wanted to help the students improve. I outlined ways I would do this. I highlighted the most important areas to focus on.

Nevermind. I wasn't a good fit for this school. They weren't looking for what I was presenting.

It's a pity but I think it's also called a lucky escape.

Respect. Every day. All the time.

Goodnight sweetheart, goodnight.

2011-04-15T02:27:00.001-07:00

I've decided to concentrate my blogging energies into my personal blog and my music blog. Therefore this one is going to go into hibernation.

Maybe it'll return at a later date, inshallah.

We can't even think of a word that rhymes (Alice Cooper)

2011-04-10T03:24:00.001-07:00

This is a highly stylised situation - I needed some photos of Mohammed (the school's Principal) and me working on his professional development work so we had to interrupt our actual PD session to pose for some photos.

It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log (The Fabs)

2011-03-14T03:02:00.000-07:00

Woh!! Last night was parent night and I was buzzing for hours after it. I normally am but this was my first teacher/parent night in the Middle East and it was a blast.

We started during school with the mothers meeting at 11am (fathers were down for 5pm meeting after school). I'd been told to expect maybe 4 or 5 ladies and 16 turned up.

I gave the ladies a brief run down on what the advisors are doing to improve things in the school and then took a few questions. All the men then left the room (so the ladies could divest themselves of their niqabs) for them to have chocolates and drinks. This was followed by the arrival of the teachers for teacher/parent conferences.

The men's group in the evening was huge! Again, common practice was that about 4 or 5 men would come and I was also told my 5pm time for the meeting meant few would come on time. We ended up with 30 plus (I stopped counting at 26). It was easy to count as each new arrival would say Salaam Alaykum and we would say back Alaykum Salaam! This number is without precedent. My Principal was thrilled!

I did my same introductory speech and then took a lot of questions (some had firm beliefs on how things should be taught). We finished with a brief meet-the-teacher chat but most had seemingly just come to hear me or raise issues with me. A hugely instructive evening!!

Love and peace - Wozza

When you don't need an answer there'll be days like this (Van Morrison)

2011-03-12T04:59:00.000-08:00

Here's a selection of snapshots from the life of a consultant in foreign climes. Starting with awards presented at morning assembly.

Same meeting as previous post/different views (thanks to my colleague Brett Sloan!)

Translator Hicham and me in my office - dressed in red and black in solidarity with the people of Christchurch.

Finally - these two photos were taken during a heads of department meeting in the Principal's office.

You can't read my poker face (Lady Gaga)

2011-03-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

We had an interesting meeting at a girls' school yesterday - Um al Emerate to be specific. The 'we' refers to a collection of Al Ain schools. The meeting is part of an on-going scheme to get our Principals to meet and discuss topics of interest.

The photos show the men (and in the first one Ali Painter) but the Emirati women, as per custom, were not photographed.

It was a lively debate and largely in Arabic. Play spot the kiwi! You need to be looking for a Brett, a Colin, a Bruce, a Graeme, and a Rob!

Down the timeless gorge of changes (Neil Young)

2011-02-23T00:51:00.000-08:00

I have been slack with this blog. Ana aasef (sorry). I thought maybe visitors were no longer checking this blog out but I was wrong!

To make up for the lack of posts here are some images of life around school. I have been taking thousands of pictures for various evidence files but have not thought to load them onto the blog.

Nevermind - here's a bit of a selection to kick start us back into action:

A treat for the students each trimester is a trip to a fun park in Al Ain. They can relax the uniform a bit for the day and Shaban (one of the Arabic teachers on the left) looks happy to join them on the bus.

One of the action groups I've set up to consider the Gifted and Talented students. It's a cross section of curriculum heads, the social workers (their term for guidance councilors), the school nurse (Chardi is on the right) and school admin. Next to me is my translator - Hicham.

Four of the five Arabic teachers listening to some PD: Abdulla; Abdulazzim; Shaban; Farraj. Salem was absent.

We have many social events involving the school staff. This one was held on Salem's farm in Oman. It's a men only affair. Here is the preparation of the BBQ and then the communal meal. Salem is on the left.

Got my mojo workin' (Muddy Waters)

2010-12-14T23:50:00.000-08:00

Who knew that moderation meetings could be such fun?

The students have sat formal assessments (tests) this week in Arabic, English, Islamic studies, science and maths. Of course it is necessary to have moderation meetings to guarantee some consistency between the markers.

In my NZ and UK experience, these take place after the marking has happened and then marks are supposedly adjusted. But this is always a haphazard process, very unscientific and of little benefit to anyone.

Here I have stipulated that the moderation meetings take place BEFORE the staff get into marking.

I've had two of them - one with the English Dept and one with the Arabic teachers (until I have a full team in place I am advising both of these faculties). Both were exceptionally positive and fun experiences. The English one resulted in some great vociferous debate from the English teachers before we could settle on some benchmark papers.

Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera but I remembered for the Arabic meeting. This one was of equal value but with Abdulla's input it was also screamingly funny. Left to right, in the two photos below, we have Abdul, Shaban, me, Abdulla, Farraj (Salem is the 5th member and he's seen in a photo below). Also pictured (in the photo immediately above) are Nadal and Khalifa who helped me out with translation and advice.

After the meeting the teachers are relieved of their normal timetable and stay at school until they have finished marking!! So, on Monday, five English teachers marked 200 scripts after our moderation took place and on Tuesday it was the five Arabic teachers' turn. The next day all scripts were checked by other faculty members. A very robust system all around.

I was both fascinated and impressed by the organisation and smooth operation.

We learnt a lot from each other and isn't that what it's all about?

Bring your good times, bring your laughter too, we're gonna help you celebrate (Dragon)

2010-12-04T23:30:00.001-08:00

National Day at school was a glorious occasion - lots of games, singing, dancing as well as the serious stuff. I was dragged into some dancing and the games which was fun (I was an early exit from the balloon popping game and we - the staff - lost the tug of war to the boys who had a little help!). All great fun!

Here are some of the many photos taken , starting with Principal Mohammed addressing the boys.

Sunrise, shine down a little love on the world today (Eric Carmen)

2010-11-24T19:05:00.000-08:00

I have now finished my first full week at Ali Bin Abi Taleb Middle School.
For this post (the written version of the entrance way into the school) I thought it best to do some background on the school so it's clear what I'm talking about in the months to come.

In the local parlance it is a Cycle 2 school with students at Grades 6, 7, 8 and 9. This means it is a middle school (rather than Cycle 1 - primary or Cycle 3 - secondary) catering for boys aged about 8 to 13 (but, in practicality, some are as old as 17 or 18).

The area the school is in is called Al Foah - a 30 minuite drive north of Al Ain towards Dubai. The land turns to desert about 20 minutes into the drive and it's lovely watching the sun rise over the hills to my right as I make my way towards the school.

There are 202 boys here and the staff is made up of 29 teachers. Mr Mohammed is the school Principal and it is he I work most closely with. Unfortunately his father died earlier in the week so he has been away for the last three days of mourning.

The subjects taught are: Islamic studies; Arabic; English; social studies; maths; science; I.T.; P.E.; music; art.

My job title is 'Lead Advisor'. In effect that means I co-ordinate and work with the subject advisors and work to improve the leadership capacity in the school.

So far, necessity being the mother of invention, I have had to share advisors from my friend, Graeme McFadyen's school. This isn't ideal for either Graeme or me but it is the best we can do at this stage. In effect it's meant that as well as being the Lead, I am also advising the Arabic and English departments. Unfortunately I am also without a translator and this is a real challenge. I have been very fortunate, though, that a couple of staff, notably - librarian Mohammed and an English teacher, Nadal (pictured below with his Grade 6 English class), have been able to translate for me on a few occasions.

The school day starts at 7.15 with a school assembly...

The boys warm up for assembly.

The assembly band and music teacher.

...and then there are 4 x 45 minute periods until a break for half an hour and then three more periods. School finishes at 1.15 (with a hiss and a roar as three buses ferry most of the boys out to their homes). The staff also get away promptly, leaving the advisors to work for a few hours before our hometime.

The staff and students are incredibly welcoming and accepting of me and the other New Zealand Cognition advisors; far, far more warmly and welcoming than schools in my NZ experience. I have been overwhelmed by their generosity of spirit. It is so nice to be appreciated!

I am also loving being back in a school context and loving being back in classrooms again - interacting with the students and assisting the teachers.

Get back to where you once belonged (Beatles)

2010-11-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

My masthead has been inaccurate of late. Since July I've not been an educational consultant in far-flung lands at all. Instead I've been a painter, a wall-paperer, a driving instructor, a gardener, and an odd jobs man around home. In short I've been unemployed and enjoying a break.

But now, after 4 months of career inaction, I'm back. Back in employment (thanks to Cognition Education) and back in those far-flung lands. I'm in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) right now, waiting for a lift to Al-Ain [pronounced Al (as in 'you can call me Al) - Ain (as in Elaine without the E)] where I am to work as a lead adviser in a cycle 2 school. These are middle schools - after primary, but before secondary.

This excites me no end. I've missed being in a school; a place I've lived in for the last 26 years. Schools are special places with their own individual worlds.

Each school world has it's own culture, it's own characters and customs and ways of doing things. There are leaders and helpers, outsiders who interact with the organisation, rules and regulations, parents and their children - all moving and working in a symbiotic relationship. The movement can be in a variety of directions but when all are working together in a positive way a school is a force to be reckoned with.

Being part of that world can be very special and for the most part I've enjoyed the experience. I have now worked in a variety of places: New Plymouth Boys' (NZ); Macleans College (NZ); Waimea College (NZ); Mt Albert Grammar (NZ); Cambridge High (NZ); King John (UK); Walthamstow Academy (UK); Stratford High (NZ).

In Doha I worked as a professional development trainer for Principals, and while I loved that work I was not associated with a school. Now in Al-Ain I will be able to rejoin a culture and work with the school and other advisers to bring about improvements in key areas.

As I said - exciting. Stay tuned!

He was a varsity tackle and a hell of a block (Meatloaf)

2010-09-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

Basil Fawlty voice - Universities eh! Ter! Cor! Wicked eh!

I've been investigating three Universities, that may wish to have me as a student, with incredibly varying results.

In Doha I emailed Victoria University and had a polite couple of emails back from then. Then months of silence.

I visited Massey University in Palmerston North recently and experienced a frosty reception. The woman at the post graduate research office gave me the vague impression that I was wasting her time. I explained what I'd done in the past and what I hoped to do at Massey. She asked me about a thesis I'd written a few years ago. I started making noises like a blocked drain and tried to justify my pass mark by describing my circumstances then (part time, Deputy Principal at a large secondary school, four children, yadda yadda yadda). She almost clicked her tongue when she said I needed at least a B+ for the thesis. I felt about twelve years old and felt myself flush with embarrassment. I got out of there p.d.q.

Then came the happy experience of meeting Sylvia at Waikato University a few days ago. She didn't ask about the thesis but I told her anyway. She listened and checked with a colleague before telling me not to worry - my English degree grades met the prerequisites and I just had to fill in a form and wait and see as the University bureaucracy moved paper around. In the meantime I should work on my proposal.

She also told me there was no problem working on the higher degree from overseas!! Fantastic. What a difference. Well done Sylvia and thanks Waikato University.

Boo hiss to the other two!

Goodness me

2010-08-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

It has been a while hasn't it. The gap is because I have had little to report since returning to NZ. I am making applications to do some study. At the moment Waikato and Massey are front runners but I'm also casting the net wider - to Auckland and Victoria. I will return when I have some concrete news.

Until then I am working at home - fixing fences, chain sawing up firewood and tidying up the property.

Back soon!

Photographs and memories

2010-05-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

Not so much the end of an era, more the end of an experience and an association: I had my last day presenting at Regency Halls, Doha, last week.

I have been negotiating my way along Najma Street to Regency Halls since December 2009. Then it was to join John Lambert to present to Ministry of Education principals in the reception areas. Last week it was to join Andrea Ford to present to The Accredited Leaders' Program in the main ballrooms.

The only constant has been the staff at Regency - the caterers, the serving girls, the managers and the sound technicians; and the food.

Here are some commemorative pictures from the last couple of sessions:

The ballrooms at Regency are obviously for weddings. So Ian, Rami and I did a soft shoe shuffle on one of the stages.
The full National Professional Standards Leadership team - Reem and Rami (translators), me, Ian and Ande.
Reem snapped me kicking back between gigs

The dream team at Regency - me, Ande, Reem and Rami. Below left is Julie - our faithful helper (now back in NZ), also pictured are Caroline and Ken from Cognition.

Some of the food areas - we had breakfast at 10am and then lunch and prayer time around 12.30. Sessions finished at 2pm. Below are pictured some of the Academic Vice-Principals during the course (permissions sought and given!).

Next week I'm off to work with Ande to present to an Aspiring Leaders group at a new location - The Marriott Hotel. But for now it's goodbye to Regency - thanks for some brilliant times and memories.

Let's go surfing now, everybody's learning how (Beach Boys)

2010-05-05T22:00:00.001-07:00

I mentioned a number of links during a presentation on Professional Development to some Qatari leaders.

On the left hand side there are a number of internet links and catalogues. There are also links to some fun and interesting weblogs that I follow.

In addition to these I would like to add the following sites:

The Accredited Leaders wiki and the Diploma in Educational Leadership wiki are found at http://sites.google.com/site/accreditedleaders/ and
http://sites.google.com/site/diplomaineducationalleadership/

I have looked at the open course content at Yale University for a few years now. They continue to upgrade and expand their services and are well worth a look http://oyc.yale.edu/

The best evidence synthesis material from the New Zealand Ministry of Education (MoE) at http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/series/2515 has a number of reports, including The University of Auckland findings on School leadership and student outcomes - Identifying What Works and Why: Best evidence synthesis iteration (BES).

Also from the New Zealand MoE comes a site dedicated to professionally developing educational leaders - http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/

The Australians have an interesting site about Principals leading and learning at http://www.principalsaustralia.edu.au/servlet/Web?s=157573&p=LL_LEADERSHIP_STANDARDS

If you are looking for stimulating videos you might like to try http://www.teachertube.com/ or stimulating discussions and talks (many translated into Arabic) at TED Talks http://www.ted.com/

Those sites should keep you busy for a while; I hope they help (thanks Munira for asking me for this - it reminded me of a lot of useful places to go in the interweb).

Baby we are all a star (Prince)

2010-05-02T01:04:00.000-07:00

I am reading another book by Paulo Coelho at the moment - Warrior Of The Light - a kind of companion to The Alchemist. It is a manual for living (his own life) that has a lot of benefit (for the rest of us).

Here's a powerful section that I need to share and ruminate on:
The Warrior of the Light has the sword in his hands.

He is the one who decides what he will do and what he will never
do.

There are moments when life leads him into a crisis and he is separated
from things he has always loved; it is then that the Warrior reflects. He checks
if he is fulfilling God's will or if he is merely acting selfishly. If this
separation is really part of his path, then he accepts it without
complaint.

If, however, such a separation was provoked by someone else's perverse
actions, then he is implacable in his response.

The Warrior possesses both force and forgiveness. He can use each with
equal skill.

I've been running that around in my brain all morning! I think it's going to stay there for a while too.

Also in this post...word has reached me of some further success for my former colleagues in Stratford, NZ. Both Maria Potter and Barbara Gall have now joined Phil Keenan in gaining promotions since my departure. This is fantastic news and I am thrilled for them.

The ripples from two decisions (my leaving Stratford High School and Graeme McFadyen's departure from Spotswood College) continue. Mark Bowden is now at the helm at Spotswood and that meant a vacancy at Opunake High School which Maria has now filled.

I am sure Maria will be a brilliant Principal and, it may be a cliche but nevertheless it is true -Opunake is lucky to have her.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers (Henry V)

2010-04-28T22:02:00.001-07:00

When I leave the Middle East I can leave safe in the knowledge that I helped bring Shakespeare to the Qatari principals; specifically I used the pre battle speech from Henry V to provide a shining example of transformational leadership. I am so glad I did - I knew it was risky and the fact that there was an attentive audience during my explanation and reading of the text says a lot.

Rami, one of our superb translators, was able to provide a version for the audience and I used a youtube clip to support the text.

This is an amazingly powerful speech and it has an often overwhelming effect on me. I can only guess what the Qatari men and women thought and/or felt when they watched it. Maybe...maybe a fraction of that power moved from the 16th century Britain to 21st century Qatar one morning this week in Doha. I like to think so.

I caught Maybelline at the top of the hill (Chuck Berry)

2010-04-24T01:20:00.000-07:00

Bizarre moment recently = I had to do some presenting on the topic 'motivation' to 90 Qatari leaders (the word 'bizarre' has zero zip nada currency here). This is a group of conservative men (dressed in thobes) and conservative women (dressed in abayas and hijabs).

I stood up (I'm in a suit wearing a Madonna style headpiece microphone jobby) and I start singing Maybelline - 'As I was a motivatin over the hill - saw Maybelline in a coup de ville'.

I got a few looks let me tell you (no record contract yet thru as I type).

There's no success like failure

2010-04-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

The delay in posting is due to the work of late - I've been preparing presentations for the two groups and presenting to them after the translating process is finished - at times it's felt a bit like being an air traffic controller with some planes stacked up on the runway waiting for take off, others in a holding pattern waiting to land and still more coming out of the hanger getting ready for flight.

That sounds more dramatic than it is but the idea is true. At times I've lost track of who's landing when and so on. I now have a few days to get prepared for a presentation in two weeks time and that's a good feeling. It's on transformational leadership to the Accredited Leaders' programme and I'm working with two Qatari Principals (Mubaraka and Sara). They have great ideas and add a really important facet to the presentation.

I thought I'd share another TED talks here - it's short, witty, has Arabic sub-titles for my Qatari friends and makes some excellent points in around three minutes on gaining success. We ALL need to remember these things from time to time.

ABC is easy (The Jackson 5)

2010-03-16T00:25:00.000-07:00

I've continued to be involved in presentations to two distinct groups of Qatari leaders. On Mondays I join a fellow Kiwi (Andrea) to present an Accredited Leaders' programme to 90 leaders, on Wednesdays it's a different group of about 60 doing a Diploma course (these leaders have previously completed the Accredited programme). Our leader is Aussie Ian. Go you good thing!

Each group has a very different feel - they are committed to the reforms and serious about their studies. They are very conscientious and want the best out of themselves for the benefit of Qatar. I am slowly getting to know them and relax a little into the role of professional development facilitator to this university standard course material. It has certainly opened my eyes up to current research again after a few years of being a school Principal.

I have harboured an ambition of doing a doctorate for many years. Indeed shortly after I finished at Auckland University in 1982 I began considering it. 'Harboured' is the right verb too - it feels a bit like a ship that's been at anchor for many years now. It's a sheltered cove with NZ bush coming down to the waterline, jagged rocks and mostly calm waters.

On my return to NZ (whenever that is) I intend to again explore the possibility of further study at Massey or, ideally, either Victoria or Auckland University. I'd love to be doing some study while my eldest son Keegan does his masters or daughters Samantha/Jade do their undergraduate work. We shall see (inshallah).

I've heard via the grapevine that my old job (Principal of Stratford High School) has gone to one of my former Deputy Principals. I wish him well! Being a Principal is a tough job that the acting Principal role doesn't really prepare you for. The Principals in Qatar face the same scrutiny and workload demands but in contrast they also have a large degree of uncertainty about their tenure. I take my hat off to anyone who takes on the role. I'm certainly enjoying helping the Qatari leaders who have that as an aspiration or who are new to the job. It's a great challenge but a very worthwhile one.

Watching my life, main attraction (Hard-Fi)

2010-02-28T09:53:00.000-08:00

The two week break has come to an end and the first day back at work has been eventful. I've moved into the National Professional Standards team in Qatar that is training Principals via a PD program called 'Accredited School Leadership'. It's still a Cognition team and I'm lucky to have been another opportunity to help the Qatari leaders.

Sadly I've had to leave the Leadership Training team, superbly led by Colin. I had a terrific time with John Lambert et al but that contract ended before the break. That group continues in a different form and luckily I'll keep seeing them each Thursday at Al Khalij.

My new colleagues in this new team are Aussie Ian Smyth and Kiwi Andrea Ford (along with Denise and Julie as support staff) and we're at Regency Halls so I'm pleased at that continuity. Reem is also one of the translators which is great too.

I do miss my Qatari friends from the MOE group though and will aim to keep in contact with them via email.

Exciting times in Doha!

Please release me, let me go (Engelbert Humperdink)

2010-02-09T05:54:00.000-08:00

The thank you celebrations took place t'other day with our would be principals at Regency Halls. They presented all of the Cognition people with gifts and praise for the course they've received. It was an emotional experience as they've been working closely with all of us for a long time. The end of this week also marks the end of my association with this group and with some members of the leadership team.

I've waxed lyrical about this bunch of Qatari leaders already but they really are a remarkable bunch of people who I've grown to love. Mmm - that's right - the l word. Clearly this post is going to be somewhat touchy feely - cos I'm also going to give some big ups to my colleagues John Lambert and Colin Donald. Without doubt, these two exceptional gentlemen would have been fantastic, inspirational Principals at their New Zealand schools. They have certainly given me a terrific leadership example since I've pitched up in Doha.

This post is, therefore, dedicated to them - my two bosses. Colin is in NZ for his break and John flies home to Kay this week. I'm posting this before he goes and before he eats humble pie after the Auckland Blues beat the Hurricanes on the weekend.

I've really lucked out because I have been able to see John Lambert working, up close and personal, over the last ten weeks. It's been a special experience that will live long in my memory. His sincerity, passion for the job, and love for the people he's teaching is clear for all to see. And they love him. And I mean really love him. He has earned their respect and that is no mean feat.

I've found him an inspirational presenter and I've learnt an awful lot from him. It's been a real privilege and I'll certainly remember John's words of wisdom and his singing voice, long after he's returned to New Zealand.

Me as padowan learner between the two kabeer zaeems (big bosses) - Colin is on
the left and John is on the right.

John shakes hands with the class' volleyball veteran.

The great man - always ready to help, always with a chuckle and a story (he's
been everywhere, man).

In his honour I present the following singalong. Why? Because John loves the microphone and at every opportunity he will break into his idiosyncratic version of the Humperdink favourite. It's a singalong so...sing along!

Please release me let me go
for I don't love you anymore
to waste our lives would be a sin
release me and let me love again.

I have found a new love dear
[ Find more Lyrics on http://mp3lyrics.org/Xw ]
and I will always want her near
her lips are warm while yours are cold
release me my Darling let me go.

Please release me can't you see
you'd be a fool to cling to me
to live a lie would bring us pain
release me and let me love again

Here's to John and Colin - as salam alaykum, alaykum as salam.

Go lightly from the ledge, babe, go lightly on the ground (Dylan)

2010-02-04T22:49:00.000-08:00

It's been an interesting week at Regency Halls. Jacky has come out a couple of times to see what I've been up to and has got a great sense of the energy in the room.

The final results from our Green Schools' project were also announced - the top three groups were The Falcons, The Wolves and The Candles.

The pictures show the two male groups receiving their trophies from the CEO of Cognition Consulting - Dr John Langely who was visiting us at Regency Halls and did the honours. The female winners - The Candles - respectfully asked that I not take their photos, which, of course, I've complied with.

We have only a week left with this remarkable group of Qatari leaders. It will be an emotional week as John Lambert is returning to New Zealand as well. He's a remarkable person and we'll certainly miss his advice and good humour. When things turn all entropic on us, John always has a wise word and a laugh to carry us through. The phrase - he'll be missed - is a cliche but in his case it's going to be very real.

Ka kite ano.

Can't you see the light in my eyes? (Todd Rundgren)

2010-01-28T08:48:00.000-08:00

The presentations have continued from our teams at Regency Halls (see last post for details). Before I get into some more photos of the action here I am with an awesome bunch of Qatari leaders, aka The Honey Bees (formerly known as The Killer Bees) - left to right - Mohammed, Mohammed Rida, Kalfan giving the thumbs up, me in Beatle tie and Adel.

And so on to the action, beginning with Kalfan who led the presentation for the Bees

The Falcons in full flight with one our translaters - Refka from Tunisia - in the foreground.

Some of The Wolves are seen putting the finishing touches to their model of a solar powered e-caravan (or 'smart-bus') before Khalid did his presentation on behalf of his fellow Wolves (another of our translators - Reem from Iraq - is on the right, along with Dene's left ear and Karin's back).

Ka kite ano/ma'as-salaama for now - Wozza

It's all about chemistry (Semisonic)

2010-01-26T11:15:00.001-08:00

I've found that certain types of people create a unique kind of cohesive bond when joined with like minded others. This is a rare phenomena in life. In sport it's also rare. I've supported Arsenal since 1970/71 and the amazing double winning team. I could tell at that early age that this was a snergistic team of talented individuals under a superb coach. Arsene Wenger's mighty unbeaten side of a few years ago are clearly another.

I've only experienced this a few times in my own life so far. The four examples that immediately spring to mind: the English department at King John School 2004-2006; the group who made up the 1999-2000 UNITEC post grad diploma class; The Te Kanawa House staff at Macleans College and the Eden Football Club seniors' team - both 1986-1989.

These are the special ones. That's it. Only four, and believe me - given the huge number of sports and teaching/leadership teams I've been a part of - there are plenty to choose from.

What makes them special? The unique chemistry comes from a peculiar, indefinable quality that creates both an (often) understated common purpose, and a unique combination of personalities who bloom in this new environment.

In the four groups I've highlighted there was a variety of oddly shaped pegs included, but all without exception were united by being in the group. It's a lot like John Lennon said of Mick Jagger's snippy comments on The Beatles. Basically it was a - don't knock us - you're not part of the family sort of message delivered in Lennon's best caustic manner.

I like to think that the whanau who read my Wozza's Place blog are a similar bunch of like minded souls. They hinge on me - I've defined a sixth group.

I think this is partly why social networking sites have become such a huge deal in such a short time - we're redefining our own networks and creating communities in our image and we're loving it.

That's all a long preamble to me introducing a seventh group - the Ministry of Education Principals' group that the Cognition team presents to (this includes presenters, translators, the Qatari leaders).

It's a fascinating bunch of people. They/we are united, yet there are clear differences within the ranks. For one we (the four presenters) are distinct as a group and as individuals. I was going to write that we (the four) are native English speakers - but even that's not true with Karin's Afrikaans background. A second sub set of the we (presenters) is the interpreters (Refka, Hani, and now Reem). They come from all over - Tunisia, Syria and Iraq and are all as vastly different as the presenters are.

Then we have the Principals and Deputy principals - on the surface a disparate bunch but once accepted by the group you are 'in' and woe betide any 'outsider' who tries to alter the equilibrium. I must say I'm feeling very at home and accepted now in the group. It did take a while but after a few presentations a change seemed to take place and a different feeling of belonging entered the relationship.

One of the activities I've been involved in has had a lasting affect on the organisational culture of the whole group. I asked them to give their table groups a name. The nine teams re-branded themselves and have since developed deep affiliations with the name. A very interesting phenomena in itself. For the record they are (men's groups first): Happy Faces; Wolves; Tigers; Falcons; Stars; Killer Bees; (then women's) Candles; Development Team; and The Queens.

This week Karin and I have presented the group with a challenging activity where each of the teams has to present their ideas on an environmentally friendly project for a school. Here are some photos of the teams at work (by the way - I checked carefully with each person that they were happy for me to share these photos with Cognition and my blog). First up are Stars with their model of an eco-friendly playground.

Spokesman for the Stars in the presentation was Mr Ghanam

Spokesman for the Happy Faces was Mr Mohammed

Here are the Stars putting finishing touches to their work.

The Tigers group made an impromptu table sculpture.

This is The Happy Faces team with their model of an eco-friendly rooftop garden

The Wolves at work on their solar powered structure.

The Stars presenting their ideas to my co-presenter Karin Weise

The Falcons at work, predicting victory.

The Killer Bees table in discussion during a planning session.

More photos will be added after the remaining teams make their presentations.

Shift happens in Arabic

2010-01-23T23:12:00.000-08:00

Dilemmas and decisions اتخاذ القرارات

2010-01-18T02:53:00.000-08:00

طلب مني بعض المدراء في دولة قطر أن أقوم بمساعدتهم في إيجاد الحلول لبعض المشاكل والعوائق التربوية والتعليمية التي تواجههم في مجال العمل. تبين لي أن أفضل طريقة للوصول إلى هذه الحلول هي عن طريق اتباع نموذج فرووم لاتخاذ القرارات
قد يبدو هذا النموذج صعباً ولكن فور أن يبدأ الشخص باستخدام النموذج يصبح استخدامه سهلاً - انظر اسفل الصفحة
من خلال الإجابة على كل سؤال أو بند تتمكن من الانتقال إلى مرحلة إلى أخرى حتى تصل إلى النتيجة المناسبة في اتخاذ القرار
1.الجودة/ نوعية الحلول المراد إيجادها؟
2.المعلومات/ هل لدي معلومات كافية تمكنني من اتخاذ القرارات الصحيحة ؟ – درجة اطّلاع القائد وفهمه للمشكلة القائمة نظرياً وعملياً
3.حيثيات المشكلة/هل المشكلة محددة بشكل جيد وهل لديها حلول؟
4.القبول /هل تقبُّل القرار من أعضاء الفريق مهم وحاسم لضمان حسن التطبيق ؟
5.أولويات القبول /إذا كان من الضروري اتخاذ القرار بطريـقـة فـرديـة - بـنفـسـك- هل أنت متأكد من تقبل أعضاء الفريق له
6.مشاركة الأهداف/ هل يعمل أعضاء الفريق وفقاً للأهداف التي أسعى إلى تحقيقها
7.النزاع/ هل ستكون هناك خلافات بين أعضاء الفريق في عملية اتخاذ القرار

مفتاح الرسم البياني
1A الأسلوب الدكتاتوري/ الاستبدادي- تتخذ القرار بنفسك وحسب معلوماتك الخاصة
2A الأسلوب الدكتاتوري/ الاستبدادي- تتخذ القرار بنفسك بعد جمع المعلومات اللازمة من أعضاء الفريق. ولا تسمح لأعضاء الفريق بتحديد البدائل أو القرارات النهائية
1C الأسلوب الاستشاري: تقوم بشرح الموقف لأفراد المجموعة وإطلاعهم على حيثياته ولكن لا تطلب منهم أن يجتمعوا لاتخاذ القرار بل تصدر قرارك بنفسك
2C الأسلوب الاستشاري: تقوم بشرح الموقف وتتيح المجال للنقاش الجماعي وتجمع الأفكار والاقتراحات وتحدد بنفسك أيها أفضل ويعود القرار الأخير إليك
2G الأسلوب الجماعي : جميع أعضاء المجموعة يشاركون في اتخاذ القرار. يتمثل دورك في شرح الموقف وتتيح المجال لأعضاء المجموعة لتحديد البدائل والاتفاق على القرار. في هذه الحالة أنت الموجه والمرشد وتسعى إلى إتاحة الفرصة لأعضاء الفريق لإصدار القرار النهائي بشكل جماعي.
قم بتطبيق نموذج فرووم على الموقف التالي/
أنت مدير لمدرسة ( ورن بيردي كولج). مع قرب نهاية الفصل الدراسي الأول وجدت أن نظام المناوبة بحاجة إلى تعديل وأن الجدول المتبع غير فعال. ردود أفعال الموظفين تجاه الجدول القديم كانت متضاربة فبعضهم يقول أن جدول المناوبة يتعارض مع برنامج التربية البدنية الخاص بهم وآخرون يتعذر عليهم التواجد خلال المناوبة المبكرة بسبب التزامات عائلية. اثنان من الموظفين طرحوا نقطة أن مهمة المناوبة لا تعتبر ضمن متطلبات المهنة وأنت لا تريد أن يؤثر هذا الكلام على باقي الموظفين. هذا بالاضافة إلى التغييرات المتكررة التي تحصل على الجدول وعدم تذكر الشخص لجدول المناوبة الخاص به. لا توجد هناك سياسة معتمدة لنظام المناوبة ولكن وفقاً للإجراءات المتبعة قديماً فإنه يتم تعيين معلمان للمناوبة خلال فترة الفرصة ومعلمان إضافيين للمناوبة عند مدخل المدرسة خلال بدء الدوام المدرسي وانتهائه
هناك مصادر أخرى متوفرة على الإنترنت يمكن الاستعانة بها في اتخاذ القرار
http://www.decision-making-confidence.com/rational-decision-making-models.html

And now - in English:

Some of the Principals I work with in Qatar asked for some help with problem solving and finding some practical solutions for their educational conundrums. I immediately thought of Vroom's decision flow chart. At first glance it looks a tad complicated but if you work through a problem (which I'll add below) you'll see how easy the process is.

For each of the questions/criteria, your answer will take you through the decision tree to an appropriate outcome.

1 QUALITY (Is there a need to try to find the best solution when possible? i.e. this is a case where it would not be acceptable having lots of equal alternatives)
2. INFORMATION (Do I know enough to make a good decision?)
3. STRUCTURE (Is the problem clearly defined, organized and has recognized
solutions?)
4. ACCEPTANCE (Do the members of the team have to accept this decision for it to work?)
5. ACCEPTANCE PRIORITY (If I make this decision am I sure the team will accept it?)
6. GOAL SHARING (Are the team members aligned with the same goals that I am trying to achieve?)
7. CONFLICT (Is disagreement likely among team members in reaching a decision?)

What the codes mean:

(Al) Autocratic l - as the decision maker, I use the information available to make the decision myself.
(A2) Autocratic ll - I request information from members of the team. They may or may not know why I want such information. The team neither define the situation, alternatives or final choice.
(Cl) Consultative l - I explain the situation to the individual members of the team but they do not get together as a group. I make the final decision.
(C2) Consultative ll - There is group discussion where I explain the situation and gather ideas and suggestions. Again, I'm responsible for the final decision making.
(G2) Group ll - The group as a whole make the decision. I as the leader present the situation and the group defines alternatives and reaches a consensus decision. The leader acts more as a facilitator in this process and allows the group to agree on the final choice.

So here's a problem to work through to test out the Vroom method:

You are the Principal of Warren Purdy College. It is near the end of the first semester (term 1) and you are aware that the system of playground duty supervision is in need of review. The previous schedule does not appear to be working well. Staff reactions vary. Some staff grumble that the duty interferes with their sports' programs, others complain that family obligations make it difficult for them to do duty before school. One or two staff openly declare that duty should not be part of their professional responsibilities and you are concerned that many other teachers feel the same way. You are also concerned at the frequency with which staff find it necessary to ask a colleague to fill in for them and how many times staff forget to do their duty. The school duty policy is unwritten but traditionally a requirement has been that two teachers should be on duty during all school breaks and that two teachers should supervise the entrance and crossings for the half hour before and after school.

There is another on-line decision making tool that is interesting to use if you don't like the Vroom model - http://www.decision-making-confidence.com/rational-decision-making-models.html

Where the flame turns blue.

2010-01-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

I've been enjoying Malcolm Gladwell's work recently. You may remember I had his spaghetti sauce TED talk on the blog a while ago. Since then I've read both Blink and Outliers (Blink is the better of the two for me - the equal of The Tipping Point). His blog is a recent addition to those I follow. He's such a good writer and provides loads to reflect on in a very easy conversational style. If anything the blog shades the books via it's even more relaxed and playful style.

I also added Robert Pirsig's website to the places to visit list. I've written about Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance extensively on my other blog and it was a real treat to find the website with a lengthy Observer interview on it. Highly recommended.

Gonna make a difference, gonna make it right (MJ)/سأحدث التغيير وسأحدثه بالطريقة الصحيحة

2010-01-06T23:42:00.001-08:00

This post supports my leadership session on leading change.

تدعم هذه الصفحة ورشة العمل التي سأقدمها حول إدارة التغيير

Michael Jackson's song makes a lot of pertinent points about change.
تعتبر هذه الأغنية لمايكل جاكسون ذات صلة كبيرة بعملية إحداث التغيير

Change, real change, starts from within, with an acknowledgement of a need to change.

إن التغيير والتغيير الحقيقي يحدث من الداخل شريطة أن يؤمن الشخص بحاجته المُلحّة لهذا التغيير

This inward gaze involves an existential element (Who am I, to be blind? Pretending not to see). From this comes a realisation that we live selfish lives (I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love).

عندما ننظر نظرة معمقة في داخلنا نجد أنفسنا في بعض الأحيان نتصرف وكأننا لا نرى ولا ندرك حقيقة وأهمية التغيير وهذا يعني أنك تتصرف بأنانية مع نفسك ومع الآخرين لأنك حرمت نفسك والآخرين من منافع التغيير

There is a connectivity at work in change - otherwise there is stasis (A summer's disregard, a broken bottle top and one man's soul - they follow each other on the wind ya' know 'cause they got nowhere to go). This will make the world a better place.
وإذا ربطنا عامل التغيير بعملنا نجد أننا إذا لم نحدث التغيير فإن العمل سيكون راكداً. فإذا تجاهلت أهمية التغيير فإنك بذلك تكون - وكأنك تتجاهل الصيف وجماله وتتجاهل كل ما حولك وتتجاهل الغذاء الروحي وهذا يؤدي إلى شعورنا بالضياع
This epiphany leads to a clear vision for the future (And no message could have been any clearer if you wanna make the world a better place).
أما بالنسبة للمستقبل فإنه -لا توجد رؤية أوضح من تلك الرؤية التي تسعى إلى جعل العالم عالماً أفضل

In summary, Michael Jackson tells us to, "Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change!"

في الختام تؤكد الكلمات التي يغنيها مايكل جاكسون على التالي: انظر لنفسك ومكنوناتها وقم بإحداث التغيير

These talks by David Logan and Seth Godin on TED Talks (conveniently translated into Arabic) have some interesting things to say about the change process and link to these ideas from the Michael Jackson song.

تجدون في المواقع التالية بعض المعلومات المثيرة للاهتمام حول عمليات التغيير وحول الكلمات التي يؤكد عليها مايكل جاكسون في أغنيته. هذه الصفحات مترجمة إلى اللغة العربية
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_logan_on_tribal_leadership.html

http://www.ted.com/talks

Who knows what's good or bad

2009-12-29T23:30:00.000-08:00

Alhamdulillah. Here is a little story I have been referring to recently when my Cognition colleagues have struck a problem.

The situation we always live in is like the wise Chinese farmer whose horse ran off.

When his neighbour came to console him the farmer said, "Who knows what's good or bad?"

When the wise Chinese farmer's horse returned the next day with a herd of horses following him, the foolish neighbour came to congratulate him on his good fortune.

"Who knows what's good or bad?" said the farmer.

Then, when the farmer's son broke his leg trying to ride one of the new horses, the foolish neighbour came to console him again.

"Who knows what's good or bad?" said the farmer.

When the army passed through, conscripting men for war, they passed over the farmer's son because of his broken leg. When the foolish man came to congratulate the farmer that his son would be spared, again the farmer said, "Who knows what's good or bad?"...(and so on and so on).

In Star Wars - Yoda's response to Luke - You will know... when you are calm, at peace, passive - implies a zen attitude much like the wise Chinese farmer. The foolish neighbour is the active, the wise Chinese farmer is calm, at peace, passive.

The Buddha said - "Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

As salam alaykum, alaykum as salam.

National Professional Teacher Standard 12

2009-12-28T03:20:00.000-08:00

This post is part of my presentation for Standard 12. Part of the focus of my presentation is ICT skills and how professional development opportunities for Qatari senior leaders can be found on the internet.

The link to the standards (for the people attending this workshop) is http://teachers.net.qa/

In the left hand column of my weblog is a survey for those people attending the workshop with laptops. You can access this survey at any time over the next week and add your answers. I'll report back on the results at a later date.

Happy surfing the internet - Mr Warren

هذه الصفحة هي جزء من العرض الذي سأقدمه حول المعيار الثاني عشر والذي يركز في قسم منه على مهارات تكنولوجيا المعلومات وكيف يمكن للقادة في دولة قطر الحصول على فرص للتطوير المهني من خلال الانترنت.
http://teachers.net.qa/ يمكن الحصول على معلومات إضافية حول المعايير المهنية الوطنية من خلال الموقع التالي
ستجد على الجهة اليسرى من صفحة الموقع الخاصة بي استبيان قصير يستهدف المشاركين في تدريب القادة. في حال كان لديك لاب توب يرجى المساهمة في تعبئة الاستبيان. كما يمكنك تعبئة الاستبيان خلال الأسبوع القادم. سيتم عرض النتائج في وقت لاحق.اتمنى أن يستمتع الجميع باستخدام الانترنت - مع تحيات السيد ورن / والمترجمة رفقة

I read the news today oh boy.

2009-12-22T04:20:00.000-08:00

I have received word from New Zealand that, apparently, I have upset one or two people with a previous post about leaving Stratford High School. So I'd like to clarify things - I am proud of the school, I am proud of having been its leader for three years and I am proud to tell people in Qatar that I am from Stratford, Taranaki. I mostly enjoyed my experiences at the school, I loved teaching the students and being their leader, and the great majority of staff supported me genuinely and whole-heartedly.

It seems some readers thought my comment about 'lame-ducksville' referred to the town of Stratford. No - it didn't.

When someone resigns from a job they enter a time when they can not/should not make decisions for the future of the organisation. They are considered to be LAME DUCKS. This is an actual term and not a term I have made up! My comment in the earlier post was about me being in this state and then 'limboland' before starting my new career in the Middle East. That meant I was in a waiting, holding pattern. I thought this was self-explanatory and not one I had to explain.

Neither Lameduckville or Limboland actually, really, literally, exist.

I hope that clarifies things (please note: Jacky proofread this post to check for ambiguities).

Merry Christmas to all of my Stratford friends!

Please take my advice...

2009-12-16T00:58:00.000-08:00

Over the last week or so I've started delivering some professional development to a leadership group set up by the Qatari Ministry of Education. The audience is made up of about 70 principals or vice-principals who have been disenfranchised. That means their schools have closed down and they have had to reapply for their jobs in the new Independent schools structure. In the meantime they have to attend special professional development sessions that Cognition Consulting have been contracted to supply. Which is where I come in.

The group has been going for about 9 weeks and will go until February. I've only been here two weeks so I'm coming along after things have settled into clear patterns with this group. They are working through the National Professional Standards that have have been written for both teachers and leaders. As a document these standards are actually pretty impressive, as far as these things go. I'm a less-is-more kind of guy (as you know) and I like the simple and repetitious format that Qatar has used. If you're interested you can find them at http://teachers.net.qa/content/standards/detail/2289 The leadership standards follow on from these ones.

If you scroll down to standard 8 you will find the standard I presented on today.Its heading is Apply knowledge of students and how they learn to support student learning and development. Right up my alley. I love to know who I'm working with and was pleased to see this as a teacher standard in Qatar.

The venue for the sessions is at a wedding reception complex called Regency Halls.

This is the entrance to the venue with one of our Principals enjoying a pre session cuppa.

The wedding reception area where the men go for their constitutionals.

Mohammed is with one of my co-presenters - Karin. The area that we present in to the Qatari Principals.

There are four of us working with this group of 70 leaders - two kiwi blokes (John and me), one Aussie woman (Di) and one South African woman (Karin). John has led this group from the beginning. Karin has been here a little longer than me and Di arrived after me. The other four members of the leadership team (Aussie Dene, Lawrence - a South African who's lived in NZ for 12 years, Aussie Dorothy and Maureen from NZ) are working with a group called Cohort 7. This is a group of about 100 who are also aiming to be new Principals in the Independent School system. Complicated? Why yes! We are all led by Colin (another NZer).

The leaders are mainly men (about 50 of them, to 20 women) and firmly segregated - by their own social conventions. It is really interesting watching the cultural mores between the two sexes. For instance the women wait until the men have had morning tea before they venture out and they return to their tables that are decked out in bridal white, to eat and drink. The men eat and converse (and smoke) together in the main hall where the weddings clearly take place. Most of the women are in full black abaya and niqab (the veil). The men are all their customary white thobes. I haven't quite worked out the significance of the black - the purity of the white is easier to understand.

They are a really lovely bunch - funny, intelligent, thoughtful, opinionated, challenging, questionning, supportive of each other, and fantastic to work with. I'm loving the interaction and I've learned so much from them already. One of them, Mohammed, has taken on the role of teaching me some Arabic. He reminds me a lot of Jack at Stratford High School. He teaches me a new phrase each session - as he says - I am here for a while so I better learn some of their language. Mohammed is a little unusual in the 'class' because his English is pretty good. Most require a translater. We have two to help us - Hani and Refka. This in itself is something of an art - to talk and allow time for the translator is hard for me to get used to. Just one of the many challenges that needs to be overcome.

Can you hear me Major Tom?

2009-12-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

My new career as an educational consultant began with three days on an interview panel considering applicants for principalships here in Doha. In turned into a really rewarding experience and certainly gave me new insights into arab life. I could immediately connect with the applicants - many of them Principals already - and I was really humbled by many of the stories I heard.

I've included a picture of the panel - turned out my friend Graeme McFadyen, who has also come over here from his position as a Taranaki Principal, was on the panel too. We joined Aussie Dene and Elsie our translator and had a great time meeting some exceptional people over the three days.

The leadership team was holed up in a swank hotel for the interviews but generally works out of an office in Al College (pronounced col-liege). It's a school that was closed and turned into an office complex for teacher training. It's really nice as you can see. Our office is on the mezzanine floor to the right of the window in this photo. The rest of the team is a fabulous group of people including a South African, and Aussie or two and a bunch of En Zeders.

Stay tuned for national standards and more fun in the sun.

Hey hey, my my...and once you're gone you can't come back.

2009-11-28T11:22:00.000-08:00

Well - that's that then. My last day as a school Principal was last Friday and now I'm no longer in lame duck-ville, more in limbo land before my new role as a leadership adviser kicks in. My family and I fly out to Qatar on Wednesday so this will be my last posting before I arrive and get established.

Friday was a surreal experience. It's very sobering leaving a job - handing in the keys, giving back a computer, cleaning out personal material, taking the pictures off the wall (and my Star Wars clock), waving goodbye to workmates and turning the light off on three years as Principal. It's a lot like leaving home - you can't go back and help yourself to the refrigerator like you used to.

I'll miss a few things for sure - the great people I worked closely with on a daily basis in the front office - my first visitor of the day (Di Di), early cup of tea from Ina and Suzie reminding me about Chelsea's success, will be one. The students will definitely be another - as I was loading up the car a number of them wanted to shake my hand, wish me well and yell 'good luck'. I loved teaching them and leading them to believe in themselves and dream big. I also appreciated the warm, positive comments from a lot of the staff and the Board of Trustees and the large number who attended my farewell morning tea.

What I won't miss is all of the petty small stuff that a number of staff cling to. Petty jealousies and juvenile attitudes (the 'I'll hold my breath till I get my own way' brigade) and private agendas that don't have the students' best interests at heart - all can wear down positivity. It's a real pity and something that is a feature of a staffroom that has developed an 'us and them' set of attitudes over time. That scenario becomes a sap on energy levels and rather than deal with important things, too often attention is on the nitty gritty of repairing relationships and putting out fires.

I hope the staff at Stratford High School can embrace a new leader and give them a chance. I hope they can. Anyway - I'm on to newer and exciting things and I'm looking forward to what is around the corner. I am sure it will challenge me in new ways. Should be an interesting time in 2010. Stay posted!!

Believe

2009-11-19T16:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a great message for students everywhere; it’s about believing in yourself. And for a change it doesn’t come from Star Wars. In his eulogy (speech at a funeral), Edward Kennedy Junior said this about his dad:

When I was 12 years old, I was diagnosed with bone cancer. And a few months after, I lost my leg. There was a heavy snowfall over my childhood home outside of Washington DC. And my father went to the garage to get the old flexible flyer and asked me if I wanted to go sledding down the hill. I was trying to get used to my new artificial leg. And the hill was covered with ice and snow. It wasn’t easy for me to walk and the hill was very slick. As I struggled to walk I slipped and I fell to the ice. I started to cry and I said, “I can’t do this, I’ll never be able to climb up that hill”.

And he lifted me in his strong, gentle arms and said something I will never forget. He said, “I know you can do it. There is nothing that you can’t do. We’re going to climb that hill together, even if it takes all day”.

Sure enough, he held me around my waist and we slowly made it to the top. And you know, at age 12 losing your leg pretty much seems like the end of the world. But as I climbed onto his back and we flew down the hill that day, I knew he was right. I knew I was going to be okay.

You see, my father taught me that even our most profound losses are survivable, and that it is what we do with that loss, our ability to transform it into a positive event, that is one of my father’s greatest lessons. He taught me that nothing is impossible.

It’s been an honour being your teacher for a while. My best wishes for your future. DREAM BIG! And live the life you've imagined.

Warren Purdy
Principal

The global market and me

2009-11-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

I have announced to the school that I will be taking up a position overseas in the next few weeks. I have therefore resigned from my position of Principal at Stratford High School.

My wife and I will be travelling to Doha in Qatar where I will be helping to train some of their new Principals. I am looking forward to this, having recent experience of this myself with the National Professional Qualification for Headship in the UK, and the First-time Principals' programme run by Auckland University. My masters degree in Educational Management will also come in handy, I'm sure.

Why am I embarking on this change of course? The opportunity and adventure involved in doing something exciting in a new environment is the overriding reason. This quote from Alan Alda sums it up, “You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk, and by not quite knowing what you’re doing. But what you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself.” It would be hypocritical of me to preach the idea of dreaming big and taking a risk, and not follow through with that myself, wouldn't it.

I will be the fifth Taranaki Principal to resign in the space of a year and I guess questions will be asked. But we now live in a global marketplace and Principals will be looking, not only for positions in New Zealand, but in the middle east, in the UK, in Australia...and New Zealanders have always left the country to experience the world.

Being a Principal in the naughties is a stressful occupation anyway and I don't think it's reasonable to expect us to stay in these jobs for lengthy periods. Gone are the days, I think, when Principals stayed in a school for twenty plus years and then retired.

My plan at the moment is to delete this blog (and the Shakespeare Society one) in about two weeks time. It's been a really fun thing to do but I will incorporate my ideas into my other blogs from now on.

I'll leave you with my prizegiving speech from yesterday:

A very warm greeting to you all –
The extended family of Stratford High School.
It is with much pleasure that I present my annual
address to the school community at our senior prize-giving.

This has been a challenging year for the school and for me personally. Every year has its combination of good and bad times but too many times this year the balance was tilted firmly into the bad. In October a number of us attended the funeral of a fine student – Kenneth Reeve Marcos. Kenneth was in year 12. For us at SHS he was a cheerful student, a talented artist, a trusted friend, a diligent worker at the Eltham Four Square, and we didn’t see his death coming. The loss has been felt deeply by his family, his close friends and by his teachers. I was deeply saddened because the potential, the dreams, the opportunities, the abilities that were so apparent inside Kenneth have now been lost to the world.

You will remember that the Stratford Way acronym is completed by D for Dreams. At the school assembly following Kenneth’s death I asked the students to keep hold of their own dreams. The founder of Apple computers, Steve Jobs, certainly knows the importance of a dream. He says “believe in your own strength to follow your heart. Be conscious of the power that you have to make a difference in your own life and to make your dreams come true. Every single one of you has the power within to make the right choice for your future. Trust in your gut feeling and your intuition and have the courage to follow your heart. These things somehow already know what you truly want to become.”

I hope all of you can relate to this and continue to action Steve Jobs’ advice throughout your lives. I certainly intend to.

During August we also said farewell to a close friend of the school. Our Mayor, John Edwards, passed away in Stratford after a period of illness. John was a student here from 1954 to 1957. He served on the Board of Governors from 1977 until 1989. For four of those years he was the Board chairman. He was definitely a true friend to the school. His warm and gentle personality will be missed throughout the Stratford district.

On a very personal note my father, and Jade’s granddad also passed away in September from complications from the stroke he suffered in August. I would like to thank Raewyn Rooney, Diane Lithgow, and Suzie Terry who attended dad’s funeral on behalf of the board and staff. Their effort and commitment in driving up to Auckland to support me during this time was very much appreciated.

You’ll now understand why I said earlier that the school and I had had a challenging year.

This Prizegiving and the reports that you will read in the Peak for this year will indicate that we have had a huge number of successes and great occasions to celebrate as well – far too many for me to list in this speech. Some of my highlights have been watching the Y13 students grow throughout the year (I’ll swear Jade has put on a couple of inches), the victorious MacAllister chant (no one saw that coming after the practices), and my terrific under 15 boy’s football team. These guys exemplified the never give up, never surrender motto that I love. We must own the world record for 4 all drawers in a season. You were a credit to the school and I was extremely proud of you.

To this year’s leavers - Be proud of who you are and where you come from. Be proud of who you are and where you are going. This is your moment on the stage. Take what you’ve learned here and dig as deep as you have to, and rise as high as you can. Keep your passion. Make mistakes and learn from them. Honour curiosity and follow it. And, in everything you do, recognise the individual person in others. I think it’s also worth repeating a quote that Viv Milner used in her speech at the Y13 leaver’s dinner. It comes from Alan Alda – the actor who played Hawkeye in the TV series MASH. He said – “You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk, and by not quite knowing what you’re doing. But what you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself.”

To those who are returning next year. Take up the risks and challenges that will be placed before you while you can. As Bill Gates says – “your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades, they will let you try as many times as you want to get the right answer. That doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to anything in real life”. So make the most of your opportunities next year while you can.

As with any end of year prize giving, there are people to thank and farewell. Chrystal Sheehy has elected to stay on in the UK and resigned her position during the year. Cathy Sheehy takes a temporary leave for 2010 to explore the great big world. We’ll look forward to seeing her back in 2011.

The members of the Parent Teacher Association and the Board of Trustees give up a lot of time
to attend meetings and functions throughout the year. I would like to thank each of them, on behalf of the community, for their dedication and commitment to the school. We must be the only school in NZ whose staff rep is on maternity leave and board chair resides in Australia but modern technology has largely resolved these barriers. Pete’s dedication to SHS has remained undimmed throughout the year. I value his advice and resolve to continuously improve life at SHS for staff and students. Thank you Pete.

My thanks to the senior management team - Maria, Phil and Barbara for another excellent year. They responded superbly when I suddenly had to take leave because of my dad’s death. It’s great knowing that I can leave the school in good hands at short notice.

Many generous people are behind each one of our many successes this year and the staff’s on-going commitment should never be taken for granted. Our students are fortunate indeed to come to school each day and be served by such a talented team of professionals. To the support staff and the teaching staff, on behalf of the parents and students – thanks and congratulations on an excellent year.

My work life is made easier by the terrific team of Suzie, Ina and Diane in the front offices. It’s often three against one in the banter stakes and it’s tough at the moment with Chelsea doing so well in the English Premier league but you three make it fun to come to work. Thanks for your good humour, loyalty and solid support throughout a tough year.

As 2009 draws to a close I would like to end my speech by wishing seniors good luck for the externals with a Celtic blessing and with a wish for everyone to experience peace and joy during the coming Christmas holiday:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
May the rain fall soft upon your field.
And until we meet again
may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Thank you

Celebrating the short life of Kenneth Marcos.

2009-10-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Sadly the school has been coming to terms with the recent death of one of our Year 12 students - Kenneth Marcos. This loss is something that has affected us all in a variety of ways. Kenneth's teachers and his friends are having to deal with the fact that they won't see him again. As a school we reflected on this at a recent assembly. I asked the school to reflect on the good times and the bad times they shared with Kenneth - the times he made us laugh, cry, feel angry or sad. I will forever remember his smile, his cheerful demeanour and his huge talent in art. When I enrolled Kenneth from Inglewood High School, Angela Gattung rang me to bemoan the fact that she was losing a great student to us. Kenneth continued to impress us here and we will all miss him.

Kenneth's funeral was held recently at Stratford's St Joseph's Catholic Church. Luke Cresswell spoke eloquently on behalf of Kenneth's large circle of friends who will need a lot of support as they come to terms with Kenneth's passing. Our thoughts are with them and the Marcos-Foote family at this tragic time.

At the assembly I also reiterated our need as a school to continue to dream big. The external standards are rapidly approaching for senior students. They need to prepare well and give themselves every chance of making a giant step towards their dreams by fulfilling their potential.

The farewell season

2009-10-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

It is now getting to be deep in October and the end of the year, for seniors at least, is nearly upon us. For staff and students this means final preparations for examinations, a leaving dinner, testimonials, final senior reports for the year, senior prize-giving, and feverish preparations for 2010. Often these preparations involve looking for accommodation away from home, entry to universities or polytechs or looking for a full time job. Sometimes our students have to grow up fast! We nurture them for five years and then it's a final push out of the nest as they graduate on to the next stage of their lives. It is quite an honour being part of that process.

Certainly this time of ending and beginning has been brought home to us in our family. My wife and I are nearing the time that we farewell our fourth, and last, child from school. After 21 continuous years of our children being at school, this is quite an occasion - the end of an era. It is also a time of new beginnings. There is university to plan for and an empty nest scenario to prepare for as the last of our children leaves home.

Looming large for students and families are the external examinations. The academic business is not done with yet. The year elevens, twelves, and thirteens should now be engaged in following their study timetables and dusting off those poutama goals from earlier in the year. "How do I measure up right now?", and "What can I still do to fulfill my promise?", should be central questions.

My cautionary words are - leave no excuses! In the immortal words of American writer Bob Moawad, "The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours - it is an amazing journey - and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins."

Reflections of...

2009-10-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

This weblog is subtitled 'the life and times' and mainly deals with my thoughts on education - the times - and less on my life. This post, in contrast, is mostly about my life at the moment. The last four weeks of my life have been hectic, eventful, and traumatic. My father had a stroke on August 18. I spent a lot of time last term commuting to Auckland with my wife to see him and spend time with him. Sadly I have to report that he passed away on September 21 from complications from that stroke. Since then my brother and our respective families have had to deal with the emotional aftermath. It hasn't been easy but we are all comforted by the peaceful, serene way he accepted the inevitable and helped us all to deal with his death. He was an amazing man and he gave us all so much.

Events like this in our lives tend to throw things in perspective. I have always told my staff that family comes first and for me this was also true. My study break was filled with working through dad's estate with my brother, and completely redecorating part of our house in Stratford. It was great therapy (like this blog) and now, back at school, I'm feeling drained of energy again.

I've always realised that I need 'my time'. Usually this takes place early in the morning before the rest of my family wakes and rises. These days I realise anew, how important some private, reflective time is to Principals. The hurley burley and toil and trouble of the day can quickly swamp us but having a few minutes to write this is really cathartic and necessary.

I often go back to material from a post graduate diploma I did at UNITEC in the 1990s. As one booklet pointed out, "reflecting on one's experiences can bring about changes in attitudes and actions". Boy - they weren't kidding!

R.D. Laing says, 'The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice there is little we can do to change until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds'.

I have also often remembered Boydell's model of management competence. It has three (evolutionary and hierarchical) levels: level 1 - manager as technician, level 2 - manager as professional, level 3 - manager as artist.

I remember being quite taken by this when I read about it in 1999. According to Boydell if you reach this third level you've become the 'mature person' manager and have reached a full understanding of what it means to be a manager, how it fits with all other aspects of your life, including your personal standards and values.

Events of the last few weeks in my personal life have given me the feeling that I have attained this last level. But I've been wrong before.

The Perfect Principal

2009-09-14T21:48:00.000-07:00

One of my senior managers gave me this when he was clearing out some files. Thought the blogosphere might like it too:

The Perfect Principal

A Principal must be a democrat, an autocrat, a diplomat, a doormat and a coolcat.

They must be able to entertain Director-Generals of Education, assistant secretaries, Deputy-Directors of Education, superintendents of Education, Councillors, teachers, parents and members of the Constabulary.

They have to settle arguments and fights. They must be a qualified solicitor, psychologist, clergyman, architect, supervisor, doctor, nurse, gardener, cleaner and on some occasions have some expertise in the role of sanitary contractor both in the literal and metaphorical sense.

They must always look immaculate when imbibing at end of term celebrations. They must allow their staff to reach maximum capacity but never reach the same happy state themselves.

They must be on the student’s side, the parent’s side, the teacher’s side, the Superintendent’s side, the Teacher’s Union side, the Progressive teacher’s side and the Ministry of Education’s side but never on their backside.

To be successful they must be able to handle irate parents, insane parents, hysterical overworked teachers (and support staff), the Ministry of Education, fellow principals and ERO officers.

To sum up they must be inside, outside, offside, glorified, sanctified, crucified, stupefied, cross-eyed and if they are the strong silent type, they can be deified.

Motorvatin' over the hill

2009-09-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

I recently read some interesting comments on student motivation to succeed at their NCEA studies. It came from the New Zealand Ministry of Education (I hope you were sitting down) in a summary report titled, snazzily, "Motivation and Achievement at Secondary School". It may have past you by.

This bit on external influences on achievement grabbed my attention -

Students who do small amounts of part-time work, sport or other extracurricular activities show higher motivation and achievement patterns than students who do not participate in these activities or who do so more than 10 hours weekly.

Okay it's not earth shattering but when it's added to the following little nugget it provides some encouragement:

Whereas achievement in Year 11 (in 2005) was a significant predictor of achievement in Year 3 (in 2007), positive motivation orientations added significantly to the accuracy of prediction of future achievement. Motivation orientations were better predictors of total credits achieved two years later than predictions made solely on credits attained in previous years.

So, students can significantly build on their success at level 1 (and improve their success at level 2 and 3) by improving their motivation. This can be done by:

Working towards a merit or excellent endorsement,
Improving their relationships with teachers,
Being involved in sport or other extra-curricular activities and,
Getting some part-time work.

This is a good message I think. It encourages students to aim higher and be more involved in wider than study activities. Seems that old saying 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' has some life to it yet.

Of (brick) walls and bridges

2009-09-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

The academic brick wall that all students have in their school diary becomes a critical aid to success at this time of the year. It's a grid that allows our students to see at a glance how many credits they have towards an NCEA qualification and just as importantly - how many they have to go to reach their target. Each brick in the wall is worth one credit. Students shade in the bricks as they gain credits towards Level 1 or 2 or 3.

If you're a parent of our students reading this - please ask to see the academic brick wall. Then discuss how many potential credits there are to be gained in external examinations or in the remaining few weeks of the academic year.

Next week, during our Options Day, students in years 10 to 12 will be selecting their probable courses for next year (students in years 9 and 13 will not have timetabled classes on this day). The focus on this day is to plan for 2010 and to remind students that they need to gain success in 2009 to create the bridge to the courses they want to do next year. You were probably wondering how I was going to fit 'bridges' in weren't you?

I am keen that students think backwards from their chosen career/job or further education. For instance if you are in Year 11 and you want to become a nurse you will need to think about subjects you need in level 3 NCEA, then level 2 NCEA and finally in level 1 NCEA.

With this in mind Options Day also doubles as a careers intensive day for our Year 11 students. A number of visitors, as well as our guidance network, will be guiding students during the day.

Reasons to be cheerful part 4

2009-09-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I explained how the status quo industrialised version of education needs revolution. I mentioned Ivan Illich's book 'Deschooling Society'. Here is another excerpt:

The current search for new educational funnels must be reversed into the search for their institutional inverse: educational webs which heighten the opportunity for each one to transform each moment of his/her living into one of learning,sharing, and caring.

So what of these 'educational webs'? Clearly we (and by 'we' I mean
educational institutions in general) have made a tentative start - the interweb
has potential with elearning (electronic learning). So does video-conferencing.
So does distance learning. So does mlearning (mobile learning). But so far it's
been piecemeal and on a very small scale and really limited and, for various
reasons, hasn't challenged our industrial status quo at all. For instance there
is a tension in my school between appropriate use and inappropriate use of
technologies. There is also a tension between advising students on distance
learning/video-conferencing and allowing them the freedom of choice.

Anyway this doesn't feel revolutionary. And what about the good bits of
what we offer? The subject specialists, the facilities and resources? Do we junk
all of that? Well no, we don't. Illich again:

A good educational system should have three purposes: it should provide all who want to learn with access to available resources at any time in their lives;
empower all who want to share what they know to find those who want to learn it from them; and, finally, furnish all who want to present an issue to the public
with the opportunity to make their challenge known.

So... we need a smarter way of freeing up our tight control of timetables and classes and the other aspects of the industrial model that I wrote about last time, while providing access to available resources, empowerment to teachers and learners, and an opportunity of expression (imagination is more important than information - so said Einstein!).

Yep fine (apart from it being a really long sentence). But what?

Last year I heard an address by Patrick Duigan. He talked about the concept of “learning spaces” which is heavily influenced by technology and gave an example of a development by a company in Sydney called LandLease who are developing 10 x 30,000 home communities in Western Sydney where schools are being reconfigured into “learning communities”. The entire community is to be networked and businesses who want to be involved have to sign on to be part of that “learning community”.

Blended learning seems an exciting prospect to me. Here's a brief description of it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_learning

This aligns with some aspects of experimental Canadian schools that I heard about at a SPANZ conference in 2008. Students, in these schools, arrive in the morning and select their day's programme from a menu of courses placed around the school. They then attend tutorials that incorporate 'face-to-face' sessions with access to other technologies. Teachers are called 'facilitators'.

This is the inquiry model at work. No industrialised classes in rows. What it does do is place the responsibility for learning squarely on the learner. Hallelujah!!

The assembly line

2009-08-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

I recently wrote about my hope that education can break away from our 19th/20th century industrial model via a revolution of ideas.

Okay - I'd like to expand on this during this post. But first - a revolution requires knowing which way we want to go.

This exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat sums up our situation in 2009:

Alice - Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here
Cat - That depends a good deal on where you want to get to
Alice - I don't much care where
Cat - Then it doesn't matter which way you go

I know which way I wish to go - away from the old industrial model which has so far lasted in New Zealand schools until the present day, and towards the complete delivery of an inquiry model (that actually is the basis of our new New Zealand Curriculum document).

Basically I want to get away from this picture presented in a 1947 training film but which could have been filmed today. Take a look, even if it's just for a few minutes.

What we have currently is this industrial model: desks in production rows, the teacher as oracle at the front dispensing information, conformity and obedience, a rigid timetable structure of discreet subjects, age determined class cohorts, uniform criteria for success, standardised curricula, and therefore students without focus. Look familiar?

The industrial model, which emerged in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, aimed to improve efficiency and to prepare young people for factory jobs requiring repetitive tasks. As a consequence, intended or not, the industrial model tended to preserve the status quo. The industrial model was further characterized by strict rules and regimented behavior, identical curricula and expectations for all students, and an emphasis on basic skills of literacy and numeracy.

Clearly we no longer need to prepare young people for factory jobs exclusively, just as we no longer need to prepare them to become university professors exclusively. Why then do we preserve the status quo model of education?

Standing in contrast is the inquiry model of education, in which learning is active, social, contextual, continuous, and holistic. It requires pedagogies of engagement, learning designs that connect students to knowledge-making activities and to one another, critical thinking, adaptability, creativity, multi-age classes, authentic/diverse assessment practices, teacher as facilitator and co-learner.

Basically, I think we need to revisit a text I had to read at university in 1977 Ivan Illich's Deschooling Society. Some of his messages have stayed with me. This for instance:

Most learning is not the result of instruction. It is rather the result of
unhampered participation in a meaningful setting. Most people learn best by
being 'with it', yet school makes them identify their personal, cognitive growth
with elaborate planning and manipulation.

I don't understand what he meant by "being 'with it' ", but I certainly agree with him about the need for a "meaningful setting".

I'll try an explore what these meaningful settings may be over some upcoming posts.

Sources: Christine H. Leland and Wendy C. Kasten, “Literacy Education for the 21st Century: It's Time to Close the Factory,” Reading and Writing Quarterly, vol. 18 (2002), p. 13.

To a worm in horse radish the world is horse radish.

2009-08-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been watching a lot of the 'TED talks' presentations instead of watching TV (sharp intake of breath). There is some excellent stuff on http://www.ted.com/ and I've only touched the surface.

There was nothing on after Coronation Street last night so I read an article in the Guardian Weekly about Malcolm Gladwell. He's the author of one of my favourite books "The Tipping Point'. I was interested to learn that he's a hit on the speaking circuit in the UK. His presentation on spaghetti sauce was mentioned in the article, so I googled that and low and behold it was on TED. At its conclusion a list of other talks came up and my attention was drawn to Sir Ken Robinson's presentation on how education destroys creativity. It was brilliant! And got me thinking, again, about the world's wholly inappropriate industrialised style of education.

I mentioned the talk to my English class and they debated this idea for a bit. Actually they didn't debate it at all, because they were unanimous in their belief that their creativity was not acknowledged and as students they were being processed through the school system in an inappropriate way (not exactly their words, but certainly their feeling). They asked to see the talk and loved it when I showed it to them.

I think we're long overdue a change of delivery. I can sense some subtle shifts with the expanding employment of technology but we need something revolutionary. Sadly, I don't see it on the horizon.

Alumni, Stephen Hawking AND Noam Chomsky

2009-08-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

Alumni

Last week I spent a very pleasant evening attending a meeting of our 'old pupils' association'. Mr Gary Vincent is the chair of this association of former Stratford High School students (they were called pupils in the old days). The meeting was at his house and we were there planning the next reunion of former students. Every five years a committee from the association plans a reunion. It's a great idea and is very popular.

The evening made me think about a number of things:

All of the students who have passed through SHS in the last 100 plus years and where they've gone;

How our school is such a focal point in people's lives in the Stratford district;

How one's school years generally are so much a fabric of our individual lives - even after 30, 40 or 50 years;

Reunions that I've attended in the past at Mount Albert Grammar School (I was a student during the 50th in 1972 and a staff member for the 75th).

The old friends network that I belong to;

The communication spread that is possible these days;

and what a nice cup of tea Gary made - really nice fragrance to it...

If you haven't seen the old friends site - here are the details: http://www.oldfriends.co.nz/ . There are over 1 million members now in New Zealand and more are added every day. That's impressive.

Stephen Hawking AND Noam Chomsky

I recently had a look at a couple of interesting websites and was shocked to realise that at a click of a button I could email Stephen Hawking AND Noam Chomsky. Yipes!! My finger quivered at the thought. I'm not sure why I haven't considered this possibility before, but imagine emailing either of these giants of the academic world. What on earth would you say?? While you consider that thought here are those sites: http://www.academia.edu/#/Universities/Cambridge_University/Departments/Applied_Mathematics_and_Theoretical_Physics for Stephen Hawking (The warning on his website - please bear in mind that it may take a while for you to receive a response and that due to the severe limitations that Stephen works under and the huge amount of mail he receives, he may not have time to respond - S.W.Hawking@damtp.cam.ac.uk ) and if you feel brave enough here is Mr Chomsky's contact chomsky@mit.edu

I don't know about you but...WOW. This is amazing! All thanks to the http://www.academia.edu/ website. Please let me know how you got on if you do make contact.

Michelle Obama

2009-07-23T17:43:00.001-07:00

This speech by Michelle Obama on her recent trip to England is worth seeing/listening to. Like the First Lady, I have also been surrounded for much of my life by extraordinary women who have taught me about quiet strength and dignity. I include the speech here with them in mind.

July newsletter

2009-07-23T14:04:00.001-07:00

The non-seasonal Influenza A (H1N1) virus continues to attract media attention world wide. We had one confirmed mild case of the virus last term and our student has now returned to school. It is timely to remind you of some details of our response to the threat of Influenza A. The school's health and safety committee has amended our Pandemic Plan that was initiated for the bird flu threat. I am the Pandemic Manager for the school. The advice we have received states that 'school closure is not required for a suspected or confirmed case' of the virus. Our absentee rate is averaging at 20% so far. If it exceeds 30% we will instruct the Ministry of Education. It has not reached this level yet.

My plea to students and community is keep following the advice from the ministry of health and ministry of education regarding sanitary practices - wash hands carefully, use tissues for coughs and sneezes (please see advice elsewhere in the newsletter). If students are sick they should stay home until well enough for learning. Some students are coming to school with heavy colds/coughs and this compromises the health of others. The relevant website for you to consult is www.moh.govt.nz/influenza-a-h1n1 as it has comprehensive details.

The first week of this term saw the 40th anniversary of the moon landings on the 20th of July. This was a momentous occasion 40 years ago in 1969. I remember listening to the radio broadcast as Neil Armstrong moved down the steps and misquoted the script NASA had given him - "It's one small step for [a] man; one giant leap for mankind". I prefer the way Neil said it. It certainly still gets the point across, even if it doesn't make sense.

I referred to this event in my first assembly back from the study break. J F Kennedy said in 1961 that the goal was to reach the moon before the end of 1969, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organise and measure the best of our energies and skills". The power of a goal that sparks the imagination is huge, is it not. I would love my students to set big goals for themselves and then set the best of their energies and skills along that pathway.

Communication methods have come a long way since those events in 1969. When Michael Jackson died recently we had every news channel reporting live 24 hours a day, for days and days. In 1969 New Zealand we had to wait months to see television images of the moon landing. Are we better off? Has mankind made a giant leap? That is a moot point, but set those goals, okay?!

We continue this term with our extensive building programme - T block is making excellent progress and should be ready for staff and students to move back into in term 4 and work has begun on the new Teen Parent Unit/Early Childhood Education Centre on the south side of the Stadium.

Social networking 2 - Facebook and my privacy

2009-07-16T15:55:00.000-07:00

A confession first of all - I don't read local newspapers, and by local I mean New Zealand. NZ media, generally, is very petty and aimed towards the sensational. I prefer to get my news from The Guardian Weekly - an offshoot of the two U.K. newspapers - The Guardian and The Observer. It's a weekly summary and therefore gives balance and background to international events. Suffice to say, there are never any stories about NZ unless they are of the humorous persuasion. You know the type - sheep stories or...more sheep stories.

By boycotting local news media I am usually able to avoid the petty and sensational. I therefore missed the latest media witch-hunt of a school until a summary turned up in The NZ Interface magazine. It was Auckland's Diocesan School for Girls' turn for the spotlight. Apparently some girls were stood down for some derogatory comments about a teacher on Facebook. This provoked the NZ Herald into righteous indignation and much hand wringing about the school's powers and the girls' privacy and yadda yadda yadda. Not much of a story really. It won't make The Guardian Weekly!

My responses included feeling sorry for Dio, disappointment at the Herald (yet again), wondering what I would have done given that situation, and thinking about my Facebook page. Mainly I thought about my Facebook page.

How secure is it? Can the public access it? Am I, as a school principal, allowed a private life?

More and more I use social networking sites to publish my thoughts and opinions, and keep in contact with my network of friends and family. I have a number of blogs to do this - one of which you're reading now. I am aware that once I put things on the interweb they enter a kind of public domain. This weblog is aimed at my school community but if you look at the map of users, as I do from time to time, the blog is being read by people who have no real idea about me or my school. So it's not very private. So I, clearly, won't be writing derogatory comments about individual people.

While I'm also not making negative comments on my Facebook page and family/friends blogs I do not regard these as part of the public domain. This is naive, I know - my friends' blog is accessed by plenty of people who've never met me. Still...I think I deserve some kind of 'private' life. It just so happens that the media forum I use to keep in touch with my friends also makes it accessible to others. Will this stop me? Well, no, but it does make me self-censor.

A good lesson for those girls at Dio to learn!

Social networking 1 - cell phones

2009-06-28T17:42:00.000-07:00

I've been reading recently about the use of cell phones and ipods in schools. Andrew Douch is clearly a fan as his students download his podcasts onto their ipods. As is Andrew Trotter in his article for Education Week (Jan 7, 2009). Liz Kolb in 2008 wrote an article headed Toys to Tools: Connecting student cell phones to education and has a blog at http://www.cellphonesinlearning.com/ devoted to the issue.

The basic idea they share is that students can use their cell phones in class for educational things - accessing podcasts, taking notes and photos to compile reports, organising schedules and homework with reminders about deadlines...because -

“Mobile devices are part of the fabric of children’s lives today: They are here
to stay,” Michael H. Levine, the executive director of the New York City-based
Joan Ganz Cooney Center, at Sesame Workshop, wrote in a statement accompanying the release of the report. “It is no longer a question of whether we should use
these devices to support learning, but how and when to use them.” http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2009/01/09/04mobile.h02.html

Now I like to be a positive person, I really do. I always like to think the best of people and I don't doubt that Andrew Douch is a supreme teacher whose energy will overwhelm his students and that they are all focused on doing the right thing. Mr Levine is right too - mobile devices are here to stay. But I do have reservations about cell phones in class. I also wonder if many of these advocates have actually taught a class in the brave new environment. Liz (above) is a doctoral student with three years teaching experience in the late 1990s. We're not in that world anymore. Teachers, generally, have adapted hugely to the modern world of the now. They continue to grow through continuous professional development. But they are not miracle workers with endless supplies of patience.

At the Principal conference that I attended earlier in the year Andrew Douch addressed the Principals and asked who had rules in their schools banning the use of cell phones. We all looked at each other, shame faced. Some brave souls even put their hands up! Most of us did/do have rules about the use of technology in the classroom. And for good reason.

My experience in the UK for three years (2004-2006) showed me how detrimental cell phone use was to learning. Okay - I admit it - I saw no positive use of mobile phones (they laughed at the term cell phone!) while I was there. Instead the wayward use of phones would often lead to 'discussions' and awkward moments between teacher-student which all detracted from the learning and focus and the fostering of a positive relationship. And that's important because - 'Your focus determines your reality' (Qui-Gon Jinn). Suddenly a phone would ring or a student would be sending a txt and then the 'discussion' would take place and then we're all in a world of negativity. I'd love to hear the advocates answers to these moments. Do they ignore them? Encourage them? Abraid themselves?

My problem with the thrust for encouraging students to use their phones for instructional purposes is that students don't see the distinction. It's all 'instructional' from their point of view. When the inevitable inappropriate use happens they have no clue why we have a problem. They are merely fulfilling their instant gratification gene. Chill man! Or in extreme cases it leads on to a greater disrespect.

Is all this making me sound very fuddy duddy?? Well, yes, it is. I know it could be a potentially great tool and I am a fan of technology as this weblog proves, but I'm not about to embrace a new technology just for the sake of it when I know the downside. I'd need a lot more convincing that cell phone use in my school wouldn't lead to increased txt bullying, disrupted classes, frazzled teachers, cheating, inappropriate/unsanctioned photos and videos on youtube before I'm converted.

What do you think?

Jedi mind tricks!

2009-06-21T00:26:00.000-07:00

My students know how much I love Star Wars and this scene from the movie The Empire Strikes Back: Luke fails at raising his plane from a swamp but Yoda has no problem. Luke says, "I don't believe it". Yoda says, "That is why you fail". Refresh your memory -

Wouldn't that be cool? To believe you can do something is half the battle is it not. I wish I could be able to move objects around with my mind, like a Jedi knight.

Well I no longer have to wish. The power of the brain can now be harnessed to move objects. You don't believe? Take a look at the video on the Washington Post link.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/04/22/ST2009042204139.html?sid=ST2009042204139

Now...where do I get one from?

Virtual learning

2009-06-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty active in my virtual world of blogs and the interweb of late. I find more and more that I use the search engines of the net and the material of wikipedia and links to classroom subject matter more and more. I hope my students are also engaging in this world of virtual learning.

What does this virtual learning stuff mean (I was going to add - for us in Stratford - but then I realised it's actually for us all, no matter where we are and who we are)?

So what does it mean? It is learning 'in essence or effect although not delivered formally or actually' (Shorter Oxford English Dictionary - an essential purchase made in my first year at Auckland University 1977) . This definition would mean excluding video conferencing from the umbrella term 'virtual' as it is still a formal situation - teacher with students.

Virtual learning, then, is about the internet and web 2.0 tools. Students can pick and choose from the galaxy of help on the net. Want to know about biology? Google (as I just have) - 'biology podcast' and you'll get 4,560,000 places to visit. Obviously the first ones are the most relevant as they marry the two words to give the best bet sites. The first on the list was http://www.learnoutloud.com/Podcast-Directory/Science/Biology and the second was http://biologyoracle.podomatic.com/ - this is Andrew Douch's site. But, get this again - there are 4,559,998 other sites out there. On biology and/or podcasts!!! If you've just flicked into them for a nosey you will get a sense of the possibilities of 'virtual learning'.

So when I go into the blogs I follow, like Andrew Douch's, I learn informally and not actually. I can't actually see or talk to Andrew but I can listen to him (via his podcasts), read his thoughts (on his blog), learn about things biological and, if I want to, I can write back or ask questions. He's not actually there in the room with me. He (and I) may be in any part of the world when I read his blog. It's virtual learning. Now - I'm an English teacher who left sciences behind in the fifth form but I have actually downloaded his podcasts and listened to him discussing biological topics and learnt things (when - otherwise - I wouldn't even think to open a biology textbook).

Will virtual learning take off? Well according to Andrew it will. In fact he thinks it's inevitable that we will learn via our virtual 'teachers'.

And consider this: the most popular teachers in this scenario, may not
necessarily even be practicing teachers! They may be university students or
retired teachers. How relevant is it going to be for students to come to class
at all in this future? If the classroom teacher still sees himself as the ‘font
of knowledge’ for those students, then, it may not be very relevant at all.
There has never been a more important time for teachers to ask themselves “what value am I adding to my students?”, and even “what is my role as a teacher?” Nor
has there been a better time for schools to question the current models of
attendance and timetabling. (Andrew Douch 2009).

Andrew would love the New Zealand Curriculum document with its accent on Key Competencies that take the focus completely away from the teacher as 'font of knowledge'. I must say I've never been that, or aspired to be that. When I trained as a teacher in Kevin Pound's tutor group at Auckland Teachers' College in 1982, he made sure to impress upon us the need to join in with our students and take risks and say we don't know something if we didn't know something. I digress.

Next time you have a hankering to learn something - try searching on the virtual learning network that is within that huge ether world of the internet. It'll knock your socks off.

Influenza update

2009-06-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

It is probably timely to again mention our influenza plans given the increased numbers of people in Australia who have proven to have swine flu.

The facts: 1) There is no change from the Ministry of Health on the status of the pandemic alert levels for schools - we remain on yellow alert. Please check this out at http://www.moh.govt.nz/influenza-a-h1n1 .

2) Anyone visiting New Zealand who thinks they have influenza is asked to see a doctor or call Healthline 0800 611 116 for advice. Please check out http://www.safetravel.govt.nz/ for further details if you are planning an overseas trip in the near future.

3) To date there is no evidence of community spread of the virus in New Zealand.

4) As per our pandemic plan (and common sense) - if you are feeling unwell the advice is to stay at home. If you continue to feel unwell - visit a doctor!

5)The Ministry of Health suggests that the families of students who have travelled to countries with considerable spread of Influenza A (H1N1) should keep them at home for a week on their return, even if they have no symptoms.

In the meantime - continue those good hygiene practices such as washing hands thoroughly, and using a disposable tissue when sneezing or coughing.

Yes...the lucky effect

2009-06-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

I recently watched the latest Jim Carrey movie called 'Yes Man'. Jim Carrey plays Carl - a depressed loans officer in a bank. Carl is avoiding people and is recently single. He says, "No" to everyone and everything. Then an epiphany occurs when he visits a seminar by a self help guru. As a result he enters into an agreement to say, "Yes" to everyone and everything. There are profound results.

I enjoyed the movie. It's certainly not up there with Bill Murray's 'Groundhog Day' but it's moral compass is set along the same lines. Those lines being - if you embrace life and the possibilities of life - startling things can happen. For Carl, the voyage of self-recovery ends in a kind of personal redemption. As he embraces moments by saying, "Yes" to finds that he makes his own luck. Indeed his changed state of mind helps him be lucky.

Researchers have found that lucky people are far more satisfied with all areas of their lives than unlucky people. They expect good things to happen so they focus on the positive aspects and that is what they remember, not the bits that went wrong. Unlucky people tend to focus on the negative aspects of life.

Lucky people tend to be more outgoing and friendly, less anxious, and more open to new experiences. Lucky people enjoy new opportunities and look for them. They usually find them too.

Top tips for getting lucky:

Be open to new experiences and breaking out of your normal routine.
Spend a few moments each day remembering things that went well.
Visualise yourself being lucky before an important test.
Welcome any new friend.
Expect things to go well.

Acknowledgements - http://harvardmagazine.com/2007/03/the-lucky-effect.html and http://www.principalsdigests.com/

International students at Rotary

2009-05-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

The Stratford Rotarians recently invited some international students to address their meeting. Both St Marys' and our school responded with students. Emelie and Tassio represented us extremely well. Emelie is from Sweden and is part of an AFS programme. She is here until the end of the year. She spoke about the differences between education in the two countries and about her plans for the future. Tassio is from Brazil and while he started off as an exchange student, he loves New Zealand so much he now has permanent residency. Tassio told the Rotarians about some of his New Zealand experiences and how he appreciates the way NZ backs up their rules and regulations with consequences (unlike what he says happens in Brazil). I was very proud of both students. They represented Stratford High School with distinction. Incidentally the photo also shows the three Japanese girls currently at St Marys'.Two are fee paying students and one is an exchange student. My thanks to Stratford Rotary for hosting this annual event.