I'm struggling a little to believe Adam Ant came up with that snappy aphorism (was hard for me to take him seriously in his early eighties poptastic years).
Nevertheless, the quote is a nifty combo of hard work and ambition (goals) equaling success. True that!
Musicians wanting to sell shed loads of records and gain public adoration need that combo as much as students slogging away to pass an Achievement Standard do.
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Just a quick post, thanks to a week of senior reports and Year 13 marking.
My professional development mini goal for the term centres on my interest in school culture.
Specifically, I'm keen to construct a best practice document for dining room duties at my school (Iona College). To that end, I've arranged to shadow a colleague who is a bit of a stickler, even though she thinks she's quite liberal with her interpretations of protocols.
That's happening this week. I'll collate some notes as I observe how she goes about her work. Should be cool and a practical way in to understanding some crucial school culture.
I also want to have the espoused theory at my fingertips, so I need to do some research as a precursor.
Wahoo! This sort of stuff excites me/ lights my fire.
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School socials are a ritual that I'd almost forgotten about.
Hastings Boys' High School didn't bother with them and they were certainly never an option at OneSchool Global. So my last school social would have been ten years ago at Woodford House where three schools (WH, Iona College and Lindisfarne) united.
Ironically, that's where I experienced the latest version. Nothing too much had changed. Same three schools, it was still very loud, the Year 9 girls are still taller than the Year 9 boys, the Year 13 students still appear to have the most fun, the music still doesn't quite hit the mark for Year 9's and only a few students actually dance.
My favourite moments from last night were when I caught up with my old colleagues at Woodford. Hugs and smiles and a shared history are elements that are hard to beat.
Yes indeed, some things don't change.
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The focus for this post will be on the 'study much/ suffer much' part of that Celtic saying.
During my varsity days at both Auckland University and especially at UNITEC doing a thesis for a Masters degree in Educational Management, I did a lot of suffering as I studied. A lot!
It was really hard work at times, especially given I was working full time as a Deputy Principal and we had four young children at home, but I pushed through.
Yes, I know. We had it tough in our day! No pain - no gain.
That thesis experience was good for me - built some resilience, even if I didn't exactly enjoy the discomforting process.
Am I wrong or is there a trend these days for students to shy away from the study much/ suffer much regime. Often students seem to want things handed to them on a plate.
That is not the path to true wisdom.
Ryan Holiday's book Ego is the Enemy has some brilliant passages that have provoked a lot of reflection for me and my practice as a teacher.
In the chapter Always Stay a Student, he makes the point that as we succeed in our chosen career, we continually find ourselves in new situations.
When I started teaching in 1983, I had to learn how to teach. At the start, I knew nothing. Holiday quotes physicist John Wheeler, who said, "as our island of knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance".
In other words, each advancement in teaching that improved my practice also brought with it new situations and challenges that I had never come across before. So, my ignorance grew. I knew less, even as I progressed with my teaching.
The thing is, this never stops! I am still coming across stuff in 2026 that I am completely ignorant about. Like the uses for AI.
The more I learn about it, the less I know and so on ad infinitum.
The temptation is to pretend I know, when really I don't. Again though, the thing is - this applies to everyone!
The list of things I don't know about at Iona College, and the world of teenage girls is vast.
I could go on and on but you get the gist. I'm ignorant of a lot of things.
The risk is of thinking I am set and secure, when in reality understanding and mastery is a fluid, continued process (Holiday).
So, hence the chapter title - Always Stay a Student!
Although Tim is speaking from an athlete's perspective he is delivering a deep truth that applies to many people.
Ryan Holiday in Ego is the Enemy asks two fundamental questions (What is your purpose? What are you on Earth to do?) and I find myself using the word/concept a lot to justify my decision not to retire from teaching any time soon.
I know what my purpose in life is. I know what I am on Earth to do.
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I have observed that those who have accomplished the greatest results are those who 'keep under the body'; are those who never grow excited or lose self-control, but are always calm, self-possessed, patient, and polite.
Booker T. Washington
