So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 edition has started and with it a host of great lessons to be learned for educational leaders, coaches, football players, and spectators.

Spain are one of the favourites to win the World Cup but the small African Island nation of Cabo Verde held them to a scoreless draw. It was a totally engrossing game that showed a really well organised team holding the line against a team of superstars.

Yesterday, Sweden and Germany had big wins against much lower ranked nations but that doesn't mean much at this stage. In fact, I can remember plenty of examples of teams winning big at previous cups, but not building and sustaining that success.

I'm definitely not writing off Spain, and you can never write off the Germans. It should be a really interesting tournament. I'm loving it!

Be bold - and mighty forces will come to your aid (Basil King)

Some weeks zip by, others are a slog to get through. This week has felt like wading through molasses.

I can put this down to a few things - it's week eight in an eleven-week term; Monday was a long day with online parent interviews; Wednesday was a Jammies for June fundraiser; that meant I had two days to go.

The Jammies for June day was stressful in that the students dressed in their pjs and dressing gowns for the day, and staff were expected to participate. Well, expected is over egging it, but I did feel pressure to join in with the other staff. Which I did. It's a worthy cause - to supply pjs to needy kids, but I felt really out of my comfort zone all day.

Luckily, no photos were taken (to my knowledge). In the end it wasn't too bad now that I think of it. Basically, I shouldn't have thought too much about it on Monday and Tuesday.

Anyway, it's now Thursday (a five-period day) and Friday has the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony - that will gee me up for the weekend.

Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day (Thornton Wilder)

A trendy, new agey approach to Thornton Wilder's idea may be 'Nourish the soul'.  

We all need to be inspired by something each day. It's pretty easy for me to do that because I read every day, listen to music every day and I'm often inspired by things I see.

The recent Guardian Weekly had an excellent article by Jonathan Freedland - Arsenal's title win should be studied by politicians everywhere.

He explains why in the article, via ideas like vision, stability, perseverance, patience and cheering success.

That approach by Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal board applies to education as well.

If you have knowledge, let others light their candle in it (Margaret Fuller)

Photo by RUT MIIT on Unsplash

Recently, I attended a well-run professional development workshop for English teachers on the Scholarship programme. It was a heartening experience in many ways.

Scholarship is intended for the top Year 13 students and is largely an unchanged concept that has been around since I started teaching in the 1980s.

Other Year 13 qualifications like Higher School Certificate, University Bursaries, and soon NCEA level 3, have come and gone, but Scholarship keeps on ticking.

It's an add-on for those top students - not a timetabled class in most schools. Interestingly, I've never participated in it because I've always had more qualified or more interested people leading the charge.

My current Head of English suggested I attend the PD workshop, so I did.

Along the way, the experts taking the workshop made the startling, revolutionary statement that we could learn from the experience of those who have taught Scholarship before - that this was a valuable exercise.

What a breath of fresh air!

When you go out of your comfort zone and it works there's nothing more satisfying (Kirsten Wiig)

Kirsten is a comedian, an actor, a screenwriter and a producer. So, she knows a thing or two about going out of her comfort zone. She's right - that's where the sweet spot is. Her caveat (and it works) is important. Although, if it doesn't work there's a pay off after the failure but that's a different, longer-term kind of satisfaction.

For a short-term adrenalin rush though, a leap into the unknown for a teacher in a classroom, and it works, is pretty intoxicating.

It's a daily crapshoot for a teacher - I'm not sure of the percentage payoff to crash and burn but I'd say roughly it's around 50%, remembering that 75% of all statistics are made up.

Those are pretty good odds, and there are oodles of learning moments in the crash and burns as well.

Oh, and the picture of the Walter Mitty film isn't random. Aside from it being one of my favourite films, Kirsten Wiig appears in it with Ben Stiller and it's always good to be reminded of the Life magazine quote:

To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.

Giant steps are what you take, walking on the moon (Police)

It is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change - Queen Elizabeth II.

Once you know it's the Queen, you can certainly hear her voice.

She certainly lived her life following that maxim. Small steps.

Lao Tzu says a similar thing in his Tao Te Ching - A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

That, in turn, reminds me of Neil Armstrong's, 'One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind' as he walked on the moon (yes, he did).

I'm sensing a theme...

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try (Beverly Sills)

One of the main reasons for changing schools this year was student mindset. As in, my growing frustration with students who had the ability to study but decided not to.

That's a complicated thing. There are many reasons why someone won't commit to study. Nevertheless, the change has worked from that point of view. My expectations haven't changed but the collective mindset of the students in front of me is very different in my new school.

Again, it's a complicated set of reasons why that is so, and while I know from experience that educational utopias are a white whale, I am appreciating the difference.

Achievement results from work realising ambition (Adam Ant)

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.

Light tomorrow with today (Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

Photo by Eco Warrior Princess on Unsplash

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.

Baila mi hermana (Santana)

Photo by Pierre Goiffon on Unsplash

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.

See much, study much, suffer much, that is the path to wisdom (Celtic saying)

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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.

Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know (Lao Tzu)

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 don't know about the music they like.
• I haven't read the books they are reading.
• As an Anglican, I don't know anything about   Presbyterianism.
• I have little idea about who does what at school outside of   my role in the English department.
• I don't know the nuances of teenage girl language.
• I don't know the nuances of teenage girls.

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!

Regardless of whatever I do, I know what my purpose in life is: to make a difference in people's lives (Tim Tebow)

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.

There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind (C.S. Lewis)

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

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

Do you know the enemy? (Green Day)

Ryan Holiday's Ego is the Enemy forms part of my reading for the study break.

I love his work because he writes about things that make me reflect on my life as a teacher and as a leader, and life in general.

To be or to do? Which way will you go? That was a question posed by American military strategist and teacher, John Boyd.

Ryan indicates that it is a crucial question. At its heart is a question around purpose.

What is your purpose? What are you on Earth to do?

To be, or to do?

Thanks to that purpose question, the answer is obvious.

During my career (now in its 43rd year) my purpose has been reasonably consistent during those years - to do.

But, yes, there have been times when I may have chased promotion, salary and titles like Principal (Stratford High School) or District Principal (OneSchool Global).

When I applied for the Stratford job, I was desperate to return to NZ from England for family reasons. When I applied for the District Principal job, I was keen to challenge myself by helping my colleagues. 

In the end I stepped away from those kinds of high-status positions because I wanted to accomplish something else or prove something to myself.

For instance, it was an easy decision to return to classroom teaching in 2024, because that's my purpose. 

Easy because I knew what I had to do and what was important to me. To quote Joni Mitchell, "No regrets, coyote".

Late last year, that thinking (to do) meant moving to a different school as an English teacher because I wanted to improve my teaching. I still have a lot to learn about this job.

Recently at Iona College we had Browse Week. Teachers were asked to visit a couple of teachers informally during the week and observe the class and teacher for a few minutes. While there the idea was to note a couple of takeaways.

I visited three classes and instantly found things I could do to improve my own practice. That's exactly what I need.

Feel the breeze, take the weight off your feet (The Pineapple Thief)

Photo by Shlomi Platzman on Unsplash

A two-week study break at the end of the first term has kicked off with Easter weekend. Some Year 10 creative writing assignments need to be marked, and I want to plan out the next term's programmes more thoroughly than I did last term's.

The marking I want to get done asap so it doesn't hang around in my brain, but the planning can wait until the end of the break.

Aside from that - it's a case of outside chores when the autumn days allow and regular walks to get some fitness back. There are a pile of books to dip into and my turntable has been repaired so I'm energised to find some fresh vinyl to play.

Attitude is the 'little' thing that makes a big difference (Winston Churchill)

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Iona College had an open day recently. I was stationed in an English department classroom natch.

One of the DPs who was doing a walk around during the morning said to me something like - "this will be old hat for you, having been a Principal".

I laughed and agreed with him, because by that stage I'd warmed up. "Yes", I said, "I can do shmoozing".

It had taken me a while to warm up because I'm a little rusty at this sort of thing now.

By the time the afternoon shift had kicked in (and we'd got used to the flow of tour groups), I was getting into my hail-fellow-well-met stride.

Funnily enough one family remembered me from last year's open day at Hastings' Boys! I laughed and said, "Yes, I'm working the Open Day circuit."

I love it here! I love my school! It’s full of wonderful people! (Miss Honey)

Miss Jennifer Honey is an archetypal character from Roald Dahl's novel Matilda.

I've often wondered where the inspiration for this kind and nurturing character came from. Apparently, it's from Roald Dahl's own experiences and observations of his children. To have such a person as Miss Honey as your teacher is a true blessing.

How many Miss Honeys have I come across? Well, only one stands out in my memory from my own schooling. Mrs. Alexander at Royal Oak Primary was fantastic. Sadly though, I can't now picture her.

In terms of how many I've met during my own teaching career - there have been many more (but somehow, not enough).

Luckily for the girls at Iona College, there are a couple of Miss Honeys on the staff. I'm in awe at their genuine niceness, kindness, compassion and empathy. 

They certainly inspire me, and I'm sure they inspire the girls.

I discovered I always have choices and sometimes it's only a choice of attitude (Judith M. Knowlton)

Watching the Formula 1 show on Netflix, Drive to Survive, is always interesting for the contrasting leadership styles of the team principals.

The episode I watched last night (Season 8, episode 2 - Strictly Business) showed the stark contrast between how two teams at the back of the field do their thing.

Flavio Briatore is the Ming the Merciless figure/ team principal at Alpine F1 Team, while Jonathan Wheatley of Kick Sauber is the nice guy who rules via relentless positivity.

Flavio ruthlessly fires Aussie rookie driver Jack Doohan, while Jonathan nurtures and supports his rookie Gabriel Bortoleto. The drivers emerge from their meeting with Flavio grim faced while it's all smiles at Kick Sauber.

Guess which team emerges with a successful result at the end of the episode?

Success doesn't come to you, you go to it (Marva Collins)

Photo by Ashkan Forouzani on Unsplash

Another duty day has come and gone and as I said to a senior manager today - I'm learning from my earlier whoopsies! 

The lunch duty is a tad stressful - especially if you don't quite know which half of the school is on the first sitting, and which is on the second. That was the situation today. It's fluid, so there's an innate need to adapt and walk towards success. Literally, in my case - as I need to keep walking along the corridor to check progress with kitchen staff.

The girls are delightful - full of energy and good-hearted banter, but they do keep me on my toes.

We're dealing with teenagers, after all, so they are bound to test me out. They've been at the school for years and they know all the wrinkles, I've been there eight weeks. Still, I'm learning.

I gave my colleague, Anna, who was doing her duty in the dining hall (my duty is letting the students into the dining hall in an orderly fashion) a fist pump after we'd finished. Even though it's testing and stressful, it feels like a win when things go according to plan.

Success doesn't come to you, you go to it (Marva Collins).

Maybe all you need is both feet on the ground (The Lemon Twigs)

At 1,000 pages long, it's taken a while, but I have just finished the David McCullough biography of Harry S. Truman, simply called Truman.

What a bargain it was - costing a dollar from that book shop in Santa Rosa (the origin story is here). It's an extraordinary biography that delivers majestically throughout and yes, I misted up during the last three pages as McCullough recounts events of December 26, 1972 - Truman's final days.

The summing up of Truman in these last pages of the biography really affected me. 

Here are some extracts:

He did require to be loved. He did not expect to be followed blindly. Congressional opposition never struck him as subversive, nor did he regard his critics as traitors. He never whined.

He walked around Washington every morning - it was safe then. He met reporters frequently as a matter of course, and did not blame them for his failures. he did not use the office as a club or a shield, or a hiding place.

(Mary McGrory in the Washington Star)

The contrast to the times we now live in, with a narcissistic spoilt child in the White House couldn't be starker.

The last word should go to David McCullough:

Ambitious by nature, he was never torn by ambition, never tried to appear as something he was not. He stood for common sense, common decency. he spoke the common tongue.

He held to the old guidelines: work hard, do your best, speak the truth, assume no airs, trust in God, have no fear.

A dream becomes a goal when action is taken towards its achievement (Bo Bennett)

Photo by Adam Winger on Unsplash

Recently, one of my senior students told me she's intending to be a teacher. That's something that always excites me. There is no finer career in my humble opinion. I love being a teacher.

She asked for some advice and I said - don't let anyone, or anything put you off achieving your goal. Even when things get tough - that's when you get tested, but stay on target, don't listen to the doubters.

Energy and persistence conquer all things (Benjamin Franklin)

I'm into the last 100 pages of the epic that is David McCullough's Truman, which has him entering his final phase as President.

Truman, in his mid-sixties is into his seventh and last year of his Presidency and still full of energy and still with a steely commitment to his job.

He's not weighed down by events (the 'limited war' in Korea and Senator McCarthy's poison tongue), still healthy and fit, and still morally upright.

He's an inspiration and a role model for the rest of us in the same age bracket.

Don't assume that anyone has it all figured out. Don't assume that anyone knows better than you (Amanda Gutterman)

The impulse towards the imposter syndrome is a strong one for many, me included on occasions in my life.

That you are not good enough or have risen above your level is a real feeling. I like to keep Amanda Gutterman's quote in mind at such times.

Experience helps, but self-doubt and the anxiety that comes with it can still creep up on you.

Remaining calm, breathing deeply and following advice I give to others (be kind to yourself) helps me when I get those self-doubt pangs.

Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you. Best to own it on the days when you get eaten.

Stay away from what might have been and look at what can be (Marsha Petrie Sue)

Photo by Efe Kurnaz on Unsplash

There's always an urge, as a new teacher in a new school to look back at what students have been like for other teachers plus there's all that previous data which can be mind-numbingly contradictory.

I've always aimed to resist that urge and instead take students at face value. A fresh start for everyone. It's what they can be that motivates me. It's their potential and how they interact and connect with me that I'm more interested in.

Less is more.

Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself (Richard Bach)

Photo by Paul Greenberg on Unsplash

Recently, I had to own a stuff-up due to my inexperience with certain protocols.

The roster had me on lunch duty. Part of that duty is to allow girls in year groups to enter the dining hall, check they've washed their hands and keep things moving. I checked in the hall a couple of times and thought it was okay to allow more girls in to get their lunch.

Wrong! 

There are two sittings for lunch and I'd failed to remember that the kitchen staff have to replenish the food for the second sitting.

I owned my gaffe and apologised to the chef. Mea culpa is a great expression. I told him I'd learn from my error. He was very good about it - realising I was new to the role. Next time I'll slow down and check with the kitchen staff rather than make any unilateral decisions.

Mistakes happen - it wasn't fatal. There was enough food for everyone luckily and I was cut some slack. Phew.

Being true to myself means learning from my errors/gaffes and being honest whenever they happen - I'm sure to make more. Everybody does.

Now that I've owned it, I can let it go.

It doesn't matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going (Brian Tracy)

Photo by Zoe Richardson on Unsplash

I like the sentiment expressed in that quote above from Brian Tracy (no I'd not heard of him before either).

I'm enjoying meeting new students in my new school. Clean slate for them with me. 

I don't know who they are at the start - I have a few strategies to get to know them quickly though.

What matters is where they are headed next.

Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude (Zig Ziglar)

Photo by Shot by Cerqueira on Unsplash

It's a bit tortured sounding but the message from Zig is still clear. Attitude is the most important determiner.

Mohammed Ali's another who knew that well. As he put it: If my mind can conceive it, if my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.

How is the air up there? (The La De Das)

I've been privileged to enjoy some great views from my classrooms during my career. 

The best would be from my classroom at Macleans College, looking over Eastern Beach, but my view of Te Mata Peak from Hastings Boys' was special too.

My current one (above) looking north-east towards Havelock North is not too shabby either. 

You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step (Martin Luther King Jr.)

My new workplace/home away from home.

Induction days are interesting events. I've run them and I've participated in them plenty of times.

I still remember my first one in January 1983 - New Plymouth Boys' High School. My face and right hand hurt from smiling so much and shaking so many hands.

I've found that it's always best to start the year at a new school, as opposed to joining a staff during the year. In my experience you may get 30 minutes, or you may get an hour, but you don't get a day with the other newbies.

That's the positive of the start of year induction, but there is a downside as well.

After a six-week holiday, my brain is never quite up to speed. That means my brain hurts from concentrating on people talking and assimilating key details. My teacher voice also takes a week or so to get back into the groove after a lengthy break. Yes, I know - first world problems.

My latest induction was no exception. Careful not to overload, a few speakers acknowledged how more details would come next week - that's always appreciated, but I still needed two Panadol.

Anyway - induction. Tick. Next up - two Teacher Only Days. Love it!

Real integrity

Mr. and Mrs. Truman

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not (Oprah Winfrey).

All children start their school careers with sparkling imaginations, fertile minds and a willingness to take risks with what they think (Ken Robinson)

 

Photo by Andrea Davis on Unsplash

I believe that when you find problems, you should also find solutions (Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala)

She walks the talk does Ngozi.

In March 2021, Okonjo-Iweala became the first woman and the first African to lead the World Trade Organisation, where she focuses on reforming trade rules and addressing global trade challenges.

She's got her work cut out for her in the current climate. Solutions are needed and it's nice to have her approach counter-balancing the chaos wrought by Donald Trump's reign in America.

Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success (Joyce Brothers)

 

Declan Rice