Norah Colvin

Live Love Laugh Learn … Create the possibilities

Category: Alternative / non-traditional education

  • Let’s dance!

    www.morguefile.com
    http://www.morguefile.com

    I have always enjoyed working in early childhood classrooms. Being able to share and assist children’s pathways into literacy is as much a privilege as it is exciting. To keep alive their innate curiosity, wonder and joy of learning is an aspiration that rewards me as much as it does them.

    However the role can be rather daunting at times. It requires that one be a generalist, able to move comfortably through and teach effectively in the full range of subjects: English, mathematics, sciences, the humanities and social sciences, technology, health and physical education, and the arts. But the diversity can also provide opportunities for fun.

    Take dance, for example.  Dance can fit into both the arts and physical education programs. While the formal subject areas require some progression of learning in skills and understanding, some form of movement or dance can be incorporated into daily routines such as transition times. I touched on this briefly in a recent post about using the game Freeze, which involves moving to music.

    Moini, Dancing Penguins https://openclipart.org/detail/124759/dancing-penguins
    Moini, Dancing Penguins https://openclipart.org/detail/124759/dancing-penguins

    These are some other ways I incorporated movement and dance into daily routines:

    • At the beginning of each day, after giving the children a few minutes to organise their belongings, I would play a video of music and dance moves. This would signify to the children that it was time to join in and be ready for our day’s work together. By the end of the dance everyone was ready.
    • During our morning sessions children shared items related to their interests or our units of work. Sometimes I asked them to bring in a favourite piece of music to share, with the proviso that they teach us some dance moves to it. The children enjoyed showing their moves as much as they enjoyed following the moves of others.

    In addition to using the game Freeze, I had other CDs of music with patterns of moves that could be used to transition from a noisy to quiet activity, to regain children’s attention after independent or group work, or to complete the tidying of the room at the end of the day.

    • Sometimes I used music that had set dance routines.
    • Other times we moved to the music freely, or responded to the tempo, pitch or volume with large, small, high, low, fast, slow, loud or quiet movements.
    • Sometimes dance routines were performed independently but in unison such as The Hokey Pokey. The Chicken Dance and The Macarena.
    • Sometimes they required participation as a group, for example learning simple square dances.

    Whichever way we did it was always fun and the children loved to participate. They had no need of being told to “Dance like there is nobody watching.”

    Dance like there's nobody watching

    I wonder at what age that becomes a necessity. Perhaps the phrase, “and if they are watching, dance anyway” needs to be added.

    My thoughts turned to dance this week in response to the flash fiction prompt set by Charli Mills of The Carrot Ranch to In 99 words (no more, no less) write dance into your story. Charli is talking about writing as her dancing partner.

    Of course my thoughts turn to the classroom (as explained above) and to books about dance.

    2015-09-19 11.15.56

    In a previous post about Australian picture books by Jackie French I wrote about Josephine Wants to Dance. This book, illustrated by Bruce Whatley, is a delightful story of a kangaroo who loved to dance but dreamed of dancing another way. One day the ballet came to town and Josephine decided that was how she wanted to dance. Though others discouraged her, Josephine was determined to give it a try. It is a lovely story of believing in yourself and following your dreams.

    giraffes can't dance

    Another delightful picture book about dance is Giraffe’s Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees. While I have read this book many times, it took the recent reading of a post To Thine Own Self Be True by Sarah Brentyn on her blog Lemon Shark to remind me of it. The title of Sarah’s post beautifully sums up the theme which is expressed in the book this way: “We all can dance when we find music that we love.”

    We can all dance

    For adults there is the story of Mao’s Last Dancer, the inspirational story of Li Cunxin, who is now the artistic director of the Queensland Ballet, based in my home city. He was Queensland’s Australian of the year in 2014.

    Mao's_Last_Dancer_book_cover

    This leads me to my flash fiction response:

    A Night at the Ballet

    The audience hushed as the lights dimmed. Marnie shuffled. Darkness was not to her liking. Josephine patted her hand reassuringly. The girls on her other side twittered with anticipation. They’d been to theatre before. Observing their confidence earlier had Marnie feeling even more conspicuous as she balanced on unfamiliar heels and clutched a borrowed evening bag so tightly it left imprints on her hand. At least now the darkness hid her from view.

    Soon the darkness was banished by a brightly lit stage and enormous Christmas tree surrounded by happy children dancing. Marnie was mesmerised. So this was ballet!

    Thank you

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post or flash fiction.

  • The comfort zone

    John Hattie

    Creating a positive classroom environment in which students feel welcome, accepted and respected is probably high on the agenda for most teachers. It certainly was for me during all my years of classroom practice.

    Students require an environment in which they feel comfortable and supported, as well as encouraged and challenged to stretch beyond current levels of skills and knowledge, to step beyond their current comfort zones with confidence in the knowledge that, while learning anything new can be a risky business, they will be supported in the process.

    But this does not just come from a “feel good” place in teachers’ dreams and imaginations. Research provides evidence that it is true. Professor John Hattie, a researcher in education, undertook a very ambitious project, synthesising data from over 800 studies involving more than 80 million students. He published his findings in two books called Visible Learning and Visible Learning for Teachers.

    Hattie says that

    “It is teachers who have created positive teacher student relationships that are more likely to have the above average effects on student achievement”.

    Thank you to my wonderful students, and their lovely Mum who made this for me!
    Thank you to my wonderful students, and their lovely Mum who made this for me!

    This article, which summaries some of Hattie’s findings about teacher-student relationships, states that

    “the quality and nature of the relationships you have with your students has a larger effect on their results than socio-economic status, professional development or Reading Recovery programs. It is not that these things don’t matter, but rather that your relationships with students matter more.”

    It is wonderful to find that what I have always believed and practiced is now firmly backed up with research.

    I have written before about my use of affirmation songs and of connecting literacy learning to children’s lives and interests. In this post I will share just a few of the physical attributes of the classroom that contributed to that overall positive and supportive environment I worked so hard to establish.

    Readilearn bookmark

    From the very first day of any school year I ensured that children not only felt welcome in the classroom but knew that it was their classroom, that they had part ownership of the space and its environment.

    I would prepare a large welcome chart for the door with my name and photograph and the words: “Welcome to grade one.” Children’s names and photographs would be added by the close of the day.

    Welcome to year one

    In our school each child was allocated an individual desk with a tidy tray underneath for storing belongings. I would arrange the initial seating of children in groups based on what I knew of their friendship groups from the previous year. For each child I would place on the allocated desk:

    • A desk name (to identify the desk, to use as a model for writing, to assist children in learning to read each other’s names)
    • A welcome letter
    • A name badge (to identify them and their class at break time)
    • A small gift e.g. a pencil or keyring
    Welcome pack
    Welcome pack

    During the day I would photograph each child and print two of each.

    One of each child’s photographs would be added to the welcome chart  with the child’s name. (see above)

    The other would be added to a self-portrait and displayed on a classroom wall.

    I am Michael

    I usually asked the children to complete these during the first session so that I could have them on display when the children returned to class after first break.

    This was just the start. Throughout the year my classroom was a constantly changing display of children’s work. Children love to see their work displayed. It gives them an immediate sense of belonging, of being valued, and of ownership. Parents love to see it too, as this (unsolicited) letter written by a parent to the principal at the end of a school year testifies.

    Marianne's letter

    This week at the Carrot Ranch Charli Mills has challenged writers to In 99 words (no more, no less) write about a place of comfort that is a refuge.

    My classroom welcomed everyone: children, parents, volunteers, aides and administrators. It was a comfortable place to be. Fortunately it was not often required to be a refuge in the true sense of the word, though allowing me to experience over and over the joys of being six certainly shielded me from many less pleasant situations that may have been met elsewhere.

    While Marnie of my stories is a fictional character, sadly there are many children suffering as much as or more than I portray for her. It is for children like her that a warm, caring relationship with a special teacher can be empowering and life-changing, the one bright spot in an otherwise difficult life. I wish for all children a loving place of safety, acceptance, trust and respect. Marnie found it in a special teacher, Miss R.

    Safety

    Marnie loved art classes with Miss R. She loved art, but she loved Miss R. more. The days when art class was last were best; had been ever since that first time when she’d dallied, nervously, reluctant to leave, and Miss suggested she stay and “help”.

    Miss R. understood Marnie and Marnie trusted Miss R. Sometimes they would tidy in silence. Other times they’d chatter lightly about distracting things like television, music or books. But sometimes, when dark clouds loomed, Miss R. would gently ask, “What would you like to tell me?” Today the clouds looked about to burst.

    Thank you

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post or flash fiction.

  • @cesarharada, Encouraging innovation and problem solving through science

    Cesar Harada

    I found this TED talk by Cesar Harada totally engaging. Cesar, who describes himself as half Japanese half French, teaches science and invention to students from aged 6 to 15 at the Harbour School in Hong Kong.

    Cesar opens his talk by explaining that, when a child, he was allowed to make a mess, but only if he cleaned up after himself. As he grew up he realised that he had been lied to: adults make messes too but they are not very good at cleaning up after themselves.

    He closes his talk by suggesting that children should not be lied to. He says,

    “We can no longer afford to shield the kids from the ugly truth because we need their imagination to invent the solutions.”

    He then adds,

    ” we must prepare the next generation that cares about the environment and people, and that can actually do something about it.”

    In between he describes some scientific thinking and inventions made by his students to solve local problems initially, then problems that affected other kids remotely, and finally problems that have a global impact.

    I’m sure that you too can only be impressed by the learning and the positive actions that are being undertaken by these innovative students and their inspirational teacher. When I hear (true) stories like this, it certainly gives me hope for a better future.

    I hope you enjoy Cesar’s talk as much as I did.

    You can also find Cesar on Twitter.

    Thank you

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.

  • Freeze!

     

    GDJ, Playful stick figures https://openclipart.org/detail/230070/playful-stick-figure-kids
    GDJ, Playful stick figures https://openclipart.org/detail/230070/playful-stick-figure-kids

    Freeze, or Musical statues as it is sometimes called, is a popular childhood game wherever groups of children gather.

    While not suggesting that playing the game has any great educational benefit, it can be used with good effect from time to time in early childhood classrooms.

    As with other games, it does provide opportunities for children to:

    • participate in a social situation
    • understand and follow game rules
    • accept game decisions, for example  being out
    • respond in positive ways to their own participation and the participation of others
    • have fun

    It also provides opportunities for activity and to release tension.

    In this post I describe how to play the basic game and a few variants and suggest some times suitable for its use.

    How to play Freeze

    The basic game

    Requirements:

    •  a manager, often a teacher or parent but can be a child
    • a group of participants, often children but anyone can play
    • enough space for the participants to move about without bumping into each other, and
    • a source of music that can be played and paused.

    How to play:

    • The participants find a spot within the defined space from which to start the game.
    • The manager plays a piece of music. Moving to the music, the participants move about the space without bumping into any other participants.
    • After a few seconds (varying duration between approximately 2-20 seconds) the manager pauses the music. As soon as the music is paused, the participants must “freeze”. Anyone seen moving is out of the game and sits to the side.
    • The game continues until only one participant remains.

    Variant #1 — Topic words

    No music is required.

    Before the game commences the manager, or the manager in consultation with the participants, decides on a set of specific statues to be used in the game. These statues are explained and demonstrated to participants.

    The manager turns away from the participants and counts loudly to ten, while participants form one of the statues. After ten the manager calls “freeze” and participants freeze in the statue they have chosen. The manager then calls out one of the statues and turns around to see who has made it. Those who did remain in the game. The others are out and sit to the side. (The reverse can also be played with the called statues going out and the others staying in. Participants would need to be informed of this before the game begins.)

    Suggestions:

    Monarch butterfly

    butterfly

    When learning about butterflies, participants could make these four statues:

    egg — curled up in a ball on the floor

    caterpillar — prone on the floor

    chrysalis — standing with knees bent out to the sides and one hand pointing up while resting on the head (attached to a leaf or twig)

    butterfly — fists on hips and elbows out to the side (for wings)

    shapes

    shapes 

    When learning about shapes, participants could make these four statues:

    circle — fingers meeting above head, arms forming a circle, feet and legs together

    square —arms out to side, elbows in line with shoulders, forearms and fingers facing upwards at right angles, feet and legs together

    triangle — legs wide apart, and hands on hips with elbows out to the side, making three triangles in all

    rectangle — lying on back on the floor with arms and legs extended straight upwards

    Suggestion: the possible statues could be written or illustrated on a dice to be rolled or on cards to be selected.

    Variant #2 — Groups

    Music is required.

    The manager calls a number from 2 – 5 then starts the music. While the music plays participants quickly form groups of that number. They must freeze in group formation when the music stops. Groups that do not freeze and participants who are not able to join or form a group are out of the game and sit to the side.

    Play the game until four participants remain. Call all participants back into the game to move to the music once again.

     

    GDJ, Stick figure kids https://openclipart.org/detail/221994/stick-figure-kids
    GDJ, Stick figure kids https://openclipart.org/detail/221994/stick-figure-kids

    Suggestions:

    This game can be a fun way of exploring groups using the number of children in a class. No one is out in this version.

    Count the number of children in the class. Write the number on the board or chart. Play the music. Participants move to the music. When the music is paused call out a number. Children quickly form groups of that number and freeze. As a class count the number of groups, identify the number in each group, and how many “left over”.  Write the information on the board or chart. Repeat with all children participating for different numbers.

    grouping 25

    Variant #3 — Find a partner who

    Music is required.

    This activity will be noisier and require more time than other versions.

    In this version participants try to link up with someone with a similarity; for example the same colour eyes, the same number of people in the family, the same favourite colour, or who plays the same sport.

    Before the music starts tell the participants who they need to find. When the music stops, those who have not found a match sit to the side, as the others explain their matches.

    Everyone joins in again for each new round.

    Suggestion: Add a bit more fun with this one by having partners freeze  touching the same body parts together, for example, ankles, elbows, tops of head, or bottoms.

     

    Suitable times for playing Freeze

    • To transition from a noisy activity to a quiet activity
    • To provide an opportunity for movement during lengthy sessions of seated work
    • To dismiss children for recess (use Variant #1 rather than the basic game)
    • To ease a tense situation
    • To settle children and prepare them for the next activity
    • To have fun in a few ‘spare’ moments
    • Whenever you think it’s appropriate

    The stimulus for my thinking about the game Freeze this week is the flash fiction prompt set by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch to In 99 words (no more, no less) write a frozen story. Charli suggested that the freeze could be related to weather, emotion or time.

    My first thought was to the movie “Frozen” which my granddaughter enjoys, being completely captivated by Elsa and her beautiful blue dress. I thought she should prefer Anna who shares her name (though pronounced differently) and hair colour.

    My second thought was to the scientific explanation of cold as the removal of heat. It’s all relative. Instead I decided to go with a bit of fun. However, for my flash I did incorporate a little science thinking spurred by the question “Why do ice cubes crack when you drop them in drinks?”

    Frozen

    To an external observer she would have appeared immobile as if frozen in place and time. But her insides churned as the heat engulfed her body in a wave from toes to head. She thought her heart would erupt from her chest and wasn’t sure she could contain the contents of her noncompliant belly or from which end of her body they would spew. Others mouthed soundless words, their messages obliterated by the relentless pounding in her head. Just when she thought she’d crack, like ice exposed to sudden temperature change, she breathed deep, composing her tumultuous fear-fuelled mind.

    Thank you

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post or flash fiction.

  • Power tools

     

    www.openclipart.org
    http://www.openclipart.org

    This week at the Carrot Ranch Charli Mills has challenged writers to In 99 words (no more, no less) include a tool in a story. I open this post with a quote by Jackie French I used to close my previous post.

    Jackie French - books - tools

    Books are a great tool. So is the ability to think creatively.

    Being literate is a key that opens many doors. Being able to think opens many more. You could say they are the power tools of education and success.

    In his book The Outliers (recommended to me by Rowena who blogs at Beyond the Flow), Malcolm Gladwell talks about the role of intelligence in success. He says that “intelligence only matters up to a point”, and that “past that point, other things — things that have nothing to do with intelligence — must start to matter more”. He raises the question of what those things are.

    He makes a suggestion to

    “Write down as many different uses that you can think of for the following objects:

    1. a brick
    2. a blanket”

    and calls it a “divergence test”. Rather than asking you to come up with a one right answer, a divergence test “requires you to use your imagination and take your mind in as many different directions as possible.”

    Gladwell describes the test as a measure of creativity, of the ability to come up with imaginative and unique responses rather than a list of commonplace uses. He considers this imaginative thinking combined with intelligence, not intelligence alone, to be what is required to make new discoveries such as those that may be awarded Nobel Prizes.

    www.openclipart.com
    http://www.openclipart.com

    Can this sort of creative thinking be taught?

    Edward de Bono certainly thinks so. As long ago, dare I say, as the late 60s I read (and did) The Five Day Course in Thinking, a series of puzzles to help readers (thinkers) understand their thinking strategies. The puzzles in the book are divided into three sections: Insight Thinking, Sequential Thinking, and Strategic Thinking.

    Over the years I read a number of de Bono’s books including but not limited to Lateral Thinking, Six Thinking Hats, How to Have a Beautiful Mind, Teach Your Child How to Think, Textbook of Wisdom and Why I Want to Be King of Australia. I had a thirst for learning how to think, as thinking had not been encouraged and memorising content had not come easily in my younger years. Discovering that I was able to think, and think outside the box, was empowering.

    www.openclipart.org
    http://www.openclipart.org

    I enjoyed using de Bono’s strategies and teaching them to my own children as well as to children in my classrooms over the years. His Six Thinking Hats are used in classrooms worldwide as are many others of his thinking strategies.

    six hats

    In this video de Bono talks about creativity, creative thinking, and thinking “outside the box”:

    Tony Ryan is another educator who believes it can. He has published a number of books that aim to get students thinking in creative ways. His Thinkers Keys “a powerful program for teaching children to become extraordinary thinkers” is designed to do just that.

    Tony Ryan says that we now need to think beyond the square and think “outside the dodecahedron”.

    In a comment on a previous post about Lifetime Changes, Steven linked to an amusing video showing the reactions of 21st century children to our earliest computers, tools of technology. This is it in case you missed it:

    I combined the notions of books, creative thinking and technology as tools for learning, productivity and success with a little bit of backward (historical) thinking to inspire my futuristic flash this week. I hope you enjoy it.

    tools for learning

    Relic

    The family shuffled amongst the haphazard collection of primitive artefacts without attempting to disguise disinterest or disdain. The waiting seemed interminable in this “so-last-century” outpost.

    “Haven’s seen one of these before,” they’d been told. “I’ll need to order a specialized tool as well as the part. Shouldn’t take long though. Look around while you wait.”

    Confidence in the simpleton’s tools “upstairs”, even if the correct parts arrived, was as low as their interest.

    “Hey look!” one called. “Is this …?”

    “Can’t be.”

    “All destroyed centuries ago.”

    “Would be worth a fortune though.’’

    They opened it.

    “A book!” they gasped.

    Thank you

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post or flash fiction.

  • The right place at the right time

    Charli Mills Serendipity

    This week at the Carrot Ranch Charli Mills is talking about serendipity and describes it this way:

    “Serendipity is the gift we find accidentally when we make a choice or life chooses a course of action for us.”

    I often think of serendipity as “being in the right place at the right time”. There are many occasions in my life where that has occurred, and probably millions more when I’ve missed by a millisecond, but many of those I’ll never know.

    www.morguefile.com
    http://www.morguefile.com

    Our lives have been improved by many discoveries made through serendipity. This article on NOVA lists seven Accidental Discoveries  in medical science that have changed health outcomes people around the world:

    • Quinine
    • Smallpox vaccination
    • X-rays
    • Allergy
    • Insulin
    • Pap Smear
    • Penicillin

    Joseph Henry - seeds of discovery

    Lexi Krock, author of the article reminds us that, though some elements of serendipity, of chance, may have been involved in the discoveries, there was also a great degree of hard work, preparedness, creative thinking and an openness to possibilities. In fact Krock says that having an open mind is the most important ingredient. She quotes the words American physicist Joseph Henry:

     “The seeds of great discoveries are constantly floating around us, but they only take root in minds well prepared to receive them.”

    I came to that article through The story of serendipity on Understanding Science, which also talks about lucky coincidences, such as the story of Newton and the apple. This article states there is more than being in the right place at the right time to make a serendipitous discovery, including:

    • Background knowledge
    • An inquisitive mind
    • Creative thinking
    • The right tools, and
    • Good timing
    www.morguefile.com
    http://www.morguefile.com

    Another who attributes success in part, to serendipity, to being in the right place at the right time, is Malcolm Gladwell. Thanks to a serendipitous recommendation by Rowena, who blogs at Beyond the Flow, I have just finished listening to Gladwell read his book “The Outliers, The Story of Success”.

    Gladwell argues that there is more to success than just intelligence and hard work. Yes both are important: intelligence to a certain level and hard work to a greater degree. Through “The Outliers” Gladwell popularised the idea of 10 thousand being the “magic” number of hours to practice for success to occur, citing sporting heroes, The Beatles and Bill Gates, amongst others..

    However there is much dispute to this “rule”; and I must admit that, although I thoroughly enjoyed listening to and thinking about this book, it raised as many questions as it provided “answers” and I found myself wondering how much manipulation had gone into the figures to make them match his ideas, rather than the other way round. I am not saying there was any manipulation, I just wondered.

    www.openclipart.com
    http://www.openclipart.com

    However, one point he was making, that I think has value and fits with the theme this post, is that one’s circumstances; one’s family, environment and time, including birth year and month, play an enormous role in one’s success. These are things over which we have no control.

    According to Gladwell’s discussion of timing, I am correct in describing myself as “born too soon” in my Twitter bio. I was born just a few, but too many, years before the twelve month period that saw the births of Bill Joy, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. I didn’t have the opportunities they had either.  Gladwell explains the importance of their timing, environment and opportunities in his book.

    In this Q and A Malcolm explains what an outlier is, what he thinks of as success, and how he thinks we should think of success. As well as the coincidence of Joy, Jobs and Gates, Gladwell says that “a surprising number of New York’s most powerful and successful corporate lawyers have almost the exact same biography: “they are Jewish men, born in the Bronx or Brooklyn in the mid-1930′s to immigrant parents who worked in the garment industry. “ He also says that “a hugely disproportionate number of professional hockey and soccer players are born in January, February and March.” Coincidence? He explains why.

    rg 1024, gift https://openclipart.org/detail/31159/gift
    rg 1024, gift https://openclipart.org/detail/31159/gift

    In her post Charli Mills states that

    “Serendipity holds no guarantees, but we can take the gifts it offers.”

    The gifts were there for the hockey and soccer players born in the first quarter of the year, but stacked against anyone born in the final months of the year. Likewise, serendipity held false promises for me when I was working towards establishing an alternative school.  Meeting the expectations of the Education Department proved no barrier. Meeting town planning requirements was much more elusive.

    The first property with any real potential we investigated was in Skew Street. Not surprisingly the odds were skewed against us and we couldn’t proceed there.

    Shortly after we located a much better property: more central, with ample indoor and outdoor space and a large playground. The arrangements seemed ideal, and the street names were much more promising. It was on the corner of Water and Love Street. Surely that had to bode better for us than Skew Street. Serendipity.

    Unfortunately, though it was definitely the right place, the timing was wrong. At the final moment, when leases were to be signed, a member of the organisation, who had been absent from previous meetings and discussions, turned up, objected and put an end to our plans.

    While some of us did continue to search for another location, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack; there were few that met town planning requirements, and even fewer that met ours. Parents who had expected their children to start with us decided they could wait no longer and made other arrangements for their children’s education. The last minute loss of the ideal property rocked us to the core. With much heartbreak we finally admitted defeat and disbanded. Having read Gladwell’s book I am now willing to accept that it was not because I didn’t work hard enough but because there were other factors working against us.

    I decided that, in response to Charli’s flash fiction challenge to In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that reveals or explores a moment of serendipity, this time I would provide Marnie with a positive experience, the beginning of a new phase in her life; serendipity working it’s magic.

    doors

    The wrong place at the right time

    Marnie was puzzled. The card definitely said 225; but there wasn’t any 225. There was 223, and 227, but no 225. She peered at the crack between the apartments as if willing 225 to materialise. Exhausted and confused, unsure of what to do next, she slumped on the step.

    “Can I help you?”

    The question interrupted her muddled thoughts. Seeing kindness in the eyes, Marnie explained her predicament.

    The woman read the card.

    “Street, not Avenue,” she said, pointing to the sign. “Are you Marnie? Lucky I got the wrong bus today. I’m Josephine. Come on. It’s not far.”

    Thank you

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post or flash fiction.

     

  • What is failure?

    rough-writers-web-comp

    Regular readers of my blog know that for the last eighteen months I have been participating in the flash fiction challenges set by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch. Each week Charli posts a prompt and invites readers to submit a response in exactly 99 words. I have participated since the first prompt and have missed only a few, maybe one or two.

    I enjoy the way the prompt stretches both my thinking and my writing. I appreciate the opportunity to engage in fiction as a diversion from the mainly expository writing (and reading) I do; and to engage in a supportive and encouraging group of Rough Writers.

    Since education is the focus of my blog I have given myself the added challenge of targeting an aspect of education in my response to Charli’s prompt. Mostly I have succeeded, though sometimes the posts may be a bit convoluted and the links rather tenuous, but nevertheless, I have been mostly pleased with my ability to find a link.

    This time I didn’t think I was going to do it. While I grappled for a suitable link, none was forthcoming and I thought it was going to be an F, a no-show, this time.

    F

    You see, this week Charli is talking about the destruction caused by forest fires and other catastrophic weather events. Though Australia suffers its share of natural disasters, I am fortunate that I have never been more than inconvenienced by them. I haven’t suffered the loss of family, property and livelihood that others have; nor have I worked in a school where loss was experienced on a large scale. You could say I have lived a sheltered life, and I am grateful for it.

    So without a personal experience to share, my next thoughts were to the curriculum. But I am an early childhood teacher, and young children don’t learn about catastrophic events unless they have a personal experience of them. The Australian Curriculum introduces learning about natural disasters in year six.

    Another dead end. The F was looming. Would it engulf me?

    warszawianka, tango face crying https://openclipart.org/detail/30295/tango-face-crying
    warszawianka, tango face crying https://openclipart.org/detail/30295/tango-face-crying

    Then inspiration! I remembered watching a video in which the possibility of an F being the new A was mooted.  I’m sure you’ve all heard about 60 being the new 40, for example; generally put forward by the 60s rather than the 40s I conjecture. But this was a new twist.

    The article on Mind/Shift How we will learn entitled When Educators Make Space For Play and Passion, Students Develop Purpose introduced me to a Harvard education specialist named Tony Wagner who, like Ken Robinson, advocates for a reinvention of the education system.

    In the video Wagner says that “What the world cares about is not what you know, but what you can do with what you know.” Content is now available through a quick internet search. We don’t need to have instant recall of numerous facts.

    Instead of content, Wagner lists a set of core competencies he considers important. He says that to be lifelong learners and active and informed citizens, the following abilities are required:

    1. To ask questions through critical thinking and problem solving
    2. To work collaboratively
    3. To be flexible and adaptable
    4. To show initiative and be entrepreneurial
    5. To communicate effectively in both oral and written modalities
    6. To access and analyse information
    7. To be curious and imaginative

    I agree that each of these attributes is important. I think I have mentioned many of them in previous posts.

    Wagner goes on to say that what is needed is innovation: the ability to generate new and better ideas that can be used to solve the problems facing us today. He questions whether America’s reputation as a leader in innovation is as a result of or despite the education system. He then asks the audience to identify what the following four people have in common.

    Bill Gates (Microsoft)

    Edwin Land (Polaroid camera)

    Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)

    Bonnie Raitt (folk singer)

    Did you, like the audience, think them to be dropouts? Wagner identified them as not just dropouts; they were Harvard College dropouts! Steve Jobs (Apple) and Michael Dell (Dell computers) were dropouts.

    This fact about innovative dropouts inspired Wagner to investigate conditions that encourage the development of innovators. He interviewed many young innovators, asking if there had been an influential teacher or mentor in their lives. While not many could name one, those identified were outliers, engaging students in teamwork and interdisciplinary work involving problem solving and risk taking.

    Wagner also interviewed people from innovative organisations such as IDEO, whose motto he quoted: “Fail early and fail often.” (“That’s because there is no innovation without trial and error.”) It was from a think tank at Stanford that the idea that an “F is the new A” came.

    F is the new A

    There are iterations, not failure, Wagner says, and he questions the way parents and teachers try to protect children from making mistakes saying that real self-confidence was only to be gained from learning that you could recover and learn from mistakes.

    Tony Wagner - iterations

    So perhaps in thinking about failure, I haven’t really failed. I’m learning. It is only to be hoped that the failures in fire management that Charli talks about in her post lead to improved management practices in the future.

    For my response to Charli’s prompt, to  in 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about the need for help in an extreme weather event, I have chosen a weaker BOTS (based on a true story) from my childhood. The link may be tenuous but hopefully not entirely non-existent. I hope you enjoy it.

    Storm

    A big storm was coming. Two older ones were put in charge of two younger ones. They sat at the fence, watching. Soon other neighbourhood kids gathered, sharing storm stories, waiting.

    Green clouds swirled as dark clouds played leapfrog races above. The children watched the storm rush closer; mesmerised by its beauty, mindful of its power.

    Soon the winds whipped up, chasing the other kids home. The older two called to the younger, but they were nowhere to be seen. Mortified they hurried inside to alert their parents.

    What relief. They were already in, telling of the storm’s approach.

    Thank you

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post or flash fiction.

  • Playing with possibilities

    127

    Creating an environment which nurtures children’s learning and development is as important as creating an environment that nourishes and encourages the growth of plants in a garden. The link between the two was first recognised by Froebel in the early 19th century when he coined the term “kindergarten” which translates to “garden for children” (kinder meaning child and garten meaning garden), and created the first educational toys.

    Froebel “devoted his life to educating children and developing methods to maximize human potential”. He was the first to recognise the importance of a child’s early years (birth to three) and considered creativity to be something in all of us.

    Froebel’s kindergartens were the first “formal” education for young children and his work greatly influenced that of other educators such as Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner. His beliefs, for example that children have both unique needs and capabilities are still influential today. He believed in the importance of play and some of his toys were favourites of people such as Buckminster Fuller and Albert Einstein.

    I have touched on the topics of play, creativity and children’s uniqueness in previous posts. A respectful, encouraging, nurturing and stimulating environment underpins all that I value in education; as does a belief in the power of play to develop understandings of self, of others and relationships, of the world and how things work, and to inspire thoughts of what could be, to imagine possibilities never before imagined.

    The poem Education is expresses my beliefs about education and has informed my decision making every step of the way.

    In documents prepared for introducing myself to other educators or potential employers I explained it this way:

    Statement of values:

    I value individuality over group consensus

    I value creativity over conformity

    I value self-discipline over imposed order

    I value ingenuity over “one right way”

    I value choice over restriction

    I value questioning over silence

    I value independence over dependence

    I value self-confidence over submission

    I respect children as people in and with their own rights. I provide an environment which is rich, stimulating, open and caring, and in which the characteristics I value can flourish.

    At the time of writing it I believed it to be a true reflection of my values and the environment I provided in my “Create-A-Way” sessions, and would provide in the independent/alternative school I was working towards establishing.

    The values of the “school” I was setting up were stated this way:

    Colo Values

    Just as it is important for gardeners to learn from the wisdom collected by other gardeners, it is important for teachers to learn from the wisdom collected by other educators.

    56

     

    Without a set of guiding principles it is easy to be blown off-course by the winds prevailing at the time. While I acknowledge that I may have fallen far short of the values espoused, that they guided my direction, decisions and choices could not be questioned. The current climate makes it difficult, but I am yet to read of a time that could be considered a golden age of education.

    36

    This week at the Carrot Ranch Charli Mills is talking about roses; roses that grow in gardens and roses as symbols of life’s pleasures and joys. She challenged writers to In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes a rose.

    Because my blog has an educational focus, I always like to give Charli’s prompt an educational twist. Over recent months I have enjoyed the additional challenge of finding a way of applying the prompt to the life of Marnie, a character whose story I have been developing.

    Marnie is from a dysfunctional family and suffers many disadvantages. Fortunately she has found an ally in an art teacher who helps her develop self-respect and hope for a better future. A few weeks ago (in response to a different prompt) we learned that she had lived under a different name after leaving home. Could it perhaps be Rose, a name inspired by this interaction with her adored teacher?

    99

    Still life

    Marnie observed the roses Miss R. had arranged for class, carefully assessing the colours and studying the lines while sketching them on the canvas, striving to match their perfection. Oblivious to all but Miss R. and the roses, for one hour nothing else mattered.

    As other students streamed out Marnie hung back to chat with Miss R.

    Miss R. handed her a rose from the vase saying, “You are that rose. You may be surrounded by thorns, but the beauty of the rose is inside you. Remember that always. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

    Thank you

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post or flash fiction.

  • Who wouldn’t be excited with high test scores?

    Regular readers of my blog are aware of my attitude to didactic top-down, content and assessment driven methods of schooling students to become machines regurgitating meaningless facts on command. A bit of push and shove it in and belch it out.  For those of you who weren’t aware – now you are!

    I probably should apologise for my indecorous description as I’m usually a little more temperate in the way I express my views, but I won’t as that is how I am feeling about it at the moment. The authorities who have the power to make the changes necessary are so caught up in their own murky visions that they fail to see either effects or solutions. Every time I read another report of test scores or hear of another child damaged by a faulty system my frustration grows.  It becomes one of those hysteria blossoming days.

    bag

    A few moments ago I read a post titled “Vietnam Wallops US on PISA. Vietnamese educators belittle value of PISA” on Diane Ravitch’s blog. Ravitch is an education historian.

    As the title suggests, Vietnamese fifteen year old students did better than their US, UK and most other EU counterparts in the 2012 PISA tests, ranking 12th out of 76. What I found interesting about the article was not the results but the attitude of Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Education and Training. His view that the tests don’t reflect students’ overall competence, reminded me of a letter, shared in my previous post, written by teachers to students sitting the national tests last week in Australia. (PISA are international tests).

    In the article referred to by Ravitch, Dr Giap Van Duong was reported as making reference to UNESCO’s four pillars of learning: Learning to know, Learning to do, Learning to be and Learning to live together. His opined that PISA addresses only the first pillar, and in only a limited way. He said that while Vietnamese students did well on the tests, “many … students fail to land a job after graduation. (and that when) they study overseas, many have difficulties in meeting the requirements of advanced education systems like team-work, problem solving and creativity”. Perhaps they are not “out of basement ready” as described by Yong Zhao.

    Duong said that the reason Vietnamese students do well on the tests is because the “The whole system operates to serve only one purpose: exams.”

    Duong’s admission that Vietnamese students lack the ability to work in teams, to problem solve and to think creatively reiterates the fears of many teachers who are  ruled by expectations of high test results and provided little opportunity to inspire learning, which surely remains the real (if neglected) purpose of education. Counterbalancing one’s philosophy with an employer’s expectations sometimes seems like being caught between a rock and a hard place.

    This week at the Carrot Ranch Charli Mills is talking about rocks and hard places. But Charli knows that good can often spring from those seemingly hard places through making connections. She has challenged writers to In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that shows a hard place and a connection.

    It is connections that are most important in my two main roles in life: parent and teacher. Neither is easy and neither will result in much good without making connections. I often worry about things I have said and the affect they may have had on others. To be truthful, occasionally it even keeps me awake at night. While I would rather think of my words and actions creating a positive ripple, there is no guarantee that, even when delivered with my best intentions, they won’t do harm.

    Trevor Pilgrim shared a quote which puts it this way:

    What-a-teacher-writes-on

    In his article Pilgrim says,

    “teachers have (the power) to develop their students and shape their future lives.  The power to turn them on or off academically, stimulate or dampen their minds and heighten or destroy their engagement and intellectual curiosity.”

    Scary stuff!

    At about the same time I read an article that said that the influence of teachers is not as great as one might think; that socio-economic status, amongst other things, is more important. While I am happy with the thought of having a positive effect, I definitely do not wish to ruin anyone’s life so am happy to know that my influence is not be the most important to the lives of my students.

    https://openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/59389/happy_sun_gm.png
    https://openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/59389/happy_sun_gm.png

    For this challenge of Charli’s I am back thinking about Marnie’s art teacher and the hard place she found herself in when she saw the brown muddy mess that Marnie seemed to have made of her paints. That she must respond is a given; but how? Whatever she says will probably have a lasting impact so she must ensure that her response is appropriate. While her initial instinct is to express disappointment, she maintains her professional composure and delays commenting until she has thought it through.

    Here is my response:

    Brown.

    She glanced at the child, usually so eager to please, and knew this was no ordinary day.

    Downcast and avoiding eye contact, the child trembled. Her instinct was to reach out with comfort to soothe the hurt; but stopped. Any touch could end her career. What to say? Brown earth/brown rocks? would ignore and trivialise the pain. Any talk now would be insensitive with other ears listening. Any word could unravel the relationship built up over time. Nothing would harm more than doing nothing. Her steps moved her body away but her heart and mind stayed; feeling, thinking.

     Thank you

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about any aspect of this post or flash fiction

  • Are you ready or what?

    When thinking about schooling and education there is always a lot of discussion about readiness and the things that must be done to have a child ready for school, ready for the next class, ready go to college or university . . .

    While I agree that a learner must be ready to take the next step, to broaden understanding of a concept or to grasp the complexity of deeper issues; just what that readiness requires is often up for conjecture.

    Back in the early days of my teaching experience workbooks of ‘reading readiness’ exercises were frequently used with students in their first year of school. These activities generally required children to identify the one that was different in a group of objects. The exercises, such as those shown below, progressed through various levels of difficulty with the aim of preparing children for reading.
    reading readiness exercises

    Fortunately our understanding of how reading is learned has progressed since then and it is now recognised that exercises such as those did little to prepare children for learning to read. We now know that the best preparation for reading is to be immersed in language through conversations, with adults especially; to be read to frequently; and to develop a love of books and interest in print by sharing with others. The role of parents in preparing children for reading cannot be underestimated.

    This week I watched a video of a presentation by Yong Zhao about a type of readiness he referred to as “Out of basement readiness”. I admit I hadn’t heard the term before but the concept is definitely familiar.

    I do recommend you listen to Zhao’s talk. It is interesting, thought-provoking and humorous. I think I enjoyed listening to this talk as much as to Ken Robinson’s on How schools kill creativity which I have mentioned in previous posts here and here, amongst others. However at 55 minutes some of you may not be willing to commit the time. For me, it is 55 minutes of my life I’m very happy to not get back!

    I will not attempt to share all the content of the talk; there is too much of value, but here are just a few snippets that resonated with me:

    Zhao explains out of basement readiness this way:

    out-of-basement readiness - Yong Zhao

     

    Zhao says that students are being mis-educated, that they are being educated for something that doesn’t exist, and suggests that we should remove several phrases from the language we use to talk about education, especially

    • Under-performance
    • Evidence based
    • Data driven

     

    His description of the traditional education paradigm will be familiar to any frequent readers of my blog. He says that it is “about forcing people to do what some other people prescribe them to do” and that we reduce it to just a few subjects that can be tested.

     

    He talks about the “homogenisation” of schooling, and explained that homogenisation was the best way of getting rid of creative people and innovative thinkers.

     

    He mentioned kindergarten readiness tests, and suggests that the only test should be whether the kindergarten was ready for the children and parents.

     

    He recognises the uniqueness of every student, with different backgrounds, motivations and talents; and stresses the importance of effort. He says, “You cannot be born to be great. If you do not put effort into it you can never be good at it.” He explains it this way:

     “If you put ten thousand hours into something you are good at, something you are interested in you get great talent. But if I force you to spend time on something you have no interest in, you hate and something you are not good at, you at best become mediocre.”

    He says that countries that produce high test scores, score low on confidence and interest.

    He says,

    “Everyone is born to be creative, that’s a human being, that’s our gift: to be able to adapt, to learn and relearn and do new things. But school has typically tried to suppress it (with) . . . short term learning. . . Direct instruction may give the short-term gain but cause long term damages Studies show that if you teach children how to play with the toy, they lose creativity, lose curiosity and if you allow children to explore more they may not test very well but they maintain creativity and curiosity.”

    American schools _ Yong Zhao

    Zhao says that “our students do not fit into a future world, they create the future world. This is why we need a different type of education.” He says that “education is to create opportunities for every individual student, they are not an average, they are not a probability, they need to be improved as individual human beings.”

    our students do not fit - Yong Zhao

    I couldn’t agree more. What do you think?

     

    I was led to Zhao’s talk via Diane Ravitch’s blog which is about the education system and situation in the US. Much of what she writes has applications further afield and I recommend it to anyone wishing to stay informed of current issues in education.

    Thank you

    Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts on any aspect of this post.