which we may consider to be planA
which will probably go ahead
we are just playing
however important it is
the vitality of this opportunity
let's consider it a game
after all
if we don't do it lightly
what's the point?
essential elements:
key points for teachers
presentation ideas
encouraging teachers to play
to at least imagine an ideal
and the overcoming critical mind objections
teacher presentation:
1
a little about me and my experience
a little about system thinking and the positive cycle around self-discipline
2
enough objections in people's minds will probably have arisen
and are invited to write these down on red cards...
3
talk about standard implementation:
top-down and by tried and tested systems
and how they fail generally
since they are not context-specific
so
we approach it completely different
if we believe the real learning is child-centred
then so
the real system change comes from within each teacher
and the idea of what it was, is and the ideal
the trick is
to give enough space for the mind to consider an alternative
without getting dragged down by current conditions
that is
invite teachers to let go of realism
to recall their idealism when they were starting off
imagining potential
imagining a dream
the more realistic the better of course
for those who wish to give the exercise a certain edge of...
realism
invite teachers to consider these for a few minutes
some bullet points
then share with partner
then as a group
hear some
share some of ours
again
if negative mind comes into play
just make a note on the red cards
4
so
i deal with these red cards now
live
as it were
5
introduce the gordian solution
classroom co-ordinators
6
introduce the next step
which is to go away and let things mull over
and consider if people are open enough to allow this thing to grow
there is no point thinking beyond the next step
apart from having a general trajectory:
time-table for introducing it this next september
putting together a funding scheme
those interested defining a clearer job spec
probably getting ok from board of governors
does this sound ok...?
1 comment:
very interesting. sounds like it was a very unusual & positive meeting on friday.
as always, you are challenging deep-rooted ideas with highly ambitious and far-reaching ones.
as usual, i have a slight criticism for you:
'...tried and tested systems
and how they fail generally
since they are not context-specific'
ok, i presume you are talking about the tried and tested systems of education. if so, i want to take issue with the suggestion that they fail generally. i think it is fair to say that the systems are not perfect, perhaps they are far from perfect. but how can it be justified to say that they fail? i am constantly surprised by how kids seem to be getting smarter and smarter. yes, there are some that struggle to learn. yes, there are problem cases everywhere, there are teachers dealing with things that they probably should not have to deal with, and there are kids who could reasonably be said to have been failed by the system. but i think it is unfair to write off the whole system as failing generally. in the course of trying to find practical ways to improve it, you refuse to take account of its successes. i know it is very easy to take things for granted and therefore fail to acknowledge them, but i think there are many things to celebrate in the system that has evolved.
i guess when you are dealing with kids all the time you are more likely to notice the things that stand out, such as the times when someone had an attitude problem or was unable to learn for some reason. but remember that kids are learning all the time and they just get smarter with each generation. so there are things in the education system that are working. somehow. those things need to be acknowledged if you are going to be an expert on the subject. to overlook them is to not have a properly holistic view of the situation.
just because there is much room for improvement, it does not mean the current system is failing. you can say it is failing in some ways. you can say it is failing more than it ought to be. otherwise i think you're being unfair, especially when you consider how hard countless numbers of people have worked over the years, centuries even, to give us an education system that, while flawed, is far from being a complete write off!
i'm sorry i always have criticisms for you, david. it sounds like you are doing amazing stuff and i don't want to take anything away from that. i just hope that you are fair in your approach and that you are able to recognise good things as well as bad.
good luck! i will get onto reading your other posts now....
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