On the lockdown Merry- Go- Round

Been there! Done that! Not quite so simple. So this year from the 15 – 17 February we were back at Alert level 3. I thought to myself ,”I’ve got this”. This time there were lessons I had learnt from last year.

• Keep the same routine as I had before
• Prepare for each lesson as per timetable
• Involve the students in conversation at meetings
• Be aware of students with wifi difficulty
• Be organised and give prompt feedback

Well I just had Monday to prepare …my goodness I had forgotten how much time “getting organised” took. I was exhausted as I worked until late in the evening and this was because I had to change what I was doing. I asked myself what was different ? Primarily it was the timing – lockdown at the startup of a school year! Not good!

• Students were just beginning to settle into their classes
• Because of so many timetable changes I didn’t know all the names
• With the year 9s, we had just started the novel study and they did not have the books issued
• With level 1 media we were just starting with the pre production paper work.
• Level 3 media were the only ones who could just “tutu” away
• Level 2 English were watching a video and they were able to get on to clickview to finish it

So how did I cope? I discovered from last year that not everyone would come online – so I recorded every meet and made it available on Google Classroom. I also created supplementary videos to support what I had covered in the meets. How did the students cope? I had a chat to my classes and they found my material easy to follow. Some of them had problems with access to wifi. Also, some were required to do other things at home like looking after younger siblings. They expressed how grateful they were not to be given the lecture about the importance of attending each meet. Thank heavens it was just two days!

According to one of the teaching assistants who came online, the lessons were well structured and easy to follow – high accolade indeed so something must be working on the organisational front.

Call Back Days 2021

Usually call back days are a bit like the curate’s egg – good in parts. However, this year there were a few surprises in store. Not only did we welcome a new principal, we also had a number of workshops which were thought provoking and designed to shake up the the ‘sleep’ mode that my brain had lapsed into over the long, balmy summer. The first of these was a presentation by a young person from Inside Out and this was welcomed with positive affirmation that it is now time to address the safety of the Rainbow Youth in our school.

It is always sad to hear students express homophobic opinions out aloud in the corridors It is tantamount to bullying and I cannot help but feel that what is missing from all the business in our daily lives is a programme that would see students better informed about tolerance and kindness in today’s world. The presentation gave practical, common sense strategies to use in the classroom.

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The second gem to take away on the call-back days focused on Pacific students. What can we do to give these students a voice and make them feel that their culture is valued.? It is about getting to know the students and building relationships. It also means expanding this to make reciprocal relationships with families. Patty Matafeo gave a lovely analogy of how this works among Pacific people – my interpretation is that the mat is rolled out , people sit on the floor and a tapestry is woven from the conversation that occurs. Research has shown that one can simply show care by getting to know one’s students There is a TKI resource which has five strategies teachers can use to support Pacific learners

• Know your learners
• Establish reciprocal relationships with families
• Build community networks
• Build a culturally responsive environment
• Explore Pacific perspectives on inclusion

From the the conclusion of an ERO report on their in 2008 it is clear that success for Pacific students is the relationship that is built between home, the student and the teachers.

A NEW SLANT ON ‘NORMALISATION’.

My role in the Kahui Ako Maori group has confirmed my belief that there is a need to ‘normalise’ the use of Te Reo Maori in all classrooms. This does not mean that subject teachers have to learn the language, but the Treaty of Waitangi principle does call for schools and teachers to deliver a curriculum that:

• acknowledges the Treaty of Waitangi principles
• acknowledges our nation’s bicultural foundations
• enables students to acquire knowledge of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori. 

‘So where do we start? Normalisation’ does not mean that we become fluent in Te Reo, rather, that we learn frequently used classroom kupu which convey the message that we are bicultural and thus potentially bilingual. It enables students to get a sense of normality when they are greeted in Te Reo and that the roll is called in Te Reo and that teachers use classroom commands like ‘e tū , e noho , and turituri,’. These are simple examples and when I first used them, the students looked at me rather strangely, didn’t respond, but I persisted and now they see it as normal.

This might seem simplistic, but baby steps first. I am in the process of turning my classroom into a bilingual classroom. What might that look like? For me it means accessing posters with relevant phrases and putting them in prominent places on the wall.

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What does this mean for teachers in the classroom?

• Greet students in Maori.
• Make sure that all names are pronounced correctly.
• Use commands and everyday phrases
• Use congratulatory/praise words like tino pai (very good), ka rawe (awesome) and tu meke (choice).
• Put whakatauki (proverbs) on the board/ wall and ask students to notice them.

Learning from lockdown

I pride myself on being reasonably pragmatic and my approach to any change has always been to jump right into the thick of things and to work from there, backed  of course by a significant amount of professional development and research.  Lockdown caught me on the left foot.  It is timely now, that I should, as has the whole nation, reflect on life during this ‘unprecedented’ time.

Some positives:

• Routine – I found that having a routine provided a strange sort of affirmation that I was on the right track.  So I got up early and was ready at my station for video lessons .
• Student work –I did far more checkpointing of student work than I had ever done before.  I just couldn’t seem to help myself.
• The value of the relationship between teacher, student and parent was accentuated as in some of the meet or zoom lessons parents were also present.  This enabled parents to get on board with what their children were doing.

Some Negatives:

• I found that I was spending far more time at my computer than ever before- so it was exhausting.
• Tracking down students who didn’t come online or didn’t respond to feedback and messages was stressful. How do you motivate a student who has chosen not to do any work and you cannot get hold of them?
• I missed seeing my colleagues and my students enormously – I initially thought that I would enjoy the isolation.  Not so – one week was fine!

This time of isolation has brought to the fore the aspects of online learning that worked well and those that didn’t.  There is obviously much work to be done.

The physical closure of schools has shone a spotlight on some of the persistent and systemic challenges facing our education system, providing an invaluable opportunity to refocus our attention and efforts on them. – Dr Hood, Education Hub

 

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Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.. a bit of ‘old school’.

Covid 19 and the lockdown that followed threw a curved ball if ever there was one and for me, student engagement was a mixed bag of tricks.  My colleague Linda Rubens and I each have a level 2 English Viewing class, which we have had for a number of years.  This year we decided to have a shared Google Classroom which has helped enormously with the management of 56 students between us.  The story of lockdown, however will fill another chapter.

Our post-lockdown classes have been focussed on text connections.  This requires the students to write a report on the connections they have made over four visual texts.  These connections usually have to do with themes, setting, characterisation to name a few. So we watched our first two “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Hurricane”.  All the resources and tasks were on Google Classroom and we expected the students to work through these in order to gather the material they would need for their reports. Self -directed learning at its best, or so I thought.  I watched in consternation as my class spent four and a half hours wasting time.  They had just reverted to some old, bad habits – chatting, and doing nothing until the teacher hovered over them and then it was the ‘pretend’ game. I had to do something!

Fortunately, Linda had noticed that her class was doing the same so over a weekend she dug out some worksheets that we had last used in 2015.  Well, we printed these off and set the booklet this created as a test. The students were notified through a message on Google Classroom and so the first lesson of the week began with desks separated (level 2 lockdown requirements). I was amazed at the compliance of the students. They sat down and began writing in silence for the whole hour and a half and they continued for the week.  It was weird to say the least but, they seemed to like the change of writing their responses and then digitising them.

Pedagogically, I am reminded of the importance of occasionally doing something different.   These students have had BYOD since 2012 and eLearning for some has not been without problems.   When I interviewed the students about having to write out their “notes” and then put them into a report on a doc, they found that they enjoyed the experience.  A few of them had the grace to admit that this stopped them from ‘wasting’ time.

An investigation into blended learning will show that courses are designed in such a way that enhance the teaching and learning experiences for students by combining a range or a mix of delivery modes. I believe that we have developed our own unique style of engaging and motivating students and this latest development with this class is working for this particular assignment.

 

To some, it would be interpreted as being ‘old school’ and possibly obsolete.  Not so. This kind of blend has involved combining the best of online and  face-to-face and non-digital modes.  They do complement and supplement each other.

 

A working Triumvirate

2020 has certainly presented a few surprises, not least the fact that everything I do in the classroom with my year 9 Topic 1 students has a direct connection to two other people- colleagues from different departments.  I have had the pleasure of working with Celeste Sweeney from Te Reo Maori and Vicki Lambert from Drama.  Our topic – Diversity – Gold!

I do believe that integration should be natural and not forced. With this in mind it was an uplifting experience to to work with these two ladies.  Our subjects lend themselves, with a little tweaking and creative configuring, to a seamless blend.  What better way to start than with a topic like diversity?  However, this is not what I am writing about.  It is the learning process and the opportunity to develop a working professional relationship with two people with whom I would never, in our busy day to day lives, have had the chance to spend any time.

So what stood out?  What worked?

• We were able to have regular meetings to discuss curriculum aspects.
• We discovered that we shared similar expectations of our students.  This helped because as our particular cohort went through the rotation process, nothing was really different in any of the classrooms.
• I gained an insight into dramatic performance and how really important it is for students to have a clear sense of their own space.
• The inclusion of Te Reo in our tasks seemed to be obvious and not something that was in the “too hard basket”.
• We were able to book a space large enough to accommodate the whole group which enabled us to do  team presentations.  It is really important that students see  collegial cooperation in practice.  They ‘got’ that we were on the same page and this definitely contributed to the development of positive relationships with the students.
• We were also able to share management strategies.  This was particularly relevant as we had a relatively large number of challenging students in our cohort. Young teachers such as Celeste can benefit from having the support of experienced teachers such as Vicki and I.

I, for one, definitely learnt so much from these two colleagues and I hope that we will be able to continue to work with each other.

 

Rerekētanga -cultural diversity

I have been fortunate to start the 2020  integration programme by teaching Topic 1 – Rerekētanga – Diversity.  This in terms of my journey into normalising the use of Te Reo Maori in the classroom has indeed been fortuitous.  With three different groups of year 9 students rotating through Te Reo, English and Drama lessons it has enabled us to give a major focus to affirming cultural diversity.  There are a number of Maori and Pasifica students in this particular cohort and it has gone some way to giving them a voice.  The driving question for our lessons has been “How do I fit into a changing world?”.

Some of the most salient points to note from a student perspective are bulleted below:

• a step closer to the transition from tokenism to integration.  It is no longer strange for a pakeha teacher to use Maori kupu in the classroom.
• students comfortable in “their own skins” so to speak. They are proud of their pepeha and have willingly included them in the tasks set for their lessons
• students willing to share aspects of their heritage. This has been the biggest breakthrough. Students at first did not realise how their culture mattered.
• students understanding how their culture or heritage can shape their identity. They also developed a better understanding of the importance and impact of diversity.

So what does really matter?  What has made the difference? The bottom line has been the establishment of a pleasant and friendly environment.  From this springboard  it is possible to build positive relationships and this has been the biggest contributing factor to student well being.  I am always reminded of a quote  from a leading counsellor  Dr Ruth Lawson-McConnell  whose talk I went to last year -“You have to be the calm, adult head in the room when you are dealing with teenagers.”  This is so important when you are trying to walk alongside students rather than confront them head on.

I am in the process of making my classroom a “bilingual” room.  This is being done incrementally as I have found that if I make small changes, students become interested.  To this end I am creating posters with Maori kupu and whakatauki along with everyday phrases that can be used in any classroom.

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Priority Learners 2019

This year I have two areas of focus with regard to priority learners.

The first is at senior level with a level 2 ENGV class.  For this purpose, I identified three students who could be categorised as priority learners.  Two Maori and/or Pasifica and one with severe dyslexia.  It just so happens that the work I have done on building relationships with my students has paid dividends with this group as well.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so they say, and it is clear that a more positive and pro-active engagement with their teacher meant that they were able to reach their goals of passing and doing the best that they could.

I am pleased to note that the three students were successful and when I interviewed them, and asked them what contributed the most to their success, the answers were interesting.

” I liked being in a smaller class.”

” I liked that you were ‘chilled’ and didn’t get angry or lose your ***#!*”

I am not sure whether to be worried about this or not !

 

The year 9 group was somewhat different.  Three little girls with serious learning difficulties along with all sorts of emotional problems to boot.  All three had the benefit of a teaching assistant but it still meant that the work on classroom was just too difficult.

What needed to be done?

Psychiatrist, William Glasser wrote “Schools without Failure’ in 1975 in which he stated that “when school becomes a place of certain failure, many students come to hate going to school, acting out their unhappiness while they are there”. I did not want these girls, who already have a negative mindset, to feel that nothing in English class is appealing so they might as well not bother. So, it was back to the drawing board and the teaching assistant at the time and I scaffolded the tasks that the other students were doing to suit the needs of this indomitable trio.

I also used the learning progressions framework so that the students had meaningful feedback that made sense to them. An example of this is with essay writing.  These students were not able to write full paragraphs and so bullet points worked for them as exemplified below:

• •  Edward Scissorhands directed by Tim burton is a film released in 1990. In this film edward scissorhands is the main character. 
  • Shows he important in the scene where peg meet scissorhands,at the bbq, and when he stands up to kim’s boyfriend jim. 
  • Uses film techniques like close up shots and dialogue to show his importance. 

 

• • In the film edward scissorhands is the main character because he was important because he was different from everyone else 
  •  Tim burton shows that edward is important In the scene where edward meets peg ,at the bbq and when he stands up to Kim’s boyfriend Jim
  • Burton uses film techniques to show how important edward is 

I felt pleased that I didn’t  have to give them a Not Achieved but could instead tell them how they were working at level 3 of the curriculum and what their next steps would be. They responded well to this and are now working of their creative Term IV project with great gusto.

Growing the nursery – on mentoring two pre-service teachers

 

“Those who know, do.  Those who understand, teach.” – Aristotle

This year I had two fledgeling teachers under my wing.  I regard this as a vital service to the teaching profession.  We need young teachers who are competent and can stay the distance. The two young women who spread their wings in my Year 9 and 10 English class and my level 2 Media class displayed qualities that will stand them in good stead. 

I read an article about the qualities of a great teacher and they are listed below.  Needless to say these young ladies are already ticking the boxes of some of the aspects which augurs well for their futures in the teach profession.

•  communication skills
•  listening skills
• knowledge of and passion for their subject matter
• the ability to build caring relationships with students
• friendliness and approachability
• good  preparation and organisation skills
• strong work ethic
• community-building skills
• high expectations for all

My Year 9 students did a poetry unit with one of the ladies . They enjoyed the experience as she encouraged their creativity.

One is reminded that one of the purposes of being an associate teacher is to ensure that the passion for teaching is kept alive. William Butler Yeats put is so aptly when he said,  “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.” 

Normalisation of Te Reo Maori in class – my personal journey

I have always been a proponent of bilingualism, at the very least, as I personally speak three languages and have an understanding of a fourth. To put it officially, the Curriculum document states that there are six clear benefits of studying another language.

• Cultural – provides a viewpoint from another world and way of thinking.
• Linguistic – understanding how languages work and develop new skills and understandings which can be transferred to other areas of learning.
• Economic – positive economic prospects and increased career opportunities.
• Social – an understanding about how culture can affect the way a person thinks and what they value and believe in.
• Cognitive – develop new ways of growing their knowledge and finding out more about themselves.
• Personal – a sense of pride in the New Zealand Maori culture.

Furthermore,  “Students who develop equivalent skills in more than one language tend to be more creative and better at solving complex problems that those who don’t. They also score higher than monolingual students in verbal and non-verbal tests.” – Ministry of Education ,2002, p.10

We all get this, but how about the idea of a non-Maori speaker attempting to  normalise the use of Te Reo Maori in my classroom? I have joined the Kahui Ako Te Reo Maori focus group and I find myself horridly out of my depth.  However, the more I listen, the more I realise how important this challenge is. To quote Auckland University lecturer, Hemi Kelly, ” The mana of Maori culture and values needs to be instilled and acknowledged from a young age.”

This message was entrenched when we, as a staff, were privileged to be addressed by Dr Hana O’Regan, a leading advocate for the normalisation of Te Reo Maori in all our schools. It is critical that the right stories are told. “If we succeed in our goals, it will be our success. If we fail, it will be our own failure. We will own the path we travel, and we will shape our own dreams. We own our destiny.”

So what can we do?  Start with baby steps.

 

Using common words in class:

Students learn when they have things repeated on a daily basis.  They like the idea of mixing language in a sentence and so I have taken to using some common words embedded in an English sentence.

Come and korero with me?

Please sit at this table for a hui.

We are going to the whare pukapuka in period 5.

That work is miharo.

 

Whakatauki: I have placed whakatauki on my board. Students arrive in the class and I draw their attention to the change each week. The two below are quite pertinent to our ethos.  Initially the feedback was whimsical – ‘Have you lost the plot Mrs White?”  This opened the channel  for a good discussion about cultural heritage and ‘Who’s story is being told’?

 

 

Pepeha:  Year 7 and 8 students learn their pepeha and then they come into year 9 and the assumption is that it is virtually forgotten. So this year I asked my year 9s and 10s to record their pipiha as part of the introductory units entitled This is Me and Identity. The students enjoyed doing this and it served to remind them of their cultural roots. I have included my own below.

 

Teacher up-skilling: 

Initially, as staff, we all learned the karakia “Whakatak te hau”. We also know Kate’s Waiata. It is now a requirement in our kura for teachers to recite their pepeha for the principal in a registration meeting.

This year I decided that as I was part of the Kahui Ako Maori group, that I needed to do something about my knowledge of Te Reo Maori. I, along with a group of year 7 and 8 colleagues, enrolled in a Te Reo Maori course offered by Education Perfect.  It has been quite challenging in terms of time but has affirmed my conviction that Maori should be compulsory in all schools.

I realise that these are ‘baby steps’ and to some they might be pithy. Hemi Dale from Auckland University’s teaching degree programme hit home when he said in an interview that “When you learn another language, you learn the tikanga that goes with that language..