Editors: Bruce Hammonds and Wayne Morris
Web Site: www.leading-learning.co.nz

============================================================

Theme for this Newsletter: End of Year Reflections
This newsletter has been written by Bruce.
Feedback appreciated bhammonds@leading-learning.co.nz

Email this ezine to a friend.

Subscribe staff members to receive our free ezine.

============================================================

At the end of a school year, as busy as it is, ought to be a time for reflection and review. Peter Drucker, the business philosopher, believes that 'every organization needs to be prepared to abandon everything'. Of any organization, schools, he believes, have the most to change or they will become increasingly irrelevant.

'We need to decide to give lip service or full service.'
Peter Block

'Things do not change - we change'.
Thoreau

We recommend that you take the time to read the most visited article on our site Vol. 1 Number 3 January 2002: The latest ideas on school reform by Michael Fullan and read what he has to say about educational transformation.

Fullan believes schools are at the edge of great democratic possibilities and that this will require educators to play a major part in the re-invention of a fairer, moral, more inclusive society. So far it is difficult to see much evidence of such inspirational leadership as most principals are too busy complying with Ministry requirements to see a bigger and more visionary bigger picture for themselves.

'Most schools are drowning in events- an attention deficit culture.'
Peter Senge

The Ministry of Education's original ideology of 'Tomorrows School' of accountability, efficiency, competition and choice is increasingly being found wanting. This has been further exacerbated by the impossible demands of the technocratic curriculum statements imposed on schools which, although introduced to develop coherence, have created considerable confusion!

'All bottlenecks occur at the top.'
Anon

'Professionals built the Titanic - amateurs built the Ark.'
Anon

It is important, that as the Ministry 'evolves' to allow creative teachers and principals (and better still groups of schools) to re establish the missing professional leadership. It is vital to ensure that the voices (and concerns) of those who do the actual work are heard. Future changes, according to Fullan, must be a mix of 'top down' and 'bottom up' initiatives but, for any initiative t o be successful, it must be 'owned' by teachers and the communities who must action them and be accountable for their success.

'Hire Rembrandt but don't tell him how to paint.'
Anon

'The pathway to excellence lies within each school.'
Terrance Deal

This suggests a new role for the Ministry, one of providing the conditions, and a high trust environment, to develop the capacity of schools and teachers to lead within an agreed national framework. The Ministry needs to create the 'climate but it must leave the 'weather' to the schools - any attempt to micro manage must be resisted!

'Reformation comes from the bottom up.'
Religious writer

If the Ministry can do this then this will introduce a new creative and transformational era replacing the failing business efficiency management model that has been enforced the past decade or so. If this achieved an evolutionary organic change model will be created, one that although impossible to predict will spread idea as if an 'educational epidemic'!

'We can lick gravity but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming.'
Verner von Braun

• The National Curriculum and associated incoherent curriculum statements are away being 'stock -taked'. Even with the 'revised National Guidelines they have diverted far too much teacher energy and time from working with students. We will not recognize them if they ever resurface. Most teachers are doing well without them!
• The Ministry is now talking about 'key competencies' -or in English, learning 'how to learn' and how to be a good citizen. Let's not make this too complicated!
• The Minister (and the Ministry) has now realized that it is the teacher that is the most important factor in a child's learning. This would seem blindingly obvious!
• John Hattie has rediscovered the importance of teacher guidance or formative assessment, high expectations and focused feedback and feed forward.
• Values have become an important issue.
• Adrienne Alton Lee has pulled together research to establish 'best practices' - none of which will be surprising to creative teachers but none the less valuable.
• Pedagogy has been rediscovered and reinvented - the art of teaching!
• ICT promises to transform education but currently is more promise than reality. When ICT forces secondary schools change their pedagogy and structures this be the time to celebrate. Too often it seen as an 'add on' or integrated into current outdated practice.
• The Minister is worried about lack of 'engagement' of too many students and the troublesome transition from year 8 to 9 which must lie visiting a foreign country for many students. These are challenges for schools to face up to.
• A group of 'Guardians' are developing future scenarios for Secondary education. It shouldn't be hard to replace such an outdated model. Anything would be better!
• And of course there is the 'achievement gap' and an obsession with literacy and numeracy. Developing all students' talents from the earliest age and a focus on 'learnacy' might be a more positive prospect if engagement is an issue?

'Too many decisions about educational change are made by those untouched by the change process.
Peter Block

Coherence, connections, synergy, alignment, and capacity for continual improvement.

The above points can only be seen as a start for total transformation of our school system in a 21stC one. Urgency is an issue before modern information systems does it for us leaving us in the same position as the medieval scribes!

'We are truly fish in the water of industrial age assumptions.'
Peter Senge

There are important question to ask for all involved from the classroom teacher to the Minister of Education.

Michael Fullan writes that we have to learn to live with change and that the best defense against the relentless pace of change is to build professional learning communities that are good at sorting out the worthwhile from the non worthwhile, and to look for support and healing, when ill conceived or random change takes it's toll.

As mentioned earlier, Peter Drucker writes that, 'every organization has to be prepared to abandon everything', and that of all organizations, 'education has to change the most'.

Another business writer Jim Collins in 'Built to Last' the best advice is to, 'try lots of stuff and keep what works'! And don't be too quick to assess and judge!

'Life is like playing a violin in public and learning the instrument as you go along.'
Samuel Butler

1.What is working well? Question everything

2.What is not working well or not at all?

3.What action do you need to take?

You need to negotiate questions to suit your schools - the following are only suggestions.

• Teachers should ask these questions about their teaching programmes and environment. We now know that student success is dependent on each teacher's skill. Teachers need to break down isolationism and work with others.
  
  
  • Can I articulate the key messages of the school?
  • Can I articulate the talents, strengths and areas of need for each student? Are students aware of their learning goals?
  • Have my students achieved agreed levels in school benchmarks/targets
  • Have I communicated positively with students parents?
  • What are my strengths and weaknesses?
  • Do my students demonstrate independent thoughtful learning?
  • Can I demonstrate new ideas you have introduced or shared with others? Am I a model of 'lead learner' in my class?
  • Am I aware of what successes other teachers are having?
  • Does my classrooms display and bookwork show agreed consistency as well as individual creativity? Do the displays inform as well as celebrate by using headings, key questions, process and criteria?
  • Is my class programme aligned with school agreed expectations and as well expresses my personal style and creativity?

'It is today we must create the world of the future.'
Eleanor Roosevelt

• Teachers should ask their students the same questions. Student's views are often neglected but they have valuable opinions to inform you.
  
  
  • What do students like about my class?
  • What improvements could they offer me?
  • What makes learning difficult for students?
  • How would my students change the school or my class?
  • What curriculum areas do students like in my classroom?

'The future is here, it is just not widely distributed yet.'
William Gibson

• Principals should ascertain how well teachers, students know what the school stands for.
  
  
  • Can I articulate the basic 'messages' that underpin the school?
  • Can I demonstrate agreed areas of growth to the BOT, the parents and the wider community, the students have achieved?
  • Can I assure myself that at all involved in the school can articulate the main messages about the school? The vision, values and teaching beliefs?
  • Does the staff see me as the 'lead learner'? An innovator?
  • How are the beliefs that underpin the school being implemented in each room? Do I acquire this data from the PMS system?
  • Have all teachers and teams achieved agreed benchmarks / targets?
  • What areas of growth have all staff members achieved and are I aware of, and budgeted for, their future needs?
  • Am I aware of interesting ideas in other schools?
  • Have my teachers visited other schools to expand their own ideas?
  • Do people visit to observe in the school?

'The world by and large has to be reinvented.'
Charles Handy

• Principals and teachers should ask their parents the same questions.

  What do parents think? Fullan says that each school has a 'six year conversation' with their parents at the end of which parent ought to be able to articulate the main messages of the school. Fullan believes a student learning depends on the 'power of three' - the student, the teacher and the parents working together. This could well be a Board of Trustee responsibity? Too many schools still operate in isolation from their community in important learning areas?
  
  

  • Can the parents articulate the school vision and beliefs?
  • Are we aware of parent concerns, belief, hopes and values?
  • Are we aware of areas of expertise could parents share?

'Don't try and innovate for the future, innovate for the present.'
Peter Drucker

• The Ministry needs to also ask how well they have created a 'high trust' environment to develop the capacity of all schools, principals and teachers.
  
  
  • How well have we balanced 'top down' and 'bottom up' initiatives?
  • Have we reflected on the balance between school working within minimal national agreements and the importance of encouraging individual school capacity, leadership and creativity?
  • Have we undertaken research to document the effect of the unintended consequences of the changes of the past decade on teacher effectiveness and morale
  • How well have we helped identify 'best practice' schools and arranged for exemplarity teachers to share their expertise?
  • How we thought about the need to arrange for regional support for schools to spawn and share ideas without reducing school initiative. Currently many schools work in isolation of each other and thus miss out on sharing and gaining expertise.
  • Have we thought of drawing a regional register of what each school has to offer so schools become aware of ideas to make use of?
  • Have we given consideration to the establishment of a range of 'chartered' school to provide alternative for students not currently 'engaged', not only those who reject current schooling but also and for students with talents or special needs? Such school could contract to return students to mainstream if necessary. It is becoming obvious that current secondary schools are not able to accommodate the full range of students who attend or are not able to re- invent themselves into more inclusive organizations. 'Chartered' schools could provide innovative environments for both students and 'teachers'. In turn these ideas could be introduced into more traditional schools.
  • Have we thought of inviting a range of future orientated educators to travel throughout New Zealand to begin a learning conversation about education?

'Innovations never happen as planned.'
Gifford Pinchell / Environmentalist

• The government needs to ask how schools contribute to the development of individual talents of all students and the growth of healthy inclusive communities.
  
  
  • What idea we develop to develop regional initiatives that integrate schools with their communities and break down the barriers between different government and local government agencies?
  • Is it time to begin a 'conversation' about the direction we need as a nation to take to create an inclusive vision that all citizens feel apart of?
  • Have we fully considered the key role of education in realizing such a vision?

'What we thought was the horizon of our potential …turns out to be the foreground'.
Tom Roberts Educationalist

In the past powerful groups have inflicted their ideology, or point of view, on all citizens no matter the costs and many groups have felt economically and in some cases alienated. Now is the time for a nation wide conversation to develop a sense of national belonging and shared identity.

The future requires that all citizens feel they are part of the debate and involved in adding their voice to the future direction of New Zealand. How can all citizens feel they are important part of the future? Do we need to re think the whole area of employment and simply give all people a living wage that fades away with extra employment?

Diversity within broad agreement must be basis for future developments as we are a multi cultural country living in global world. The market forces, competitive ideology of the past era, have resulted in exaggerating the gap between 'winners and losers' in our society and in turn this has contributed to the creating of the achievement gap in our schools.

Is it time for a real transformation of all our current structures, many of which were designed for a now outdated Industrial Age, into ones more suited for a Knowledge Society?

'We must not entrust the future of our children to habit.'
Judy Yero

'We can never consent to creep when one feels the compulsion to soar.'
Helen Keeler

Bruce Hammonds
Wayne Morris
www.leading-learning.co.nz

'A little revolution now and then is a good thing.'
Thomas Jefferson