“I want to send my child to a good school.” This is a phrase often used by parents when looking at education for their children. Some of my family and friends are at that stage where their children are ready to start school.  As I am studying to be a teacher, they ask for my opinion. What I ask them is, what makes a good school? What do you want your child exposed to in order to receive a good education? “Good question” was their reply, then a massive variety of things followed. Online research, personal experiences, family traditions, conversations with other parents and decile ranking were just some of the topics discussed.

The conversations with parents and teachers, we considered questions such as;

• What do you think the decile system is in place for, and what does it measure?
• Are you worried about the other students that go to that school?
• What was school like for you and how long ago were you in school?
• Should you believe everything you hear?

It was interesting to see the difference in the way each person answered. We looked at schools being good or bad. I shared my experiences working in public schools both high and low decile, as well as a private school. I spoke about my experience going back into the school I attended all my life and the expectations I had, that were not met and how much it had changed since I was there. Finally, the decile system and the fact that because of social construction, public and low decile schools are perceived to be lesser in reputation.  People often perceive that a low decile school is not very good and that a high decile school is better. Because of this perception, people share their thoughts and this spreads through word of mouth.

I provide the correct information that the deciles are as on the education govt page, “a measure of the socio-economic position of a school’s student community, relative to other schools throughout the country.” I also let them know that it is used for funding purposes and to help overcome the barriers low socio economic families might face. The lower the decile the more funding the school receives.

We need to be careful when labelling schools, as these positive and negative words travel not only to parents and teachers, but to students. This can be detrimental, as students are already going through a crucial time in their development, where people’s impressions and words hurt. By labelling the school, this may re-affirm feelings going on personally. Intermediate is already a nerve racking time. When they are sent to a college, students, voice what they have heard through home or otherwise. They can make students feel second best as thoughts about the different schools are discussed or shared.

Anything being judged as bad or good, is mainly to do with perception. Most parents stated that they “based their judgments about the school quality primarily on information from individuals in their social networks… They passed around the opinions of other parents about the quality of particular schools, that is, whether the school was considered generally good or bad, by a number of high-status parents.” (Holme,2002.) Many of the judgements that arise about schools are from conversations between parents or reviews. Reputation plays a huge role in labelling a good or bad school. What is right for one student, may not be right for another. Throughout time schools change curriculum wise and generation wise.

 

“We are complicit in their social power.  And we also have the power to disrupt and change them.” – Jennifer Jellison Holme. (2002)

 

 

 

References. 

 

The social construction of school quality, (n.d.). Buying Homes, Buying Schools: School Choice and the Social Construction of School Quality. Retrieved from, https://integratedschools.org/2017/04/20/the-social-construction-of-school-quality/ 

5-19 years, (2018) School Deciles. Retrieved from, https://www.education.govt.nz/school/running-a-school/resourcing/operational-funding/school-decile-ratings/ 

 

“We need to take into account the sociocultural contexts in which teaching and learning are occurring.” (from class handout.)

Interconnectedness… The balance that needs to be held in order to create something lasting. Bells sociocultural jigsaw, illustrates how in our practice, everything is related. It encompasses values and goals as well as strategies and skills. The imagery that a jigsaw puzzle invokes for me, is interconnectedness, and the symbolism of all the pieces coming together to create the ‘big picture.’ When I think about what this big picture looks like, I think about it building the perfect teacher.

Relational, emotional, embodied, spatial, caring, social, cultural, ethical and political practice are the puzzle pieces that when pieced together, builds a good teacher. At first glance, this may seem easy enough, but the skill here, is to gain knowledge on each piece, to find the perfect balanced for you. Some may be more complex than others. Everyone will struggle to piece together their own puzzle. There are many ways we portray these things, but what we need to be aware of, is our hidden curriculum as well. A joke, a movement, or ignoring things, can have implications on every one of these pieces, tilting the scale and putting it off balance. It’s not only the things we say, but the things we don’t say. The fact of the matter is, we have chosen these roles, so we need to actively be thinking about the implications.

Building relationships with students, born from mutual respect is important  not only for teaching and learning, but for how your professional jigsaw is considered. Teaching as emotion, stuck out for me, as it is a big part of my specialisation. When you create a safe space for exploration, gives you an emotional investment. The drama and dance classroom is where students  are more vulnerable. By encouraging, sharing and including yourself in this process, caring about them as people, comes with the job. This part of teaching is open to critique as it can be perceived as bias. People believe this can lead to clouded judgement, favouritism and can be draining for the teacher. In class, we looked at having a healthy balance of each puzzle piece. My thoughts are, that every teacher will have one piece that weighs more than the others, because of the nature of their subject, or their own personal preferences, relating to experience. “As an occupation, teaching is highly charged with feeling, aroused by and directed towards not just people but also values and ideals.”(Day, Christopher, ACP & Sachs, Judyth,2004)

 

“To realise that everything in the universe is connected is to both accept our insignificance and understand our importance in it.” – Jeffrey Fry.

 

 

References. 

Day, Christopher, ACP & Sachs, Judyth, 1954- (2004). International handbook on the continuing professional development of teachers. Open University Press, Maidenhead.

After the first 10 minutes of class discussion, the thing that came to mind was….are we becoming the generation wanting to keep tradition because that’s how we learnt best? Delving deeper into the subject, I couldn’t help but notice the word ‘environment’ was constantly used in the readings and in the conversations that were being had. The Webster dictionary definition of the word environment is, “the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded.” This to me, sounds less like a structural, hard material type thing, and more like an approach, pedagogy and style of the physical act of teaching.

Innovative learning environments are difficult to talk about as a drama and dance teacher, as my classrooms are similar in many ways. But reflecting on myself as a student, modern learning environments that we saw pictures of in our lecture, would have felt like too much freedom and too many options for seating or movement in the space. Secondary school students are in a critical stage of adolescence where it has been proven that structure is important at any phase. How can we achieve a happy medium for the upgrades scheduled for 2020?

For my personal practice, I then looked at how I can make my environment innovative and for what purpose. Here I believe the word environment is important, because that does not necessarily imply changing the classroom itself. Changing the space. Breaking the routine for a purpose that is exciting but clear to the students. (The word purpose is key here.) For example, in Drama, working outside. The purpose here, is to show the students that theatre does not only take place in a dark room, but like Shakespeare, it happens in the outdoors. For example, I took my students through the school doing the ministry of silly walks as part of our Commedia dell’arte unit. Every window/classroom was a different walk, showing them the link that Commedia was performed on the street and was done this way, to bring joy and realness to its watchers and there is more than one way to perform theatre. My focus then, is not on how can I make my classroom innovative, but how can I make my teaching and learning innovative, whilst always serving a purpose.

“We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.”-Winston Churchill. We create the space for learning to take place, but it is the students and teachers that design and develop the environment within space, that shapes HOW the teaching and learning process takes place.

In the reading from Deerness,Gibbons,Gilligan,Breen,Denton and Heraud (2018), there is mention, that school spaces, “echo the status of modern workplace environments.” We also talked in class about how this type of grooming for the workplace has its advantages and disadvantages. I link this to the research I did into the Montessori method. Famous business heads like Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, were taught in the Montessori Method and the work environment they created for their staff is the definition of innovative. Because they came from a background where things were a lot more creative holistically, it must have been hard for them to assimilate to the average 9 to 5 desk job that so many of us tend to have, or have had, at least once in our lives, if not our whole lives. An average NZ Curriculum school, is helping prepare students for life in the workforce. Not everywhere they are employed, will have as innovative spaces to work with, but if the focus is on the teaching and learning strategies, then people’s thinking and approach to working will be the thing that stands out. We in schools need to find the balance between keeping what works structure wise for students and introducing new built spaces, for a purpose to further the learning.

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin.

 

 

 

References.  

Deerness S., Gibbons A., Gilligan MJ., Breen G., Denton A., Heraud R. (2018) Questions Concerning Innovative Learning Environments: Intersections in Disciplined Resistance. In: Benade L., Jackson M. (eds) Transforming Education. Springer, Singapore.

 

 

“Let us commit to quality education for all of the world’s children. Financing education is the best investment we can make for a better world.”(Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General)

Education helps children in war stay children. These children in war, on a daily basis experience stress response. This trauma decreases brain development. Education and learning can help this stunting, help brain growth and even reverse it.

We talked in class about how only 2% of the humanitarian budget is spent on education. This point is difficult to argue, as more money definitely needs to be spent on education for these children, yet things like clean water, food and shelter must come first.

53% of refugees are school aged children. We need to be thinking about continuing the way we are going as there is a fear that we will “lose” a generation. There is already a divide that is extremely substantial, around 20 years!! Why has it got that far? What needs to be put in place to correct this? It makes me wonder how much of this loss is due to countries putting an emphasis on child soldiers and how much is due to funding.

I found the discussion we had about the text books provided to Afghanistan youth and how the artwork within the curriculum, paired with the pictures were haunting. Hand guns, grenades, kolishnicoffs are put in the math curriculum. Two hand grenades, three pencils, 4 machete, 5 turtles. This use of mixing the every day with the violent, is encouraging a normality for these kids. The world needs to realise schooling carries messages, it’s not a simple input. Conditioning, putting the violent with the normal, is a powerful message in itself.  I found the excerpt from the National Race Unity Speech Awards quite symbolic in the same way and the contrast made it quite moving. Again, pairing the negative with the positive, paints quite a picture in the minds of people listening, reading and watching.

Once refugees have relocated, there are many things that need to be in place to accommodate. Accelerated education programmes are aimed at out of school youth, who are unable to join state education. It covers the curriculum at an accelerated pace, covering two years in one year. Its intention is to re-integrate students back into the state system. “The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge, but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men who are capable of doing new things.” – Jean Piaget. While I don’t agree with the use of the word ‘men’ in this sentence, I do believe this is important to remember to apply this to refugee education. The ‘stars’ model is something that mirrors this outlook and I have since printed it out for personal use in my teaching. I believe it is important as a teacher to always be considering culture in the classroom anywhere you teach. Cultural safety, cultural team, cultural awareness, cultural respect and cultural sensitivity, all go hand in hand.  

In the reading for this lesson, there was a quote that stood out to me, “A responsive teacher is open to learn about their refugee students’ backgrounds and to make every effort to build in students’ prior experiences and histories.” (Salmanzadeh, 2015). The text goes on to state that this should start early in the pre-service teacher phase, which I completely agree with, although I think that this should not just encompass teachers but everyone. In a dramatic and creative context, we can allow the students, like the book Daniel read out in class, to explore their experiences and histories. This can be cathartic for some, but we have to be prepared for the few that may be reluctant to go there. Being respectful and understanding and supporting not just refugee students, but all students that come through your classroom.

 

The world is driven by ideas. If a battle of ideas is going on, how does that affect education? 

 

 

References. 

Dwyer Family Foundation. (2016). Jean Piaget’s Development Theory: Learning How to Be Smart. Retrieved from: http://dwyerfamilyfoundation.com/jean-piagets-development-theory-learning-smart/

Salmanzadeh., A. (2015). Reaching for the STARS: a critical and culturally responsive approach to meet the educational and socio-cultural needs of refugee background students in Aotearoa New Zealand. Retrieved from website: https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/bbcswebdav/pid-4584415-dt-content-rid-8609917_3/orgs/CSOC_AE_AK3515/Salmanzadeh%20%282015%29%20Reaching-for-the-Stars.pdf

TheirWorld. (2017). Invest in education for a better world says UN chief Antonio Guterres. Retrieved from: https://theirworld.org/news/how-education-was-big-winner-at-un-general-assembly

“We’re all born naked and the rest is drag.” – RuPaul.

I believe whatever we choose to wear, say, portray is usually a reflection of how we feel on the inside. I have been in the creative industry since I took my first steps, and have always explored my sexuality and gender whether I knew it or not, so this is something that I encourage. I find it beneficial when schools to have posters promoting the LGBTQI+ community along with things like, the day of silence. This draws attention to kids who cant speak to anyone about their struggles with sexuality and gender, or problems at home or school. The school I was at on my practicum had a one minute of silence for the community and some girls even went the whole day in support, with tape placed over their mouths, plastered with the ‘day of silence’ promotion stickers and gave out pamphlets for youthline and help avenues, which I found very touching. Many of my students saw the minute of silence as a minute of prayer and I saw many of them praying during the time. This kind of promotion and education on the struggles some people face, is definitely needed in our schools, as things like bullying is massive in New Zealand. Bullying sayings like “That’s gay” need to be addressed. There was a massive debate in class as to the approach to reprimanding such verbalisations, but at the end of the day, we need to be thinking about why these things are being said in a negative light and address it accordingly. Is it coming from a place of ignorance? Then we need to take the role to educate here. Youthline director Stephen Bell said,“New Zealand is continuously ranked among the worst in the world for our levels of teen suicide. In a normal week two teenagers or two children kill themselves. About 20 young people will be hospitalised for self-harm each week, he estimated.” This is something we need to make students aware of and that these sayings are a from bullying. Students need to know even if they say things in passing that they think are ‘funny’, these could be the comments that stick with these students to the point where they may believe such things of themselves and could send an individual over the edge.

In class we talked about how we can challenge the norms in our classrooms. When speaking to students about injustices, personalising the stories is important. Letting them know these stories are real. The more relevant to their age and even their country or city, can make it more real and help them identify, are they going to be the person who is helping or are they going to be the person responsible for hurting? Making them aware of the repercussions, can be an intimidating but useful tool, as the weight of those situations can invoke the feelings of empathy, sympathy and even the anger for the injustice. Where something may seem foreign, we need to humanise it, putting it in their realm of consciousness. Ways of doing this in drama, could be by challenging gender roles in dramatic performance.This could potentially offer a window into other ways of life and create a safe place to learn gender and sexuality. Drama and the arts may give people the sense of anonymity they may need to ask questions or talk about topics they may feel are potentially taboo in other classes or situations.

Secondary students are at a critical stage in their identity and sexuality development and outside influences can persuade or alter their perceptions of the different lifestyles chosen. What I’m talking about here, is things like home influence. We don’t know how these things are being talked about in students homes and religious beliefs can also be a factor here too. At a stage of progression, students may not have matured within themselves enough to form untainted personal opinions. Therefore, it is important as educators, we use this opportunity to foster better ideals in our adolescents.

We need to praise these things and normalise them in our environment. Being different is just another way of noticing something is special.

“If you can’t love yourself how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?                                               Can I get an amen?” – RuPaul.

 

 

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/91728517/kiwi-students-report-secondhighest-rate-of-bullying-in-international-study

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/85305366/the-highest-rate-of-teen-suicide-in-the-developed-world

 

 

After the discussion in class on the politics of inequality in education, one of the questions I had was… Is the generalisation of education and students a self for filling prophecy?

(Home based and Transmitted)

I believe a kids work ethic and approach to learning stems from the home where they are taught to achieve things in life and are taught to work hard for it. In low socio-economic areas a lot of the parents themselves are low achievers. They were raised not being motivated by their own parents, or, have other life situations going on where schooling is the last thing on their minds, so it takes a back seat. A child’s behaviour is modeled from what they are surrounded by, or what they see, and so the cycle goes on. Professor John Clark looks at the idea,“ When children start school they bring with them enormous differences in what they can and cannot do…” Basically saying when children start school, their capabilities are different.  It is evident which kids whose parents or family have spent time focusing on the child’s development, be it a focus on literacy and numeracy or life skills like shoe tying, buttons etc.

The children who have not had time spent on these things, tend to struggle in a school environment, as trying to focus is a new concept to them and the same with the retention of information. With these kids you need teachers who know how to connect, encourage and are in tune with their way of thinking in order to get through to them. A teacher that has an open mind and will not give up on students. Being on my practicums I have seen some teachers who generalise, especially with MPI students, by the comments made in class or made in the staffroom. This is just another road block for those kids as they may already be hearing such things at home. This is not necessarily the teachers fault as they don’t have the time to find ways to reach the kids because they are too busy with their administrative workload increasing. NOW teachers have to be administrators AND teachers. Such a full plate may lead to a selective nature in the classroom.

A closing question for you, how can we clearly pick a side to a topic and situation with so many factors? We also aren’t informed with ALL of the goings on in each students home lives. The common generalisation of students from a low socioeconomic background and a high socioeconomic background, along with their perceptions of one another and the teachers perceptions, can hinder students attitudes. We have to figure a way as teachers to put out a positive message no matter what the situations of our students are.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton