I visit a lot of schools in Term 4. And at each I fall into the great Australian colloquial greeting and query “How you goin’?”. Almost to a man/woman I’m returned the equally automatic and stereotypical “Busy as mate. Running on empty. I’m really hanging out for a break.” There’s a reality to this. All good…
In schools, we’re pretty good with compliance. We do so much and sometimes we do things just because we have to. I remember a fabulous Principal who used to put his 12 JFDIson the staffroom wall (The JDI stands for Just Do It … I’ll leave you to work out what the F stands for!). The…
I sent a quick email to a teacher friend and colleague last week to touch base. I know she’s had a rough-ish time this year with a particularly challenging cohort. She’s a fantastic educator and perhaps one of those teachers who tends to end up with the toughest group due to her ability to connect…
Michelle Giffin today published an opinion piece on education in The Age titled “Stop Telling Students That VCE Doesn’t Matter – It Does” that I think we should pay attention to. This ill-informed and binary idea that teachers and parents are either telling students that their end-of-year results either matter OR that they don’t is…
Term 4 can feel like running fast downhill sometimes – it goes so quickly that you can even feel a little out of control. It’s like the next step is not entirely your choice and is more a matter of reckless, unavoidable momentum. The obstacles in Term 4 are also a little sharper and more…
I visited my local butcher shop this morning (apologies in advance to my vegetarian friends out there!) to quickly grab some meat for our family’s favourite meal – the slow cooker curry. Always determined to cook enough for us AND for some leftovers I ordered 1.2kg of diced beef. The butcher said what butchers say…
I’d like to introduce you to Jenny Beckwith. I think Jenny is amazing for two key reasons: She’s a highly dedicated and effective Assistant Principal in a rural K-12 school experiencing both some significant change challenges and successes. She’s a new alumni of our Real Schools Executive Coaching Program. You see, Jenny made a decision…
Most leaders and teachers are comfortable with a couple of thinking frames that apply very directly to schools or any learning intended organization: Vygotsky’s Zone Of Proximal Development – loosely translated as always coaxing students and ourselves into the next level of performance without exceeding actual capacity. That we should never rest on our laurels…
I’ve always loved the great Australian colloquialism “Doesn’t he like to blow his own trumpet?”. Not only does it conjure an awesome visual, but there’s a gorgeous irony in it too. I mean, who else is supposed to blow your trumpet for you? A trusted colleague last week told me that I need to start…
Teaching is hard work … so it should be. Anything worthwhile is always taxing and a struggle from time to time. So perhaps we should occasionally embrace the weariness, busy-ness and constant strain that comes with important work a little more than we merely bemoan it. Perhaps? But I think one of the greatest contributors…
What are our Teachers and Parents really kept awake at night by? It’s a confronting question and the answer is often connected strongly to “the unknown” about our kids. Where are they? What are they doing? What choices are they making? What are the consequences of those choices? How can I help them make better…
For the last 18 months or so I’ve been one of those odd, annoying-at-dinner-parties food evangelists who don’t eat any carbs or sugar. Relax, I’m not about to go all Pete Evans on you and beat you into the submission of a paleo school canteen! For the most part, it’s actually not so hard. But…
Jane D. Hull described the importance of schools and parents coming together when she said “At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.” She’s onto something! But the truth is that the task of involving parents, let alone building genuine and ongoing commitment,…
And so we stepped out of line! I remember well the moment that our Teacher FastTrack Program was ‘conceived’. I was in a conversation about Real Schools with a rather skeptical colleague who was determined that the big problem with supporting Teachers with their practice is that “you just can’t do it unless you’re face-to-face…
Yes – this is a tacky advertisement for insurance. Well, this is at least an endorsement for considering the strength and resilience of the young people we are building. This concept of preparing or insuring our young people against their dreams being disrupted or destroyed by others came to me in watching a very interesting…
Even in the mid-year break, we’re continuing our FREE Webinar Series and you’re invited for a topic that is getting a fair old run in Australian Staffrooms. The question we’re asking is “Can you teach empathy and, if so, where on earth do we start?” Register now for our FREE Webinar on Thursday 7th July…
It was Jim Rohn who said, “Life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” Yet, for many of us, engineering or leading change in schools is incredibly difficult. What’s that all about? Well, in many instances the anchors on our change agendas are many and varied, but often include: establishing buy-in…
I hope you didn’t take the subject of this email too personally! But if it got your attention at all, you’re probably the type of passionate educator we need most – albeit that you might be feeling a little leg-weary as we conclude the first semester of the Australian school year. This winter, I want…
Most of you reading this article will have arrived at work today by car. That trip is an event in itself. For some it’s bedlam – a manic period of dropping children off, fixing hair at the traffic lights because you didn’t get time between brushing the hair, teeth and attitudes of the little people…
The place of data in our schools is a point of conjecture for School Leaders everywhere. We know it’s important, we know we’re accountable for it and we know it’s not going away. But there are several aspects of working with data that we are still yet to fully get a handle on. For instance:…
It’s been a massive undertaking at Real Schools to take our work in cutting edge Teacher Practice online. We had a few who said it couldn’t be done! Launched just 12 months ago, we’re now delighted to have our first Teacher FastTrack Graduates completing the program. Nervously, we asked for frank and fearless feedback about…
I’ve come to believe that there’s a Secret Society that we, as teachers, are completely oblivious to. There are criteria for entry into this society: 1.You must be of student age. 2.You must love conflict, debate and the art of defiance. 3.You must learn the motto “You can’t make me, you’re not my mother!” in…
Ryan Martin and I made a little video about out upcoming Winter School Culture Conferences. It goes for less than 6 minutes, but it provides you with a rough idea of why this opportunity presents as two days that could just change your school’s entire improvement trajectory and potential. You should watch the video! Then…
I’m in countless conversations with our Partner and Member Schools all around Australia. All are determined and conscientious about their improvement agendas … but life gets in the way of the greatest plans sometimes. What exactly, in schools, do we mean by ‘life getting in the way’? Well, as much as our Staff and our…
The above picture is now one of my favourite pics of all time. It shows my great mate, Martin (he’s really ‘Bucko’ but I’ll stay in formal palate for you) and I in the Long Room at the famed Lords Ground in London gazing at a rather nondescript Thursday morning cricket match. Just last week…
