Stay with me on this.
There’s an old episode of “The Simpsons” where aliens take over Bill Clinton’s body and make speeches for him as he campaigns for President. It’s awesome!
Artfully, it pokes fun at the glib nonsense that politicians speak and how little we question their platitudes about “moving forward” and “the future is ours” as though they mean something… anything!
Here’s the clip if you’re up for a giggle.
But here’s also a thought. Stop moving forward. Stop twirling and whirling. Stop doing things. Just be still, here and now. For a minute even.
What do you notice about yourself, your school, your friends and your family? Right now. That’s all the data you need right now. Stop and just notice it.
GIFTS
So, we keep hearing that there was plenty to learn from enduring 2020 … that could be true. Most of the answers I’ve been hearing to that ponderance have been under School Culture.
It’s all been that relationships, connections, culture, wellbeing and progress matter. So how do you focus on those critical success factors with measurable intent?
Well, I’ve written a White Paper on that topic titled “The Culturally Capable School Leader – How to Define and Strategise for a School Culture that Underpins Success”.
And if you click here then you’ll have nabbed yourself a quick, easy and insightful holiday read. Enjoy!
Teacher Talk
Starting a new school year means a new class of students and new data to collect to inform learning and teaching.
Join Amy at 5pm this Tuesday as she shares how to plan for this using a range of assessment strategies and how you can avoid falling into the trap of testing everything.
OPPORTUNITIES
The Inner Circle still has some 2021 Registrations available.
In a nutshell, this is a high-level Mentoring Program for School Leaders charged with implementing Restorative Practices. It doesn’t matter if you’re beginning the RP journey or if you’ve been walking the path for a while.
The tools, collegiality and support you’re going to receive are going to make an enormous difference. Just like it did for Heritage College Principal, Sonny Aiono.
You won’t regret stepping into The Inner Circle in 2021.
THOUGHTS by Amy Green
We are always learning, however sometimes we can become so preoccupied with getting it right, we miss the most important lessons. This is true for us when we try and plan and teach the perfect lesson and for our students as they try and answer every question correctly.
As you finish the year, don’t dwell on what didn’t work, the mistakes you made or where it all went wrong,
instead focus on your learning as an educator. What did you learn about how to teach, what to teach and when to teach? What did you learn about class organisation, pitch and pace of lessons and how students can demonstrate and evidence their learning? What did you learn about how you operate, how you work with others and how others work?
Now is a time to ask questions that focus on your learning and to focus on what will make 2021 even better.
EPIPHANIES by Adam Voigt
Next year, we’ll be revamping the Real Schools Membership section so that it will include a philanthropic arm called the Kokoda Schools Foundation. It’ll mean two things:That half of your Membership subscription will be spent on resourcing schools on the historic Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea.
That your Membership Section will include a brand-new Teacher Resource so you can easily teach your students, at all phases of learning, about this important time and place in Australian history.
Pretty exciting eh?!
Working on this has got me reminiscing about completing the track myself in 2018 with Australia’s most learned scholar on the track Aidan Grimes. Having traversed the track more than 120 times, Aidan knows a bit about it and I’m so delighted that he’s our partner in building this resource.
But mostly, I just remember how bloody hard that trek was. And the hardest steps were undoubtedly the last few on every day. But they were also the best steps, knowing that I was moments from staring back into the jungle, satisfied at what I’d managed to drag myself through.
There’s a bit in that for 2020 I reckon as you take these final steps. Just don’t forget to look back at the jungle and bask in what you’ve just done. It really is remarkable. Deal?
Warm regards,
