Common Sense Education - Physical Activity and the Correlation to Academic Performance...

Common Sense Education dictates that that we should look at the students that we are attempting to educate and adjust our programmes to actively cater to the realities that they present. I have to say that perhaps we fail to really do this to our own detriment and to the detriment of those children in our charge.

The fact is that many of the youngsters coming through with very low educational achievement are asked to fit into a system optimised for academic performance. They are asked to sit still, keep quiet and to do work which they fail to see the relevance of to their everyday lives.

Given that there is research that supports a dramatic increase in the amount of physical activity that they do with no negative impact on their academic achievement and possibly considerable benefits to their attitudes to school and overall outlook on life. Why aren't we investigating the possibility of changing the programme to assist our youngsters to succeed in High School academic programmes?

Read the article below and consider your point of view.

http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/sites/default/files/pdf/Lib_of_Res/5ed-Active_Ed.pdf

What will technology look like in the Classroom of the Future...

I was having an interesting conversation with a colleague at work the other day. We were discussing the use of technology in current education and what we saw as the serious limitations to technology curriculum implementation.

We commiserated that students are on the forefront of technology use with their phones, laptops and knowledge of how to get the best out of technology. We bemoaned the fact that in many schools students are not supposed to have their phones at school.

How can we use technology in the classroom if the students aren't allowed to use the devices that they know best. How can the home and school environments complement  each other if the students can't utilise their own technology; the technology with which they are most familiar.

My colleague shared the vision of the Virtual Learning Network  http://www.vln.school.nz/ and Excel Rotorua http://www.excelrotorua.co.nz/#!action-plan/cha7 ; for the development of E Learning in the region and within our schools.

I shared my own vision of the future with holographic computers utilised by gesture and similar to those shown in the film Minority Report. The staff room walls would be ablaze with holo-screens and teachers would be creating leaning experiences collaboratively and working on their own projects separately at the same time. https://vimeo.com/97753856

I mentioned that one barrier to technology in the classroom is the fragile nature of the current laptops and phones. I shared that I believe we need the technology to be built into student work tables and constructed in such a manner that it would immune to the rough use of daily classroom life. Tables constructed of clear carbon nano-tubes with the circuits encased in the carbon fibre. http://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/sep/17/itforschools.elearning

The amazing thing about all of this is that the technology to enable this futuristic digital learning environment exists today. Minority Report was based on the research of John Underkoffler the CEO at Oblong Industries and they have the product out in use at many corporations and police stations now.

The prototypes of the desk technology have been designed at Durham University in the United Kingdom and are being tested by young students already. In essence what I'm saying is the future of E Learning is being ushered in and the digital classrooms of tomorrow?

Well get ready because they are here.

 

Just Musing...

Well I've been relief teaching since April 2008 and I am a much more accomplished teacher than I was back then. For the first eighteen months I taught in Primary Schools in Rotorua and I learned a lot about how little I needed to photocopy.

I used to cruise into a school located their reading resource room and find some lovely big books and other book resources appropriate to the age group. Those resources were the basis of my reading and writing program and all I needed then was some maths equipment and an art resource. Then I was set for the day.

I got very good at delivering lessons and creating a rapport with the children and they liked my calm laid back teaching style combined with enjoying the big book stories and a bit of sport or art. The only problem was that primary relief was sketchy at best. Most schools had staff that handled CRT and most of their relief so they only needed me occasionally.

Then one day I decided to take my sister in law up on her offer to go and do secondary school relief at Western Heights High School. I loved the older age group and the school has a nice feel to it. The staff were approachable and supportive and the children challenging but good kids.

Well one year rolled by and my wife Shona started to study the Post Graduate Primary course and then qualified. It's always good to be part time if your spouse is becoming a teacher as beginning teachers need a lot of looking after. Another year rolled by and then another and I needed to register again so decided on STC and at that point my boss could still sign off on me so that was alright.

Well the years have rolled on and I have loved my job even though its half volunteer work in terms of income and registration changed in the interim but I was just too happy relieving to be bothered taking on an LTR position.

And so we come to the present and I am about to hit the wall registration wise. I have no one to blame but myself although I feel strongly the relief teachers are under appreciated by the ministry. There needs to be a set path of on going PD and appraisal advocated for relievers to allow us to stay registered. I would happily have done everything necessary to achieve full registration if I had been told how to do so.

 I am an awesome teacher! I am intelligent, have a very wide band of general knowledge and I can take the most challenging students in the junior secondary area for social studies on Thursday and then lead them in a PE session on Friday fifth period with no problems at all.

I knew I should have been sorting my registration out ahead of schedule but I decided not to for two reasons. First, I knew that the pressure of losing my practising certificate would make me stop drifting and take control of my life once more. I need to do that.

Second, I think that someone needs to take a stand and put a case for relief teachers. Schools need us and so do the students. Our job often resembles the profile of councillor more than teacher and more than one tense situation between a student and a member of staff has been put to rest with some carefully placed advice to one or other party from a relief teacher. 

I guess my final thoughts in this blog are to other teachers. You see, you need relief and if you don't take a stand for relief teachers having a pathway to registration you will see a lot of us move out of the profession. THEN YOU WON'T HAVE RELIEF!

You need to take a stand on teacher registration for Relief Teachers - NOW!

Williams Syndrome Conference 2015

 During the summer holidays my wife Shona, son Matthew ( Matt has Williams Syndrome), and Myself made the pilgrimage north to the Auckland and stayed at Kings College for the Williams Syndrome Camp 2015. The camp is mostly paid for by the Williams Syndrome Association with a small family contribution.

The major focus is on bringing families of children with Williams together and allowing the children to socialise with other people who face the exact same challenges as they do. I can tell you these lovely people love the camp and look forward to the next opportunity to come back together from the moment that camp is over.

One of the huge benefits to me as an educator is the opportunity to engage in world class professional development. At the previous camp which was held at Tea Pot Valley in Nelson in 2013 we were spoiled to have noted Williams Syndrome expert Dr Antonio Chasouris, author of Williams Syndrome, A Handbook for Parents and Professionals.

Dr. Chasouris is a delightful character and spoke to us at length about Williams Syndrome and its defining characteristics. He has a lot of knowledge and experience with people of all ages who have the syndrome around the world and shared strategies for addressing some of the challenging behaviours that these dear folk exhibit.

We were fortunate to attend a lecture by... "Lindsay Mawdsley, occupational therapist, who helped parents identify characteristics around developmental delays in adults with Williams Syndrome and explained therapies to improve coordination. She also provided play therapy experiences for the Williams Syndrome children and siblings." Ms Mawdsley spoke at the camp in 2013 and again this year in Auckland where she shared new findings from personal research on Williams Syndrome.

We also received a very interesting lecture from..."Dr Karen Levine a developmental psychologist from the US talked about desensitising and dealing with phobias and anxiety that specifically affect people with Williams Syndrome through her play role-based diagnostic therapy.
BARK NZ promoted safety and happy dog experiences using the dogs and stories as a way to engage the children."

 The quotations above (italics), are courtesy of IHC New Zealand and the link below will take you to the article on the event.

http://www.ihc.org.nz/news/williams-got-talent-williams-syndrome-conference-2015/