The table our senior students painted and donated to a local Kindy What is creativity? It is a serious question, and today I have had reason to pause and reflect on what creativity is, could be, or might be. Let us start at the beginning and let me give you a bit of a background. Back…
Author: Principally Mused
NZ Race Relations Day – Something to Digest
Things that make you go Hmmmm. Today is New Zealand Race Relations day and today I came across something on my Facebook feed (thanks Richard) that gave me pause for thought. Watch the video and let it be something to digest and reflect on, given that today is NZ Race Relations Day. If you are…
Bugger the Embuggerance
I was disappointed to hear on the Breakfast News this morning of the passing of Sir Terry Prachett. He was one of the best Fantasy writers this side of Ankh-Morpork, and in my estimation, will remain one of the best until the end of time. Clever, articulate and a true wordsmith, his stories have been…
Does Education Kill Student Self-Management?
pic courtesy of @kerriattamatea This morning I participated in a breakfast chat (#BFC630NZ) on twitter where the topic was about self-directed learning and encouraging students to self-manage. It is an interesting topic and one which has spun my educational wheels since I started out as a fledgling but enthusiastic teacher, back in the ‘day’. All…
Please Sir, Can the Remuneration Authority Set My Pay?
Dear ReaderFirstly, I do apologise for not writing sooner, I realise it has been a few days and you may have missed me. Seriously, I have been busy, and taking a bit of a break from writing, after injuring my typing fingers in the #28daysofwriting challenge. (alright, I confess, I am telling a bit of…
The Future of Review…
I had a meeting tonight at the Review office. We have an ERO review at the end of term (much like an OFSTED review) and this was the preliminary discussion with schools on what to expect and how the Review office has adapted and changed over the last few years. Nothing innocuous about that. But,…
Day 28: Made It!! #28daysofwriting
I made it. I confess on several occasions I thought it would be touch and go, especially on the night of my board meeting when I didn’t get home until the middle of the night, and the last few posts have been like pulling teeth without tools or painkiller. Not because I am unable to…
Day 27: Why Don’t We Just Ask #28daysofwriting
Excuse the poor lighting 🙁 Several days ago I had an e-learning meeting with other leaders in at the Cognition headquarters. Painted on their wall was the following quote by Marie Clay. For the uninitiated, Marie Clay was the mother of Reading Recovery, a highly acclaimed international literacy intervention for 6 year olds. Seeing…
Day 26: The future of learning #28daysofwriting
Sugata Mitra – Building a School in the CloudIn this video Sugata talks about what he thinks the future of learning is, and he shares his experiment in New Delhi with the computer in the wall. What he finds is fascinating. To begin with he talks about where the current system comes from, outlining how…
Day 25: I Confess #28daysofwriting
Today I am struggling to fit in the #28daysofwriting challenge. It is Thursday and I am tired. Not just a little bit tired but a huge amount of tired. It is coming up to the end of week four of term one, and I have already lost count of how many 12 plus hour days…