Photo: 3news.co.nz “Kua hinga te Totara i te wao nui a Tane The Totora has fallen in the forest of Tane” The above Maori Whakatauki (proverb) epitomises the perfect metaphor to express the deepest sadness in my heart on hearing of the passing of Celia Lashlie. A Totara is a large tree that lives…
Day 17: Speed Dating for Beginning Teachers #28dayofwriting
I‘ve not long returned from a speed dating for student and beginning teachers workshop called ‘advice at first sit’. Run by our local teachers union, it was designed to assist those teachers new to the job market with some advice on their CV, Cover Letter and the job interview. I had been asked to be…
Day 16: So Now What? #28daysofwriting
Part Four: This is the last in a series of posts on poverty. In part one we looked at the differences between generational and situational poverty, and made the connection that at any given time, any one of us could end up in the position of situational poverty. Then, in part two we looked at…
Day 15: Negotiating the Hidden Rules of Poverty #28daysofwriting
Part Three: Todays post is a continuation of the two prior – the first was about talking about Generational versus Situational poverty, yesterdays was about the resources you need for success, and today is about the hidden rules that define our lives. Hidden rules are the unspoken habits of a group and refer to when you…
Day 14: The Resources Needed for Success #28daysofwriting
Part Two: In the first part of this mini series on poverty, I began by looking at defining poverty, and the difference between Generational and Situational poverty. I talked a little bit about what drives those in poverty, those in the middle classes and those who are wealthy. I made mention that one of the…
Day 13: Let Us Define Poverty #28daysofwriting
Part one: Yesterday I posted about how we need to address the social and emotional wellbeing of our students before we have a hope in Hades of getting any form of academic success, particularly for those students who are most vulnerable and at risk. The quote that gave me my initial inspiration mentioned Maslow, as…
Day 12: Social and Emotional Wellbeing Before Academic Success #28daysofwriting
Shamelessly ‘borrowed’ off twitter 🙂 The above Meme is doing the rounds on twitter. I saw it after it had been reposted by The Badass Teachers Association (US chapter, and an organisation, incidentally, all teachers around the world should be keeping an eye on due to the issues they raise). It has inspired todays…
Day 11: Are Schools Like Businesses? #28daysofwriting
Earlier this week I was at a Math inservice with one of my SLT (senior leadership team). Over lunch we were chatting about what her career might look like in 5 years time. Her response has left me wondering and I confess, not overly satisfied with where my wondering wandering has taken me. Her response…
Day 10: Has the Educational World Gone Mad? #28daysofwriting
pic from article on Linkedin, blatantly borrowed – sorry ran out of time to make my own -feel free to borrow one of mine 🙁 It’s ‘snow’ good at school! I am a little bit gobsmacked. Last night I read a link posted by a fellow Blogger about how a school in the UK had…
Day 9: Our Student Inquiry Team #28daysofwriting
Last night I published a post about our Cultural Ambassadors and how this process gives our students an opportunity to show leadership through recognising and promoting their culture and language. I promised that I would also blog about another student leadership initiative, our Student Inquiry Team. The…