There is always a ‘First Time’

This week I was reminded that the ‘First Time’ for anything is one giant roller coaster ride.

From, ‘this is going to be fantastic’, to ‘WOW’ moments, to ‘yes it’s working’, to ‘what now?’, ‘why on earth did we do this?’, to ‘YES this is brilliant’.

Then you have the ‘opinionated’ who throw you into a spin. You know the ones that are critical from the sidelines. The ones that are ready to smirk and say ‘it’s not working’, but don’t do anything themselves to pull out all the stops to make it work. 

To the ones that pull you forward from this, the ‘supporters’; the ones that go that extra mile and put their smarts to work and have fun with it. The kindness they bring to the table to make you at ease.  To reassure you that it is working and tweak things to see that it does. These are the ones I refer to as My People, the doers. 

It is hard work when it comes to the firsts of anything. I was reminded of the thick skin, resilience and the patience you require within yourself. Not to get frustrated with what is not working, but to see what is, and understand the opportunities that are presented. The patience to reflect on what is happening within the process, without all of the noise. To see through the noise and be flexible, innovative and courageous to get people on board to help within the process, so that the results are at least positive for the ‘First Time’. 

And when that ‘First Time’ is done and it comes to a halt the relief and joy you feel that you gave it your best shot, whatever the outcome. To stand tall and recognise both the good and the bad and reflect on understandings and perspectives of all so that the ‘Second Time’ is even better than the ‘First’.

Good news for me is that I love roller-coaster rides and ‘First Times’. 

The experience provides a richness otherwise not explored. This week, this first time was insightful and there were many learnings about the process, people and work that still needs to be done.

Luna Park Melbourne

The Power of Networks

Instead of just preparing kids for a world of work, how about we do better at preparing them for a world of networks.

There is a lot to be said about the effect Networks can have on both your personal and professional experiences. In my experience, it has been my Networks that have provided me with rich information, opportunities, direction, ideas and inspiration.

In my latest Courageous Dialogues podcast Hamish Curry was kind enough to join me and respond to some prickly questions. Giving his stance on what it means to be courageous as well as the power of networks and being Australian.

During this discussion he shared the idea of allowing students to draw on their Networks to develop their understanding. 

The idea has left me curious on how to build students' networking skills in the classroom as well as what skills and attitudes create confident networkers. In unpacking this further I would suggest that the focus be on teaching resilience with the ability to:

• have courage; the courage to reach out to others with the knowledge that not every effort will be returned and/or even matched.

• be willing; willing to being open and confident to make sense of understanding out loud with others without the fear of looking stupid and/or intimidated by others.

• continually put in effort; the effort that comes with the continuous pursuit of reaching out to go further with your own understanding.

The power of Networks can deepen your understanding of the world and can provide for meaningful experiences. 

In my experience through networking I have had opportunities to explore diverse industries and roles, traveled to locations that are less explored and find out about cultures, values and faiths that I may not have otherwise found out about. 

How have your Networks impacted you?

What should we focus on teaching students?

Does where you sit matter?

WHERE YOU SIT MATTERS!

Absolutely it does. There are several scenarios that are interesting to me that I could unpack but for now let's discuss the good old debate of seating arrangements in classrooms - rows verses group layouts.

I strongly believe that if you want students to trust each other, share their knowledge and support each other in their learning one of the key ingredients is to ensure that the tables are set up to support this. That and creating the norm that seating arrangements change every few weeks, generally coinciding with the units being taught.

As someone who has taught across Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary I can confirm that this becomes challenging at secondary. And not because students don't want this but rather it seems that teachers prefer this arrangement.

In my experience, mainly through observations of many classes across the region, the row arrangement creates division, isolation and is a way to deliver content in a way to control the class where you are essentially the guest speaker and contribution is low.

Group arrangements on the other hand enforces 'we are a community', 'we can grow and learn together'. It is through group seating arrangements that we develop respect, appreciate differences, and learn new ways of working together. 

I'm curious to why some teachers feel that group seating arrangements are not conducive to learning effectively.

What do you prefer and why?