Why I keep on going..

Teaching can be tough - especially when you are sick. I've been really struggling for the last month or so. I've not been sleeping, and to top it off for the last three weeks I have been really sick with a virus. Awesome - just what you want when you have 29 year 8 students in your care 5 days a week. It's been a tough few weeks - and I've not been enjoying being sick, and trying to teach. BUT then Friday happened. 

It is all worth the effort when I have one of those days that reconfirms why I do what I do.  Friday was just that, one of those days. Usually when I do the roll I use it as an opportunity to discuss different things, this gives all 29 students in my class a chance to have their say.

I have been trying to make sure we keep on top of our Growth Mindset learning, and took Friday's roll as a way to discuss learning pits and I asked my students to identify what was their biggest learning pit. Writing and Maths topped Ruma Tahi's list. Being that we stream maths at BIS, I took the opportunity to put a focus on writing. 

When I attended #EducampHB I met some passionate and enthusiastic teachers from Russell Street School - they talked about #Poutama and differentiation in a way that I had not contemplated before. Basically the question they put to us was -Why have 29 narratives, or 29 paintings all looking the same?  There is a better way to do things. 

Recognising Ruma Tahi identified their own learning needs to be focused on Writing, I decided to use the inspiration I had been given by the #Poutama boys and let my kids lead the way with the text type. We had a discussion and the students came up with this list of ways they would write about our current concept of Sustainability.  They decided they wanted to start small with only 10 minutes of writing after morning tea. 10mins ticked by...a few minutes of sharing, then Ruma Tahi blew my mind....they asked for more writing time! A class of students willing to dive into their learning pit, struggle and find their own success, it's what I got into this teaching business for. 

CHOICE and acknowledging where the learning needs to happen is what really motivates students

My day didn't end there - we went on to have an spectacular Science session (ooh alliteration) where we made models to represent different types of rock 

Yes we made Fudge - BUT it was the grandparents and parents that came to the lesson to help out that made it a truly different type of session. It was incredible to see my students interact with their grandparents and parents, and to hear them explaining about the types of rocks we had been learning about, and how the rock cycle works without any prompting from me. 

To top it off the discussion and feedback after the lesson from my students was outstanding. They told me it was a great lesson because it wasn't just science, or cooking, but also maths! Their only complaint was that we should have made more fudge. I can't thank the Science Learning Hub enough for the session lesson plans! 

An experienced teacher and someone I admire posted this photo on my Facebook page this week - Just when I really needed it.

  I need to remember I am there to make a difference to "My Kids" so that they become life long lovers of learning! 

Facing the fear and doing it anyway.

I have spent a huge portion of these holidays thinking about how I am going to fit everything in this term. We have a full on timetable as part of the normal term - chuck in Marlborough Mako's taking Rugby sessions with students, Stage Challenge, our girls self defense program, Arts rotations and Technology sessions I am left without much time with my students. 

Last term my students made baby steps towards planning their own timetable. With a little inspiration from Kerri Thompson and Learning my Way  my students had a check list of tasks to complete as part of their literacy and inquiry project. They completed Must Do, Should Do and Can do tasks. Self management never looked so good! This was a great step in the right direction students were engaged and driven to achieve their goals but it still had me thinking about the level of student interest in what we were doing.  

When I think of learning experiences I have had and had the most success with it was when I was learning about something I was interested in. Case in point - I made my first patchwork quilt these holidays - I learnt a lot along the way. It wasn't easy there were failures but I had something to hold in my hands when I was done. I felt proud of myself and a lot of others commented on my hard work. Ever the teacher, I wondered - How can I do this with my class? 

 

My personal inquiry when I was at teachers college was about Authentic Learning experiences outside of the classroom - and if they were worth the effort of teachers. I proved to myself & the teachers of the classes I was following that visiting the museum, art gallery or local attraction really led to meaningful learning experiences for the students. They all learnt more when they were learning away from the 'normal' classroom experience. 

I feel strongly about letting students learn about something they are passionate about. I didn't run a genius hour, passion project program last term because of my fear of the timetable. This term I am serious about focusing on personalized learning for my students. Face the Fear and do it anyway was my motto my first year teaching. I wonder what happened between then and now. Why am I risk adverse? What happened along the way that stopped me from trying new things? I have become a grownup teacher - moved on from the teenage rebellion I had when I was a PRT?

This term I need to remember this is what I am passionate about - authentic, hands on, learning experiences for my students. I want school to be a place they are happy to come to, and be a place where students feel safe enough to take risks with their own learning. I want to let students explore their ideas and passions so they can solve problems & make a difference to the world around them. 

Thus Maker Space LabARTory was born. This is my version of Genius Hour, passion project. My students will have their own project they will research and present to the class. The name came from conversations with Kimberly Baars @MissesArtech and from a flyer my Mum gave me from an Art School in Melbourne.  It got me thinking about what I could offer my students to inspire them to be creative, innovative and forward thinkers. The aim of our Maker Space LabARTory is that they will make something, or teach others something. It can be based in Science, the Arts or in Technology... what that something is is completely up to my students. They are limited only by their imaginations & our ability to locate or source materials. I intend to help find my students mentors using the Twitterverse. They will share their journey on Blogs which are also a new addition to our tool belt this term. 

I am a little scared, but I am more excited. Heck - Face the Fear and do it anyway. I aim to be a google type teacher - chuck my ideas out there and if they don't work we will modify and edit along the way. Nothing worse than an Apple type teacher - saving everything until it is perfect before sending out my iLesson to be consumed.