What is your vision for education in 11 years time?  What will be your part to play? Will you be a parent, an ex-pupil or student, a professional, a teacher? No matter what position you or I will be in (I have no idea what I’ll be doing) there are two constants: we will in some way be involved in education, either directly or indirectly.

So what’s the deal? The deal is (and this is the other constant): that everybody has the ability to make a change. One way or the other, it is the power of the masses that can drive forward a change for the better whether it be the little things that happen in the classroom or the big things such as nationwide approaches to assessment.

So, if you haven’t already thought about what you would like to see in the year 2020 when it comes to eduction, (it doesn’t need to be realistic sometimes the most imaginative ideas can be harnessed and pulled back to reality), go over to the education2020 wiki and contribute to one of the discussions there. A fantastic unconference is going to be happening in Islay on the 12th of June, trying to get to the heart of this matter – what is our vision for education2020? A whole host of inspirational educators and forward thinking folk are attending and hoping to have a good old discussion to inspire us forward. But the discussion has already started, head over to the wiki to contribute in any way, it would be great over the next few weeks to really get the conversations joined up.

Instead I’m going to break it down a little. Here are 3 of the most important things I learnt over my first year of teaching. I imagine most new teachers when asking for advice generally get the usual: you gotta enjoy teaching, make sure you plan, get involved in wider school life etc etc. Mine are (hopefully) a little different…

Best piece of advice I’ve been given: “You’ll learn to achieve a level of working (from the pupils) that you are happy with. It may be lower than you’re expectations but work with it”. This was said to me in reference to pupil behaviour and was completely true.

“The most important thing to help you be a successful teacher is to have other good teachers to surround you.” Without a doubt, being able to talk to others, work with others and have a laugh with others made my job a happy one even when the pupils were giving me a tough time. A department of teachers moving and working together and supporting each other is probably the number one thing that I will look for in the future.

In contrast to that, “Get things done yourself and others will follow”. Clearly barging in and getting on everyone’s nerves is not the way to do it. But equally clearly, to me, is that it is inevitable that there are teachers who are stuck in their own ways and change is something they find in their pockets rather than something related to their job. These people are everywhere (and rightfully so because without a mix of people life would be boring). Therefore, there is little point in complaining to each other all the time (something most teachers do well)  and a lot of point in making change happen.

And one more thing: don’t leave keys in the door.

Here is something that really sums up what I love about teaching. The man in the picture is a colleague of mine who has been teaching Technical for about 25 years. It is a fairly recent picture. When I first saw it I was struck by a few things.

The nature of teaching: collaboration is the key.

The fact that after 25 years teachers are still driven to help people learn.

The great practical and fun nature of my subject.

 Thanks to Stuart and John who made me come up with this picture and I would ask David Cain  , Nick Hood , Ant Jessop , Pat aka “loonyhiker” and of course Ian Stuart to come up with a picture that shows why you are passionate about what you do!

I have figured out (roughly) how to use Wordpress MultiUser and am about to introduce my high school to ‘blogging’. There seems a multitude of options and I know I have to focus it a little to get us started. I am interested in the notion of kids ”blogging about their “educational journey” until they graduate“  although am concerned that without careful thought, I may be in danger of “the abomination of “blogs as on-line diaries” (or)… “blogs as the new way to turn in homework” “.

My simple idea is this,  using the blog as a way to showcase pupil work and life in the Design and Technology Department/School.

Have it as ‘pupil-run’ as possible.

I like the idea of bringing other people into our learning. Stuart Meldrum posted this simple question a few months back as did Don Ledingham with his ‘Leadership Dilemas’ and both generated response related to their own learning. In a similiar way I would like to bring the learning of others into our classroom. On the otherhand, I don’t want the blog to turn into another method in which to hand out assignments.

I will leave it like that at the moment. Any bright ideas, or uses of technology would be greatly appreciated. Acceptable user policies? Best year group to start off with? What has been done to death? What becomes dull and boring? Why have you kept that blog in your feed reader? How can I engage the kids in putting their work/thoughts/learning online?

What do you like to look at when reading/interacting with a class blog?

I have just read “Birdsong” by Sebastian Faulks, and although a work of fiction, has really made me wake up and realise the absolute horror of war. 

When in fifth year at school, my English teacher introduced us to Wilfred Owen, which not only started an appreciation for poetry but quite simply a knowledge of things that are often not spoken about.  Although I may not be a History or an English teacher, I would encourage people to read this book. 

How many times have you heard ‘Aye, they did that 20 years ago, and then changed it and now they’re changing it back again”. Or “Yeh, it’s the next flavour of the month”.  I’ve only been a teacher for 10 weeks or so and I’ve heard it plenty. From a lot of different people. Different backgrounds. Different schools.

At our council CPD meetings the most people address us (the NQT’s) with the words “You are the future of teaching. You are young. You can make change happen”.

Change. It’s a big theme, and it’s not like it is new or is the flavour of the month. It is something that no-one can escape from. People 400 years ago were thinking pretty similar things to what you are thinking just now. Maybe in a different context, but essentially the same stuff. But turning to the voices of those cynics – why do it? “If its not broke, don’t fix it” Is education a series of cliches? Sometimes from my young eyes I feel that it could easily be if we let it. “Do you want a learning intention with that?” I heard that one in the staffroom. But I’m supposed to be part of something, the new blood, the teacher of the future. But how do I battle against the cynics? Why should it be a battle? Why do things seem to change so much? And why should they?

Even in this web2.0 arena which provides us with ‘tools’ that are coming out our ears, we seem to go through fads. I honestly hardly blog about all these technologies because I feel that by the time I blog it, it will be out of date and the next thing will have come along. In the same way (I am told) Education goes through fads. Does it? I seem to have started my career at the start of a God almighty changing point. AcFE, AifL, Sustainability, Citizenship, Health Promoting Schools, Enterprise. 

Could we all just not agree on something and stick to it? It would satisfy the cynics of change. But I know that this couldn’t be the case as education really is an evolutionary process. It needs to be diverse and different and suit the learner and teacher. So why, when I go to CPD, am I constantly told to incorporate a million different techniques and values into my lessons. I feel I should make up a checklist for myself: Enterprise, yes? Citizenship, yes? Use of technology, yes?

 I feel if you want us to be the ‘teachers of the future’ advise yes, but don’t suffocate.

“Structure is a fundamental and sometimes intangible notion covering the recognition, observation, nature, and stability of patterns and relationships of entities. From a child’s verbal description of a snowflake, to the detailed scientific analysis of the properties of magnetic fields, the concept of structure is an essential foundation of nearly every mode of inquiry and discovery in science, philosophy, and art.”

I wonder what my S1’s will make of this?

What I’ve learnt over the past couple of weeks is the truely humbling nature of my job. I’ve learnt that I thouroughly enjoy it! Often I am frustrated and really wish that I could manage that class better. Often, I find myself repeating discipline procedures and wondering if my actions are making a blind bit of difference to the kid who refuses to look at me when I’m talking to them A good few times I’ve thought despairingly “Oh God: This is it. Can I really do this for the rest of my life?”

But that is the point. It’s normal. And it is a reflection on the fact that education is as ordinary and essential as breathing. When I think of it this way, I feel grateful to be in a country where we have such an opportunity to make innovation  commonplace.

I hope that I can play my part!

 When I read about the head of an Education Authority going round and visiting classes something clicked. For me it makes complete sense that the focus of debate in education remains firmly fixed around the classroom. The teaching and learning. It’s not just NQT’s and students who should get observed, it should really just become part and parcel of our classroom lifes. The NQT should feel happy going into a PT’s class to pick up some tips and vice versa. But is education ready for this? Would the majority of us be ready to welcome the ‘top dog’ with open arms into our classroom? Probably not, but that’s because we maybe view him as the top dog and not as another man who was once in the same position as I am now.

(This post was prompted by my first observed leeson this Thurday. Eeep.)