You're my favourite class, too

If there's one thing I'd love to make English, it's more hands-on. Imagine it, a classroom where students are busy and happy making things that enhance their understanding of reading and writing... Wait a minute... hands-on English? How? I've had students make resources for me before and create visual images as part of the curriculum, but how can I embrace the maker movement into a subject area often seen as abstract. The make movement puts students in the role of designers, constructing artifacts and applying technology in novel ways. It encompasses 'traditional' crafts like knitting, calligraphy and metal work, along with computer programming and hacking. It's about experimentation and risk taking. Social interaction is a key part of the process, including conversations and feedback from peers. In English, the obvious two ways we create are through writing and visual texts. There are certain rules that students are expected to follow with writing (you ...

One of my current roles within my school is as Principal's Nominee. The responsibilities of this role feel enormous at times, and feel amplified when teachers ask my advice and guidance on assessment issues. Suddenly, I'm seen as the voice of authority on these issues. As I find my way through this role I have been identifying small changes that I would like to see made in some of our processes (it's not that we're doing things wrong, but I can see ways we can do things better). One of my challenges will be in  managing change in a way that's flexible and achievable for staff. The Agile Manifesto , introduced at the Mindlab session a couple of weeks back, is easily adaptable to a school situation and with many possible variations. Here's one set: Individuals and interactions  over assessment Effective teaching  over data management  Student centred  over teacher directed Responding to students  over following a scheme It's about reflective manag...

My cultural perspective is undeniably Pakeha-dominated. My parents (and their parents, and their parents' parents) were working class of European descent. Although I am empathetic towards issues of cultural bias, I know that will always benefit from 'white privilege'. Likewise. my children, whose whakapapa traces back to Hoturoa, commander of the Tainui waka, will also know that privilege due to their blue eyes and pale skin which scream Pakeha. At least two of the Practising Teacher Criteria  explicitly refer to showing commitment to and working within a bicultural context. My school does make concerted efforts to incorporate Maori culture into our teaching practices, including the use of te reo, references to Maori world views and cultural practises. There is room to develop our multiculturalism, though. How does our school culture reflect the growing numbers of Filipino students or our Chinese fee-paying students? There is great value in diversity. Within...