Inspiration for today

I'm loving Dylan Williams' experiments with classes (he, it seems, is the instigator of the magical lolly sticks - and also suggests using coloured paper cups... does he have shares somewhere we should know about?!!). Look up Classroom Experiment on youtube. He also has great eyebrows.

More food for thought with two quotes that I have enjoyed this week:
1.  "If They Don't Learn the Way You Teach, Teach the Way They Learn" (Jackie McTaggart book title)
2.  "Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted." (Albert Einstein)

Positivity

Today's learning reinforced for me that one of the best ways of helping children behave is to be positive.  That really chimes with what I saw in schools.  The teachers that impressed me the most absolutely sparked with positive vibes.  They were energized, engaged, interested, excited even.  They generated a really buzz in the class with the work they planned, and the way that they set tasks up.  The pupils responded with similar enthusiasm, which showed in their focus, contributions, and their body language.  


And thanking pupils, openly acknowledging things that we appreciate them doing, can go a long way too.  It's sad that this has to be pointed out.  I love being thanked - don't we all?  So why does it seem radical for a teacher to thank a pupil for something they appreciate?  


I'm off to source the latest behaviour-management must-haves: marbles in a jar, lolly sticks and 'praise postcards'!  

Inclusion in schools

Things that have sparked off thoughts this week...

One discussion in a tutorial group of mixed students (those doing primary and secondary of all subjects) was on inclusion in schools. Much of the debate was skewed to talking about including pupils whose first language is not English. Someone said that the cost of providing specalist help for each individual language was too much. Another person commented that it was wrong to not learn the language of the country you are living in, and that providing too much support panders to them not needing to learn this. While I was familiar with these arguments and have some sympathy for them I was getting more and more uncomfortable with an undercurrent of intolerance I was picking up. A kind of 'if they don't want to be like us then they should go away' attitude.

A line in one of my textbooks is; 'many teachers hold what could be described as an assimlationist viewpoint with respect to many students from minority backgrounds' (Cohen et al p.304). This chimed with the discussion in the tutorial. We should be celebrating diversity, using their knowledge of the world and other cultures to enhance the learning in the classroom.  

[Hey - notice I use the term 'we' - I'm starting to think as if I'm a teacher!!]

I've really enjoyed engaging with the issues of inclusion – from working with Biligual children, thinking about the Universal Declaration of the Human rights and the convention on the Rights of the Child.  i noticed a great deal of discomfort for teachers to even mention the article which gives a right to safety from sexual exploitation - fears that mentioning this in a school context 'opens a can of worms' (re sexual abuse).  I strongly feel that there are ways that this CAN be raised, whilst maintaining a safe space for young people who are survivors of abuse. Those who have survived will want to make sure that this right is maintained and known about.  Those who are in abusive situations need to hear that they should be protected from this. Those who haven't need to be aware that they have this right.  This is such an important issue that it can't be missed out, and those who feel under-confident with this issue need to get some CPD around it.