Educating the Whole Child

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In January this year I, along with 10 of my St Luke’s colleagues, traveled to Barcelona to visit some of the best examples of Pre to Post school learning communities. We visited three schools; Collegi Montserrat, Collegi Mare de Déu dels Àngels and the Barcelona Learning Innovation Centre as a part of Our Dream School. 

My expectations prior to travelling – I would maybe gain a broader understanding of school environments and a deeper understanding of how I may be able to assist in my roll to support teachers better at St Luke’s. I thought a lot would be lost on me, being the only non teacher travelling. What I experienced was an emotional roller coaster. I was inspired and hopeful, as a mother of two children with ADHD and anxiety, the holistic approach to education in all three environments spoke to me. I was also disheartened by how far behind our education system is in understanding the importance of both academic and emotional intelligence and how closely they are linked.

What was evident at all three schools, was educating the whole child from an early age. There was a strong focus on culture, and the positive impact of this was visible in all three learning environments. At Collegi Montserrat and Collegi Mare de Déu dels Àngels they started their morning exploring a College value, linking this, where possible to current happenings in the world. This value was then embedded in their curriculum giving it the same level of importance as academic subjects. At Collegi Montserrat we observed this occurring in an English class where students practiced concepts of sharing and respecting others by role playing how to ask for and acknowledge receipt of a book whilst developing their English skills.

There was a feeling of family in each space we visited. Students from the early years through to the seniors were independently learning.  We saw children as young as 3 and 4 unsupervised moving within classrooms to locate books they needed and make their way back to where their teachers were located. No one needed to be “rounded up”, they got what they needed and returned. One little man was making his way down a large staircase, engaging with one of us and falling behind, neither his teacher or classmates stopped to hurry him along. He politely declined the offer of a hand to assist him down the stairs. He knew where he needed to be and he got there in the end. There was a an underlying calmness even with the noise of students working. There was no front of classroom, teachers moved freely throughout spaces, there to support children in their learning. Students engaged easily with us, confidently describing what they were learning and why. They appeared to work harmoniously in groups, working out among themselves which project tasks were best suited to each of their strengths. Independence was encouraged in subtle ways – a door for parents to enter and door for 3 to 5 year olds to enter.

Children were encouraged and expected to be independent and they were thriving. They were empowered, and the benefits of this were evident. This was an eye opener for a lot of us, to see how our culture can at times rob our children of their independence and hinder their emotional growth as well as impact on their self esteem by continually creating and enabling a dependence on us that is clearly not necessary.

At Collegi Montserrat, I was excited to see in hallways and learning spaces RULER charts.These charts were in every learning space from the young years up to the seniors. Students plotting how they felt throughout the day. Such a powerful tool. Most adults struggle to articulate how they feel and have no idea of where they are at emotionally at any given time. Most would describe only a handful of emotions (anger, sad, frustrated, happy) these children were able to express the underlying aspects of these surface emotions. What an amazing and simple gift to give a child. That level of self awareness allows you to be aware of those around you, more perceptive and compassionate. 

 

 

 

What a wealth of information this provides you as an educator. A child struggling in class, a quick look at the board and there’s a small/large insight into what might be going on for that child. How differently would you handle the situation if you were to glance over and see that they’ve come back in from recess feeling scared/nervous/angry. Would this information change the way you engage with them? Change the experience that follows for them and you? The same applies for the students, they now have an awareness of what others may be struggling with. These charts allow the student to focus on themselves but also draws them out of themselves making them aware of those around them.

This focus on emotional awareness creates a safe and secure environment for these students to experience more than just academic learning. Students are being shown that how they feel and how others feel is important and that those feelings impact on their learning and their relationships in both positive and negative ways. How powerful is that awareness, to be able to identify that you might be anxious – to acknowledge that and give thought to why you feel the way you do. With that awareness comes accountability and responsibility for the actions that result. 

Self awareness allows you to understand what you are feeling, how it may be stopping you from reaching your full potential. Sometimes by naming what you are feeling it takes away an emotions power over you. I spend so much time speaking this language with my 6 year old – he labels fear as anger, sadness as anger as that’s the response it provokes in him but it is only a surface layer. The power of teaching this to children from the age of 3! I can’t even express how wonderful that was to see. Children that aren’t focused on themselves, children aware of those around them, children who understand themselves from an early age. 

I was fascinated to know if and how this benefited children with ADHD, autism and other disabilities. In speaking with some of those that taught at Collegi Montserrat and Collegi Mare de Déu dels Àngels what was relayed to me was that yes they had their challenges, but at lot of the times these challenges were managed by the students. Students understood and took care of each other. Students helping each other to self regulate, building acceptance and compassion.  The impact of that level of understanding and acceptance, moved me greatly. 

To see teachers at assembly performing plays to students 5 years and up, about difference and acceptance. Language was no barrier in understanding the messages been communicated to these children. The assembly we observed at Collegi Mare de Déu dels Àngels conveyed the message that even though we may have limitations we always have something to offer, something we’re good at, illustrating that sometimes what makes us different can be our biggest strength and that limitations can make us feel that we aren’t good enough. It also illustrated how much of a positive impact people can make in someone’s world by seeing their strengths and reflecting those back to them.

These values, this awareness is key. How can you know your passion, build resilience, be a present member of a a community, family, friendship if you have no self awareness. Self awareness starts with emotional awareness, it’s the foundation for everything else.

 

The importance of this was cemented for me when we visited Our Dream School. Here we met students who had been lost in mainstream education. A boy who had failed to learn English in 6 years of mainstream schooling but had taught himself in 5 months. He stood in front of a group of us and spoke fluently. Teenagers that had been the aggressive troublemakers unable to connect with others, now working cohesively in groups and flourishing. Students who had struggled to make it to school now travelling 40 minutes because they loved what they were doing and the people around them. The outcasts creating amazing things because they are allowed to be who they are, are celebrated for who they are and this allows them to believe in themselves and unlock their potential.  There is no “normal” or standard to meet here. Once again, there was a strong focus on knowing oneself. Weekly sessions on stripping back the mask and allowing themselves to be vulnerable and openly express what was really going on for them and hearing what others are feeling and going through. Awareness of self and awareness of others. It reassured me that if my children can make it through our schooling system and find their passion they’ll be okay. It was clearly evident here how much of a negative impact mainstream education systems can have on a child’s sense of self worth when they don’t fit “the norm” and how shut off and hostile they become when they aren’t able to fit in with an antiquated education system that focuses only one aspect of learning, the academic, and fails to see the importance of the whole. 

As a mother of two boys who don’t fit the mainstream mold, I was both inspired and disheartened. Disheartened to realise how far behind we are with cookie cutter schooling losing so many amazing minds and hearts. But also inspired by the possibilities. The positive is that things are changing slowly, but it is happening. 

What an incredibly moving and encouraging experience. It exceeded my expectations and it was a privilege to share it with some amazing, forward thinking humans.

We have come back with so many ideas and since returning have begun to foster independence and autonomy in our students, strengthening our culture by focusing on values and social skills each day, understanding the importance of this as the foundation for everything else. Setting expectations for our students from as young as 3 years old to encourage them to become faith-filled, curious children, creative contributors and innovative problem solvers for a changing world.

ADHD – A Parent’s Perspective

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I have a child with ADHD/ODD and Sensory Processing issues. We became the reluctant owners of this diagnosis last year when Master 5 started school, our world and his changed in a moment and we never saw it coming. I believed ADHD was an overused label, merely an excuse for lack of discipline. How ignorant was I. I’ve learnt a lot over the past 12 months and realise just how little I actually know. We were lucky and got help relatively quickly, after trialing other options we finally came to terms with the fact that we needed to medicate our then 5 year old son. Our initial run with medication was traumatic and we questioned our decision, once we found a medication that worked the world changed for all of us. We had our calm, kind, very loving, considerate, caring, sensitive, funny little man back. We no longer had the disconnected, angry, shadow of a child we had been living with for most of that year. We heard wonderful things from school: “We’re so proud of how hard he’s working”, “There’s no visible difference between him and any other child in the classroom.” He was moving through reading levels, focused and engaged in class catching up on all that he’d missed out on that first year, and reestablishing friendships. This lasted around 8 months and we now find ourselves back on the roller coaster ride that will be our journey for many years to come, meds have stopped working.

The reason for this blog; as teachers you will at some stage have a child with ADHD in your classroom, I want to share a parents perspective of their child’s and family’s journey. I would like to introduce you to the real child in your classroom that can’t focus, fidgets, can’t sit still, blurts things out, is disruptive, aggressive and disrespectful at times, that is prone to meltdowns and over reacts to real and perceived social injustices. That child might have you thinking/saying, “it was unprovoked”, “nothing happened” or “they’re doing it on purpose”, “they can focus/behave when they want to”, “they’re just being naughty”. I want to state very clearly, this is not a criticism of teachers, we have found ourselves in frustration, saying all of the above about our son. We have been blessed with some very understanding and compassionate educators that have been on this journey alongside us. I want this post to provide an insight into the bigger picture and a better understanding of all that is going on for that child, what you don’t see. I am by no means an expert on ADHD, we are learning as we go, but what I’ve encountered over the last 12 months is a lack of understanding around these hidden disabilities from friends, family, parents and educators. ADHD isolates, not only those afflicted by it but those that care for them. As we embark on another roller coaster ride, that involves meltdowns, anxiety and regular correspondence from our son’s school, and as we try to navigate our way to that sweet spot with meds again, I’m taken back to the beginning of our journey last year. I see my son moving quickly from a place of positivity to a place of negativity and I need others to understand just how hard a day in the life of an ADHDer can be.

One of the key things to understand with ADHD is that it impacts executive function. Executive function includes things like working memory, focus, effort, planning and emotional regulation. Executive Function in ADHD brains is delayed by up to 30%. What does this mean? It means that Master 6’s executive age is 4, he’s expected to be able to regulate his emotions and manage himself in line with his peers. That child in your class that’s 9 has an executive age of 6. That 18 year old driving a car has the executive function of a 12 year old, scary isn’t it! (https://graceunderpressure.blog/2017/10/16/what-is-my-childs-executive-function-age/). 

There are 3 types of ADHD, inattentive (the daydreamers), hyperactive impulsive and combined. Master 6 is hyperactive impulsive, this doesn’t mean he’s climbing all over things and it doesn’t mean he can’t sit still – he can, he can sit for hours quietly engaged in something that interests him. It does mean he needs to move to learn, he’s impulsive – he knows right from wrong but sometimes he doesn’t pause to think, in these moments he can’t draw on hindsight. He is hyper focused, doesn’t transition well especially if he’s mid task or engrossed in something he’s enjoying. What interests him may change from day to day, what works from day to day will also change. He requires transition countdowns to be able to move smoothly from task to task, visual reminders and brain breaks. All ADHD types struggle to quiet their brain, their minds race, they can think about a multitude of things at once and are easily distracted because of this. It is difficult for them to quiet their brains, to learn. Master 6 tells me that at the moment learning is hard as he can’t focus and therefore doesn’t understand what is going on in the classroom, he listens to his teacher but doesn’t process what she is saying, this creates negative internal dialogue, this creates anxiety. Simple tasks are complex – too many instructions and they get lost. The simple task of getting ready some mornings can be torturous for all of us. The routine: breakfast, dressed, teeth, hair, shoes, school bag – the same everyday, but somedays he can leave the room to get dressed and come back 5 minutes later in his pyjamas perplexed as to why we are frustrated with him. We can ask him to do something simple whilst he’s standing in front of us and he can’t process, even when we’ve asked multiple times. The structure of the classroom, moving from one lesson to the next can be frustrating for him. Imagine that it’s taken you 15 minutes to get your head around what is required of you for math and you’re now on task, but hold on a second we’re moving on to science, but you’re just getting started! He’s 6 (technically 4), frustrated, anxious, feeling stupid and constantly trying so hard to keep up but always feeling like he’s failing. The above explanation doesn’t even touch the surface of how complicated ADHD can be. I’ll leave it to Dr Russell A. Barkley and The 30 Essential Ideas Everyone Needs to Know, to explain in more depth should you be curious to know more. 

ADHD is a hidden disability, it’s visible at times but mostly when you look at my son or others with ADHD you see an articulate, sensitive, compassionate, funny and often times smart/gifted child. What may take you by surprise is the volatility of these children, the 0-100 in a nanosecond and the meltdown that ensues. You may see resistance to learning and to trying in those that have spent years in an education system that isn’t made for their brains, their internal and external dialogue one of negativity and failure. To illustrate, Master 5 last year spent more time in the school office than he did in the classroom, he couldn’t cope with the structure, the sitting still, the focus required, the constant stimulation and the movement from one activity to the next, not understanding what was expected of him. All he heard was how naughty he was, at times this was said directly to him and other times it was implied. We spent every night, still do, talking about acceptable behaviour, being a safe learner, why he’s been sent home from school, why he was removed from class – a constant stream of commentary on how he’s getting it all wrong. More pressure. Lectures at school, lectures at home – can I ever do anything right! His peers classmates and older students tease him. He knew what he was doing was wrong and each night he would come home and cry himself to sleep, telling me he didn’t want to have ADHD, he didn’t want to be different, he wanted to be a good boy and that he can’t control what he is doing when things escalate. We face this again now, after 8 plus months of calm, positive dialogue and a huge amount of learning, we are back to square one. His anxiety is through the roof, this on top of ADHD doesn’t bode well for effective learning or the ability to self regulate. I have a 6 year old that tells me he would prefer to be dead than have ADHD. I don’t mean to shock, but this is the reality for a lot of children and adults with ADHD. I share this with you so that you see a bigger picture, you see past the bad behaviour, the meltdown, you see the child that is struggling in so many ways. No child/adult would choose to be this way, it results in social isolation, bullying and constant negative feedback.

I want you to know the pressure they are under, understand that their social cues are off, that they sometimes don’t have that filter we have in situations that make them upset or angry. We pause and understand that lashing out verbally or physically isn’t appropriate, they aren’t able to pause sometimes. I am in no way making excuses for bad behaviour, my son needs to learn this, there needs to be a consequence in response to his actions, but know that that consequence more than likely won’t stop him from having the same reaction again. I can assure you that when my son gets sent home from school it isn’t a reward, he does school work until 3pm. Medication helps, it allows his brain to slow down and pause and make good choices but it doesn’t “fix” things.

When a child is escalated and unable to self soothe, whether they have sensory issues, Autism or ADHD steer clear, don’t engage, try to remain calm. Understand that in these moments these children are in fight or flight mode, it’s primal. I watch Master 6 when he’s heightened like this, he’s like a caged animal looking for a fight. There is no reaching him, lectures, judgement and stern words exacerbate these situations. Think of a time when you have been furious or upset with someone, having that person, any person in your face trying to talk to you in those moments is never well received. I know how confronting these moments can be and I understand your priorities are other students and your safety and that disengaging is not always an option, I just ask that you see past the wild thing in front of you and recognise the struggle that is occuring. If things haven’t escalated past the point of no return, try and distract, take them outside to bounce or kick a ball, push and pull activities, heavy lifting, anything physical can help ground them. Crunching on ice, drinking ice cold water can also help them literally cool down. The same applies for a child that is in overload and withdraws, this is what you strive for with these children, the ability to understand where they are at and remove themselves when they are getting overwhelmed, to self soothe and get themselves back on track. Give them the space to do that, don’t make a fuss or try and engage, leave them to find their centre, they will come back when they’re ready.

The impact of these meltdowns isn’t lost on these children. I can’t speak for all of those with ADHD but I know the remorse, self loathing and shame my 6 year old feels. He forever pays for his outbursts, with children who know how to push his buttons, who tell him he’s a “naughty boy”, who delight in reliving his misdemeanors, the social isolation, the wariness he sees and feels from those around him. I understand this, I walk on eggshells with him at times too. An adult wrote this recently on one of the ADHD groups and I post this with his permission:

“adhd and me, we are like a stick of dynamite with a short short fuse………..there’s no time to wait and reason, just explodes there and then………. I know what I’m doing is wrong, I am able to observe it happening and I get so easily frustrated twice over, 1 for the trigger and 2 for the fool I’m making of myself (even though I may be the only witness).
I feel my fists clench, teeth grit, I try in micro seconds to blow out the fuse……. (sometime it might work). Its the shortest fuse.
Is it anxiety or is it depression acting as the fuse, making me feel more irritable? How do I work out whats bugging me?”

This so honestly reflects a moment in time for someone with ADHD. I see this with my son. If a reason isn’t visible don’t look for one, sometimes the trigger may be obvious and at times it won’t be. It could be harsh words on the playground that have wounded, add to this the pressure of the classroom and they’re at tipping point. Understand that meltdown, whether it’s fight or flight simply means overload. Understand that anxiety can cause over sensitivity, a perception of social injustice. It is also important to understand that its common for those with ADHD to have Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. This makes them over sensitive and at times a little paranoid.

Understand that as parents most of us aren’t making excuses for behaviour, we live it everyday. ADHD doesn’t allow for rose coloured glasses!! This is our journey and we will do everything to advocate and support our children and you. And please know, that for some of us (most certainly myself) humour is our way of dealing with the chaos that can be our lives at times, it’s not used to diminish the seriousness of the situation, it’s a coping mechanism. I dread my phone ringing of late, of opening emails and I constantly worry about how we will navigate this disability throughout the years. These children’s school lives will most likely be fraught with negativity, failure, ostracism, cruelty, lack of understanding and constant negative dialogue because their brains are wired differently.  In all honesty, I struggle with the social ostracism, the perceived judgement from parents, friends, family and yes, sometimes educators, but I struggle mostly with the visible pain these children are in.

You do an amazing job every single day, I see how hard you work and how much you care. I see how exhausted you are and I know how exhausting and confronting my child can be, I see the complexity he adds to your classroom, but I ask that you try and see past all that and see the child that is struggling and know that their words and actions come from a place of frustration, confusion and hurt. Educate yourself and others, build compassion and understanding with students about these invisible disabilities. Life would be a little easier if children understood things like ADHD, Autism, sensory processing disorders. I would love to see this taught in schools, it would have such a positive impact for these kids, who spend the majority of their time there, to be understood and supported by their peers, and who knows it might result in fewer meltdowns.

I know that if I can get my son through his school years in one piece mentally and emotionally, in and education system that does not support anything other than the “norm”, whatever that is, he will thrive once he finds his purpose. If he finds his passion ADHD will be the thing that makes him successful, it will be his strength. The hyper focus and ability to multi task will be his success. My fear, that we won’t be able to drown out the negative words and actions of those that don’t understand throughout his school journey and that this will be too much for his kind and gentle soul.

Some other great resources that offer insights into ADHD behaviour:

How to ADHD
ADHD teaching strategies
ADDitude Mag
Anything by Dr Russell A. Barkley – he has made several informative youtube videos.

 

An Expectation is a Premeditated Resentment

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“An expectation is a premeditated resentment”. Some would see “unrealistic expectations are premeditated resentments” as a more accurate statement. I’m not sure I agree. Where do expectations come from? They come from our beliefs, our standards, perceptions, views, experiences and our way of doing things. We expect others to see the world the way we do, to do things the way we do them – the right way, to know what we know.

The definition of an expectation – something that is supposed to happen. An assumption.

We often forget where we began, that we were once learning, mastering an art. Some of us feel that frustration sitting behind a learner driver doing 40 km in an 80 km zone, the need to speed past them and show our annoyance at their lack of ability and how they are holding us up. We’ve forgotten our fear those first few times, how daunting it was to get behind the wheel of a car and drive for the first time and how long it took to gain our confidence to drive on our own. We vent our frustration and annoyance at those that aren’t at our level because our expectations are set too high, we become intolerant and impatient with those that might be learning or experiencing something different.

Does this then create an environment where those that are learning, those that haven’t come into their own feel isolated, feel like an annoyance afraid to ask and learn and therefore feel unwelcome. Think of what you could teach, think of the positive impact you could/can make. Your time is precious, none of us have enough time, but if you invested a small amount of your time outlining your expectations how different could things be? We have the opportunity to teach but we miss this opportunity because we assume others should know; “its commonsense”, “it’s not rocket science”, “they should know what we need”. We forget what it was like to be at the beginning of our journey or to walk into an environment that we didn’t know. Even those with experience walk into new environments where what they know is challenged, we’ve all been/are there.

As a mum to Master 6 and Master 9, I myself at times assume that my children have common sense, that they should know better. They should just know instinctively what’s right and wrong and my expectations of them. But when they make the wrong choices I realise that sometimes that assumption wasn’t fair, how could they have possibly known what I’ve assumed they’d know. A lot of what we consider to be common sense is taught, we learn through experience, through the consequences, good or bad, that follow.

I’m new to this world of education. I know others make assumptions that I know what I am doing or that I should know what I am doing and this comes from their experience and understanding of the world they’ve been immersed in for a lot longer than me, and I’m okay with that. I know I will continue to ask when I’m not sure and I will own when I’ve messed up. But there are those among us that won’t, those that aren’t assertive, those that feel they can’t speak up. They aren’t being proactive I agree, but then are you? Stop for a moment and ask yourself are my expectations too high? Do you have an expectation that what comes easily to you comes as easily to others? Are you assuming that someone knows your expectations of them? How do they know? Did you tell them? Or should they just know what you need from them? If you’re lucky they may just get it, it may just be “common sense” to them but this is a rare find. Do you give them the chance or have you decided before they even begin that they aren’t any good? Have they failed before they’ve had a chance because of your assumptions and expectations?

So I encourage you to communicate your expectations, give someone the chance to meet them. Consider your expectations of yourself, your family, friends or colleagues, are you setting yourself and them up for failure resulting in your resentment?

Never forget your learning journey, you didn’t always know what you know. And remember you are still learning, so what would you want from those around you that know more than you do? And most importantly, if you communicate these expectations and others still fail to meet them always remember:

You Start With Yourself

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I attended the Ann D Clark Lecture Monday night, with guest speaker Louise Stoll, a Professor of Professional Learning at the London Centre for Leadership in Learning. I wasn’t sure if I would benefit greatly from the event considering my position as a General Administrator not an educator. I thought at most I might continue to develop my understanding of the world I’ve recently entered. However, I left with several thoughts running through my head. A lot of what was presented wasn’t new to me having worked in the field of Change Management and working the past five months at St Luke’s. I spent a lot of the lecture reflecting on how I/we were already living outside our comfort zone at St Luke’s. Every member of staff, is challenged to do things differently; different to last year, different to how they’ve taught before. The learning curve for all of us is continuous.

 

Senninger (2000)

Research findings encourage spending the majority of your time in the Learning Zone, avoiding the Panic Zone. This got me thinking about my learning over the years. I would say the last three years I’ve been in the Learning Zone, it was very challenging at first having lived so long in the safety of my Comfort Zone. As I reflected on the past few years I realised how far I had come – completed a Grad Cert in Commerce whilst working full time, took on new roles, changed careers twice after 18 years in the safety of the same organisation and found myself at times living on the very edge of my Learning Zone teetering into the Panic Zone. What a rewarding experience it has been, leading me to a role that continually challenges, and a the same time reinforces my strengths and abilities.

I started thinking about the Panic Zone. Is learning really impossible in this zone? Can you calm that fight or flight response, breathe and push yourself just that little bit further? The Panic Zone is not for everyone and certainly not a place to spend a lot of time, but I do wonder if it isn’t, every now and then, worthwhile to test those waters. I ask this because every couple of years I believe I enter the Panic Zone, you see I love to sing but I don’t like to be the focus of attention, this includes being photographed, being singled out or praised it makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable and strangely enough triggers not flight, but fight in me. I actually don’t think that last sentence accurately conveys just how terrifying the experience is for me. But for some insane reason every couple of years I get up on stage and I sing to a room full of people. I am terrified, I think of a million excuses in the days leading up to “the day” as to why I can’t go on. Yet every time, I get up on that stage in a front of a room full of people and I sing. I make myself vulnerable, open to failure, ridicule, embarrassment and its exhilarating. My internal dialogue is still there – what if I’m in the wrong key and don’t realise, what if I forget the words, what if I freeze and nothing comes out? But what if I nail it, what if it’s perfection, what if I touch one person during that performance? When it’s all over the elation that ensues is worth every minute, hour, day week of panic. To push through fear and at times terror is incredibly empowering, you realise the world hasn’t ended, you’ve come through unscathed, no one actually noticed the off notes or the lyrics you mixed up. In that moment of panic you step out of your own way and shine, you connect with others through that vulnerability you inspire others.

This led me to think about children, they aren’t born to fear or doubt themselves. We learn to fear, we learn to worry about what others think, to conform and not rock the boat. As an educator (be that teacher, parent, leader) we need to push past our fears of failure, embarrassment, self doubt, inadequacy and rejection and challenge ourselves. We can’t teach those we care for if we are constrained by our self doubt and fear. We can teach them to challenge and question themselves and others and take risks if we don’t practice what we preach as there is no weight behind our words.  We need to change our perception around failure and see it as something positive not negative. An article was shared with me a few years ago and it resonated strongly. It was an interview in the Business Insider with the founder of Spanx, Sara Blakely.  At the dinner table growing up her father used to ask her and her brother what they had failed at that week and he would praise this. She recalled her father’s disappointment if they hadn’t failed at anything that week. They learnt the importance of failure, not the fear of failure. Imagine giving a child this gift, giving yourself this gift, imagine the possibilities. At 41 years of age, with no background in business, she became the world’s youngest self made female billionaire. Her advice, “What you don’t know can become your greatest asset if you let it.” (https://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-blakely-family-dinner-table-question-2015-3).

A question at the end of Professor Stoll’s presentation reinforced my thinking: “Commencement, where do you start?” Professor Stoll’s answer, “You start with yourself”. A simple answer and the only answer but such a huge task. As teachers, parents, peers and leaders we need to leave our comfort zone, we need to undo what we have learnt and start taking risks of our own, reflect, ask for feedback, fail in front of others and talk about what was learnt and where to from here. Be open to trying something and failing, embrace it. What better way is there to teach those in your care and those around you than by living this. Manage yourself, relate with others, communicate and collaborate, think creatively and critically and challenge those around you to do the same. Start small do something everyday that pushes you outside your Comfort Zone and maybe once in a while into the Panic Zone if you so dare.

I invite my colleagues and anyone else to challenge me, to push me out of my comfort zone. Let me know how I’m going. Critiques, thoughts and ideas are welcome. If, you have suggestions on how things can be done differently I want to hear them, if I’m doing things that aren’t working let me know. But be warned if your reasoning is that “this is how we’ve always done things” I will move you out of your comfort zone and ask, “but why”?

 

 

The Day the Pool Dried Up

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Well it happened, Wednesday Term 1, Week 9, my casual pool was exhausted. With a stomach bug and colds doing the rounds I’d been kept busy the weeks leading up to Week 9 always managing to easily find casuals to cover my flailing colleagues. Not this fateful day, with three away and only two casuals out of a pool of 30 available my successful run had come to an end. I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly, I’ve no doubt the fact that it was the Wednesday before the Easter long weekend contributed greatly. Usually a couple of SMSs around 5:30-6:00am and voila lessons covered. Not this day, every response was “sorry already booked” as I worked my way down my list touching base with casuals we hadn’t utilised before, the polite declines continued until the end of my list was reached. This is where my lack of experience became evident, thankfully I am surrounded by supportive people happy to assist me in my learning curve. They walked me through the tricks of the trade and the crisis was averted, for now. Anyone interested in casual teaching out there? Send your resume my way.

These last few weeks I’ve begun to delve into the various responsibilities of my role. I’ve started working on our WHS compliance, with the assistance of some very knowledgeable peers who are not only happy to share their time with me but also their work and the tools they’ve created. I come from an industry where for the most part people were possessive of their knowledge, their knowledge was their power. It is refreshing working with people that have time for others and are willing to share not only their knowledge, but the work they’ve invested their time in to ensure that you don’t have to waste yours. My challenge now, finding a snippet of time in what is already the over extended teacher’s day to cover off on legislated WHS compliance requirements.

PTA, Peer Review as well as the Tetras of timetabling have been on my to do list of late. A 3 day Timetabling Solutions training course exposed just how little I knew about this beast called Timetabling Solution as well as how intense those that timetable can be – for those of you that don’t know, it’s a very serious business. I thought I was across the ins and outs of the Daily Organiser yet here I was creating duty rosters on a word document each week along with RFF payback and casual spreadsheets. So many hours spent ensuring a fair allocation and that there were no yard duty double ups. What? You can do all this in Daily Organiser you say! As I lament the hours spent, I value what I’ve learnt. I now have a clearer understanding of how these things fit together, the pieces of the puzzle. I’ve no doubt this will assist with timetable problem solving in the years to come. To say I wasn’t quite ready to venture solo into Term 2 timetable set up would be an understatement. No doubt term 3 I’ll be all over it.

I love my job. I know many others would find it tedious and boring, and so I find it difficult to write about as I can’t imagine my daily challenges could be of interest to anyone other than myself, but I will continue to blog, as torturous a task as it continues to be. Take homes since my last blog; I had someone thank me for being so nice when they called in sick. I was shocked, what else would I be? You’re sick and it’s part of my job to replace you. They’d experienced rudeness in the past and had dreaded making that call. I will admit I had a moment where I thought maybe I’ve made a rod for my own back by being sympathetic and concerned for others, would this mean I was doomed to spend more of my days finding casuals as I wasn’t scary enough to deter staff from calling in sick. That moment passed and my advice to others will always be to engage with others respectfully and compassionately. And yes there will be those that take advantage of your kindness but the majority will give back ten fold. Value others and what they do, no one is more important than another.  As colleagues we are all pieces of a puzzle and sometimes its the background pieces that allow the picture pieces to shine.

A further observation; never be complacent and never stop learning.  A recent conversation I had with a friend made me realise just how lucky I am to always be open to advice and feedback, to seek it and to understand that there is no limit to knowledge, there are always takeaways. It might be one line in 500 page book or one light bulb moment in Timetabling Solutions course (okay that didn’t really happen but you know what I’m trying to demonstrate here), all of those around us can teach us something, to close yourself off from that will always be your loss.

 

 

 

Leap of Faith

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It fascinates me pulling back the curtain and exploring worlds we take for granted. We go about our day and things happen around us. We travel by train, bus or drive.  Do you ever stop to think about all the components that make that happen?  There is a person who designs the road, a science behind it, someone who studies the flow of traffic and co-ordinates traffic lights to ensure traffic flows freely.  Do you ever stop to consider the mechanics of the things we take for granted?

I’ve  spent the last seven weeks pulling back the curtain on how St Luke’s operates. I have two boys, both in primary school, so I’ve had some exposure to the current education system, or so I thought.

I always knew that teachers did way more than the standard teaching hours. I knew their time was taken up with parent meetings, class preparation, reports, assessments, and the list goes on.

I spent a lot of my time visiting the office at my children’s school last year and I saw first hand how busy the office staff were and how often their days were interrupted by me, students, parents and other school matters.

So when I saw the position for General Administrator advertised I thought I knew what to expect. I certainly felt like I had the skills, a strong background in administration, coordinating staff, rostering and compliance. The diversity of the role was what drew me to it. I knew I would be busy and challenged. I didn’t think the challenge would extend to writing my first blog post or should I say, ramble but life is full of surprises.

The other draw card was St Luke’s ethos, how could it not be rewarding to immerse myself in a culture of growth and change, educating children and in the process oneself, to become more self aware. I knew I would be surrounded by inspiring people, people challenging themselves and those they teach. This was/is extremely important to me as an individual and as a parent.

So I took a leap of faith as did the Leadership team at St Luke’s, in choosing someone with no background in schooling and no real idea of the mechanics involved in making a school work efficiently and effectively, to work together to explore and expand on the traditional General Administrator’s role. The focus being to free up the Leadership team and teaching staff to do what they do best, teach and lead. We took a risk and will continue to take risks and so far I’m glad we did.

As I reflect on the last 12 months, I realise that what has unfolded has prepared and led me to exactly where I need to be. I’m surrounded by a team of people all on their own journey, the majority of us out of our comfort zones, learning as we go. There’s a comfort in this, knowing that we are all pushing personal boundaries in an environment where getting things wrong means growth.

My learning curve is steep, luckily I’ve always loved a challenge. I may or may not have a long list of acronyms to assist me in deciphering emails, conversations and meetings. I am starting to get my head around the basics of Timetabling, Faces and Compass, the complexities of compliance, coordination of training, excursions, school photos, vaccinations, Naplan, payroll codes. This list goes on.

There is a genuine satisfaction in completing a weekly duty roster without doubling up on someone’s duty – it’s the little things I know. I’ve survived coordinating casuals after a minor gastro outbreak occurring during EYA/MAI testing which saw my casual pool stretched to the limit.

The most exciting part, I know there’s more coming. I know that I will continue to be challenged each year at St Luke’s. Each year will bring more students, more teachers and each year my days and nights will become busier.

There is so much I don’t know but there is also a lot that I do.  The biggest lesson for me so far has been to get out of my own way, to ignore my inner voice telling me I can’t possibly learn all I need to learn in such a short period of time.  So I continue to jot down my daily to do list and continue to tick off very little each day. I continue to get things done without worrying that I wont be able to or I’ll get it wrong. I trust that I can do this and I trust that I’m surrounded by those who will support me when I sometimes get it wrong. I do recognise that I might be pushing the friendship if I ever forget to organise a casual to cover someones leave though!