Monthly Archives: July 2016

PENCIL AND PEN : ARE THEY LOST ARTEFACTS?

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I worry in these modern times, that children specifically and people generally, are forgetting how to hold and use manual writing tools. Printing and handwriting used to be taught in schools. No longer it seems, is that the case.

Prior to school, children would explore their imaginations on paper with crayons and pencils. Nowadays it’s all keypads, keyboards and fingers. Watching children and young people grip pencils and pens, trying go to used them, is an exercise in visual torture. They have no idea.

Neither have they have any idea in terms of letter size, shape and fluency of production when it comes to written symbols. Style is all over the place, Rafferty’s Rules apply and anything goes!

Computers are all fine. Voice technology is wonderful. But the ability to use pencil, pen and paper is backwards at a rate of knots. It is a real worry.

TOO MANY LIVES – TOO MUCH LOST POTENTIAL

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Too many lives that could be lived in fulsomeness and belonging bto people wgho could make a difference in this world, are cut off in the middle of the day by gun weilding Americans.

Too many children, in the bloom of life, are among those who are wantonly snuffed out. Living souls reduced to corpses.

Ninety one American lives lost to grind every day, 33,215 each year. Each year the population equivalent of Palmerson, the NT’s satellite city placed in coffins.

Americans need educating about gun control.

GUN POWER

Guns,
Are bad,
In wrong hands,
They make people sad,
Trigger pulling is so wanton,
Expunging innocent life in an instant,
Shooting sadness, inexplicable grief into the hearts,
The souls and the fibre of sad families,
Who not for an instant can begin to understand,
Why the death net should embrace them in cold clutch,
The enternal struggle to understand what motivation drives killers in plunging,
Them and so many they know into the river of everlasting despair,
Is a phenomena that surely lacks logic and cannot be logically, humanistically understood,
Fie upon you people of the United States for your preoccupation with gun power.

THE GOOD SIDE OF YOUTH

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THE GOOD SIDE OF YOUTH

It is unfair and alarming that minorities can colour opinions held for majorities. This is particularly the case for children and young people.

Popular media constantly saturates viewing, listening and reading time with stories about misdemeanours and crime attributable to young people. U Tube, Facebook and social media often embellish these stories of wrongdoing. Most run stories about children and young people, focus on negative behaviour. Assaults, unlawful entry, property damage and destruction headline these reports. That has again been highlighted in the NT and Australia by media reporting during the recent school holiday period.

An alarming outcome of this focus is that perceptions held for every young person becomes distorted. The community can lose respect for all young people because of the actions of a minority. To regard them all in this way would be a gross misinterpretation.

The Reality

The majority of young people have a positive outlook on life and are keen to succeed. From primary school through to secondary and tertiary years, most are motivated and keen to do their very best. They are respected by teachers, supported by parents and are positive generational ambassadors. They are people of fine character, building solid academic, social, emotional and moral foundations.

Many undertake part time work in the retail trade. They are shelf packers, check out attendants, floor cleaners and shopping trolley retrievers for supermarkets and stores. Some involve in the hospitality industry, working after school hours and at weekends. Some may fritter their earnings, but many save for a purpose. That might be for a car, to defray tertiary education costs or to fund travel.

Young people of all ages devote time to sporting activities, including participation and volunteering as coaches and umpires. Others involve in artistic or cultural pursuits gaining confidence and skill. Self-improvement and community service is manifest in other ways. Children join scouts, guides, junior police rangers, tae-kwon-do and karate groups, St. John Ambulance and similar organisations. A large percentage go on to become leaders and instructors of these groups, demonstrating their commitment to self-betterment and community good.

We can but hope that young people who have been involved in wrongful behaviour come to a point of self-realisation and correction. Support from families and authorities helps, but ultimately character change has to come from within.

In overall terms and as a senior citizen, I believe the future of the Territory is in the capable hands of fine young people. They deserve our encouragement, support, recognition and appreciation.

TAXES AND SCHOOL FEES

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I fully understand the notion of fees being charged for the education of children. At times there is controversy over whether government’s should fund private schools in any way or whether their contribution should be for public schools alone.

My personal feeling is that a percentage of the public purse being contributed to private schools is fine. After all, most parents are taxpayers and have a right of school choice. That being so, the benefit of educational dollars should be holistically and not sectionally shared.

However, the notion of fees charged on top of government contribution by schools needs consideration. If fees are ‘over the top exorbitant ‘ then schools have it wrong/

I think that charging fees to huge excess of need is a miscarriage of what should be about the serious education of young people. Certainly, schools have to have enough in the way of assets to carry contingencies and overcome shortfalls. However, if they are primarily in the game to make money for sponsors unknown or to boost fat bank accounts, then that is wrong. If they practice undue leverage on parents in order to accumulate funds for ‘boasting’ capital works that are more about image than need, that is also wrong.

ORAL COMMUNICATION – SO OFTEN OVERLOOKED.

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Oral Communication is so important. These days the skills associated with oral expression are too often overlooked. Consider the following as elements that need to become ingrained into practice.

ELEMENTS OF VOICE, SPEECH AND SPEAKING

VOICE

* Vocal qualities. VOICE IS YOUR MAJOR WORKING TOOL

* Speech flow, including pitch, rhythm and speed.

* ‘Ah’s’, ‘um’s’, ‘er’s’, ‘aw’s’, and other speech fillers.

* ‘okay’ at start or end of sentences.
* ‘guys’ as a word of address to a mixed audience.
* ‘gonna’ rather than ‘going to’.
* Don’t overdo ‘so’, particularly as a never ending joining word.
* ‘could, could’ (double clutching)
* ‘I was, I was’ (double clutching)
* ‘Wh, when’ and similar double vocal movements.
* ‘and, um’; ‘um and so’; ‘you know’ ad infinitum.
* ‘um and or” ‘um it’s it’s …’.
* ‘aaaand’; ‘o n e’ (word stretching).

* Recognising and using punctuation.

* PRONUNCIATION and word usage

* A CONVERSATIONAL VOICE is engaging. A listening audience is reassured to hear program presenters speaking in a relaxed manner. Many listeners are working through the hassles of the day. A calm and relaxed manner coming at them over the airwaves is relaxing and reassuring.

* Using pause, allowing your audience time to digest and reflect on what you have said.
* Projection and outreach, avoiding ear burst and fade-out, which imposes ear strain.
* Use words to paint pictures, stimulating the listener’s imagination. Successful radio and media communications are those which, by their appeal, draw listeners to programs.
* If working on a presentation from within the broadcast studio, IMAGINE you have people with you as guests. Work as a radio presenter in the same way you would if others were there.



EYE CONTACT

* Look at people. Don’t look over them, under them or around them.
* Engage people individually and collectively through eye contact. Rest on individuals and cover the audience.
* Make your eyes friendly, encouraging and inviting.
* Avoid flat or hostile eyes.
* Eyes are the most important parts of the anatomy when it comes to gesture.

GESTURE

* Compatible with the presenter and magnifying of speech.
* Gesture is a tool that can help emphasise and reinforce points.
* Overdoing gesture can undermine conversation because recipients are studying aspects of body language rather than listening to what is being said.

Avoid accidental gesture which is off-putting. These might include the following:

* Wagging a cordless microphone while speaking.
* Rocking from one foot to the other or swaying from the waist.
* Neck movement which is out of sync with general movement
* Eye contact which has you speaking in one direction, looking in another.
* Randomly putting on and taking off spectacles.
* Holding and wagging or twirling glasses while speaking.
* Doing similar with a pen, lazar pointer or some other prop.
* Pulling at collar, sleeves or any other aspect of apparel.

INTERVIEWING

* Plan your interview so it flows logically. How do you want it to begin, develop and conclude.
* Be aware of time and ‘Commanding’ the program; don’t be usurped and don’t allow your agenda to be hijacked. Time awareness is essential.

COLLABORATE.

* Collaboration with like minded professionals is valuable and enriching.
* From collaboration grows synergy, the collective energy that is enhancing. It uplifts those who are working together in occupational fields.

* Those working in isolation can be left behind because collaboration is increasingly a strategy whereby we work to develop our professional ethos.

DO SCHOOLS HAVE THE RIGHT FOCUS

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Here in the NT (Australia) schools are all about ‘business’, ‘budget management’ and worry about the principles of management are in my opinion detracting from educational leadership. From what I read, this is an issue that engages schools and systems around the world.

We need to consider two strands of operational function within schools, the educational leadership and the administrative streams. Educational leadership should attract the Principal salary, the administrative stream should be paid at a salary level commensurate with that of a Vice-Principal. I recently published a paper at henrygrayblog.wordpress.com on the subject (11 December 2014 ‘Schools Preoccupied with Money’. Educational disconnect with teaching and learning because of business priority is a real worry.

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS – FRAUGHT TIMES

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SCHOOL HOLIDAYS OFTEN AN ISSUE

During school holiday periods, our community worries as to how young people are going to spend their time during their time away from the classroom.

The police gear up for an expected increase in everything from misdemeanour to property crime. These activities attract a small minority of young people. City and town councils prepare an array of activities that might be appealing to children and adolescents.

Cartoonists offer a humorous take on the reluctant acceptance of school holidays by parents. Media stories also cover the issue of challenges they face in having to have to find extra time for their children during holiday periods. Much is made of their difficulty in having to juggle work commitments with care for their offspring.

Employment and family priorities juxtapose on parents, who want to do the right thing at home and work.

Work is a major issue. Several decades ago with only one parent working, children were more ably provided for at home during holiday periods. Changing family circumstances has lead to reliance on organisational and agency support to provide holiday care.

While closed for regular lessons, there is pressure on schools to provide meaningful activities for children during these weeks. Expectations range from duty of care, to providing parents with child minding alternatives. Many schools provide outside school hours care during the school year, extending their programs to include vacation care. These programs are fully subscribed almost as soon as applications for holiday care are invited.

During holiday periods, some sporting groups offer extended activities for young people. Community based organisations including the YMCA design programs likely to appeal.

Safety

Generation X and Y adults, when children, could play outdoors without supervision in a relatively safe and secure environment. During holidays, they would go for long walks, bike rides or enjoy extended hours of play in parks and public places. This included unaccompanied visits to shops and cinemas.

Safety and security issues have changed this free and easy approach to outdoor and independent activities. Because of these concerns, parents and society no longer condone unsupervised activities. Independence for children and young people has been curtailed.

The holiday weeks are always welcomed by students. But there have been significant changes to the way they can spend time away from school. Those changes are more about necessity than desire.

SKILLS CHILDREN NEED

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A recent media story confirmed that technology is being promoted as an essential and necessary learning tool. This should be a focus for younger and younger children. An Australian preschool was reported as requiring enrolled children to bring their own devices (BYOD) for use within their programs. The infusion of technology into learning has been moving down the grades and is now inserting itself into the earliest years of learning.


Australian curriculum authorities are recognising IT by inserting technological skills, including programming, into learning requirement for students from Year Five upward. I would suggest that in time, the formalisation of an IT curriculum will reach into Middle Primary and Early Childhood Years.


What really counts


This focus impacts upon children, their parents and teachers. Rather than young children being ‘IT ready’, it would be far better if they were prepared for life by greater attention to necessary but often discounted personal needs. Overlooking the foundational needs of development, means children beginning their formal education may have significant personal readiness deficits.

EDUCATION NOT A JOY FOR ALL

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It is a distinct and continuing concern to me that so many teachers and those working in schools, absolutely long for the day they can retire. I have known educators who are looking forward to their last day of teaching, anywhere up to a decade from that eventuality. These are teachers and leaders who are locked into the teaching profession by age. They are too old to jump ship and go into some other occupational area. This means they carry on by sufferance.

Many educators of more youthful years, with keen desire to teach and make a difference, realise their profession is more about accountability and justification than it is about teaching and developing students in a holistic manner. They come to understand that students are pawns in the system, rather than being main players. So they leave, glad to have a chance to exit.

There are students, too, who resent having to stay at school until their late teens because that is the government’s way of keeping them from being unemployment statistics. They have to be there; they don’t want to be there. That does not help them, their peers or teachers.

The stampede to the Education departure gate is a sad systemic manifestation.

ALLERGY AWARENESS ON SCHOOL AGENDAS

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Schools have to be increasingly aware of food allergy issues. Nut allergies are of particular concern. It seems more and more children are becoming nut sensitive. Recess and lunch box contents can be an issue.

“With severe allergies on the rise, no childcare centre, pre-school or school can afford to be uninformed about the risks to children in their care. They need to arm themselves with information on food allergy and anaphylaxis and create environments that are safer for all.” (Allergy and Anaphylaxis Aust. Website)

Until about 20 years ago, very few schools had policies that considered the risk of food allergies. This has changed. Most schools, particularly preschools in primary’s have policies relating to allergic sensitivities that can confront children.

The most common of these allergies is that relating to the susceptibility of some children to fall violently ill, if they come into contact with nuts. Many schools advertise that they are “nut free zones”. Parents are frequently asked to take into account the fact that foods including nuts and sandwich spreads containing nuts should not be included in children’s recesses and lunches.

While this is restrictive parents for the most part accept that nut contamination could have far reaching consequences for susceptible children.

Two way awareness

It is important for care and caution to be a two way process. Children who are nut allergic should understand their condition. It’s important that they take care to steer clear of any food danger. I believe the children from very young ages, including those in preschool, should be aware of the need for self-preservation.

From time to time there is a worry that children suffering from allergies might be teased or even threatened with contamination. This is usually an unnecessary fear. One of the qualities demonstrated by children is a genuine empathy and care for those whose circumstances are confronted in this way. It’s wise for teachers and children in all classes to be aware of children who may suffer from allergic reaction to nuts.

Schools in which all staff and therefore students are aware of an allergy situation can offer support. A further safeguard is for teachers and school support staff to have epipen training so this can be administered in the case of an emergency.

Nut consciousness and allergy awareness is the part and parcel of modern education. It’s just another duty of care responsibility existing for schools and staff. That duty is helped when parents and students cooperate to help make school environments safe, secure places for all students.

SPEAK UP

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As educators we are, in contemporary state and (as am I, retired) a huge group with diverse experience. I believe we too often ‘suck it up’ in terms of what comes down to us from on high. We are far too reactive, in a grudging and passive way, and insufficiently bold when it comes to being proactive professionals.

We need to speak out more often. We allow ourselves to be beaten around our professional ears in a sadly supplicatory manner. We need to be confident, bold and forthright, speaking out in confidence but with our utterances predicated on careful thinking. Too much happens we let happen through non-response.

We speak a language to each other ‘below the table’ out of the hearing of superordinates. We need to come of of the professional closet and reveal our thinking in a wider domain. We need to abandon fright and hesitation

VALUE and LEARN from EDUCATIONAL HISTORY

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While based on the Northern Territory, there is a need for educational history to be appreciated and respected on a global basis.

EDUCATIONAL HISTORY SHOULD NOT BE DISREGARDED

One of the sad deficits confronting Northern Territory Education is the lack of recorded history. Very poor attention has been paid to recording past developments.

When appointed as the CEO of Northern Territory Education in 2009, Gary Barnes highlighted this issue. He said there was little documentation on system history to which he could refer. This limitation put him in a challenging position. He identified the lack of historical information as a major oversight.

Nothing happened before 1992

The Department of Education computerised many of it’s systems in 1992. Manually compiled records developed prior to that date are not readily accessible. Inquiry about earlier matters often go unanswered because nobody has access to requested information. It is not uncommon for long term and now retired educators, to be rung and asked if they can recall answers to historical questions. It is almost as if the foundational years of NT Education never happened.

A priority should be retrieval and electronic recording of what remains of NT educational history. Ideally, that project should embrace individual schools, educational regions and the system as a whole.

A way of starting might be to create a web page which invites people to input information either anecdotally or more formally. This could be periodically moderated and formatted.

Some Data

Some schools have better historical recall because of document preservation. School newsletters, yearbooks and school council documentation are three sources providing information about their past. A few have even compiled school histories. Parap School for example, celebrated its 50th anniversary with the release of a book which summarised its years of growth and development

However, there has been no concerted effort on the part of our system or most schools to compile a documented record about development.

This deprives newcomers the chance to appreciate the background of schools. It also means that principals and system leaders are “starting over” when it comes to considering future school and system direction. Changes made without considering history can lead to past mistakes, or poor policy decisions being revisited.

It is important to look ahead. However, awareness of the past should inform the future. Reflection can help avoid revisiting pitfalls at both school and system level. It is rather sad that public education in the NT, in looking forward, seems to discount what happened in the past. Our lack of recorded history needs to be addressed.

SCHOOLS NEED ‘JOY SEASONS’

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JOY SEASON [IN THE NT]

The last weeks of Semesters offer students, teachers and school communities the chance to enjoy activities that can be overlooked. For many schools these weeks allow celebrations that go beyond academics. NAPLAN tests are over. Primary and secondary school students are about to enter a four week holiday break. This is a period that allows for some quiet reflection on the year to date. It provides a chance for students and staff to participate in some of the more non-academic but vital pursuits associated with school experiences. Activities that help build school spirit and camaraderie can include the following.

Major assemblies featuring class performances.
Dry season concerts, often held outside at night.
End of semester school discos.
Overseas exchanges with sister schools.
Intra school athletics carnivals .
Shared sporting and cultural activities between schools.
School community breakfasts.
Open days and school fetes.

The focus on academics and assessment programs, poses a danger that these respite times and activities can be put on the back-burner or overlooked altogether. Including these activities provides balance for students. They should be included in school calendars.

The social and emotional aspects of student development are supported by these and similar activities. They offer children a chance to relax and recognise non classroom abilities in each other.

Not wasted time

Some would reason there is no place in our schools for activities of this nature. Their argument is that each minute of every school day should be devoted to the academic aspects of school life. However, children and teachers are human. They need and deserve the chance to associate though activities designed to build school spirit. The importance of these shared opportunities cannot be overstated.

Building tone, harmony and atmosphere within schools is an enormous challenge. Visitors gain instant impressions about how the school feels. The spirit that exists within schools, grows from the synergy or collective energy developed within and between students and staff. It’s the association that comes from sharing happy times that builds toward the tone and atmosphere sensed by visitors and others. In turn, the reputation of schools is either positively or negatively judged by this feeling of comfort.

It is sharing collective times together that helps in building these perceptions. The “joy times” help create an everlastingly good impression about schools. That is appreciated by those within and appreciated by the community at large.

Note: While written for Norrthern territory conditions, this paper has applicability, through adaptation, to fit all scghools everywhere.

GIVING BACK

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I am entering my fifth year since retiring as a full time educator and school principal. Experience grows upon us all. It’s incremental and in line with the number of years we have been working along with the classification of positions we have held. As experienced educators, we should consider coaching, mentoring and retaining an interest in our profession.

We owe a debt of gratitude to those who saw their way clear to help us during the years of our development. The best way of honouring that debt is to give back in the same way, to those who follow bus into the educational profession.

To walk away without considering those coming behind is almost unprofessional. As educators, both present and past, we are members of a fraternity. Education is a giving profession. There is joy in giving back and supporting those following in our footsteps.

Do for others what was done for you.

KEEPING STUDENTS SAFE

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STUDENT SAFETY A TOP PRIORITY

Our schools have a responsibility for students that goes well beyond teaching and learning. Issues of safety and security are front and centre for teachers and school leaders.

All schools have plans for managing emergency situations. Included are procedures for response to cyclones and fires. Some have lockdown procedures. Awareness of plans and the reason for their need is discussed with students. When children know why emergency plans are important, concerns about their existence are eliminated.

Things have changed

As we entered the 21st century, few of our schools were barricaded from the community by fences and gates. This has changed and to the point where most schools are behind barricades which discourage unlawful entry. Perimeter fences have become the norm. Many schools have second layers of tougher fencing encircling buildings and facilities.

Security systems have been installed in most schools during recent years. These are switched after hours, at weekends and holiday times to security firms, enabling a quick response in the event of break-ins. Schools are under survelliance on a 24/7 basis. In more and more schools, this form of security now includes monitoring by CCTV cameras and sophisticated survelliance devices.

Caretakers and janitors have responsibility for opening gates and buildings in the mornings, then locking them after hours. Arming and disarming security systems is part of their responsibility.

For the first time there were bomb scares in NT schools in recent months. Threats were handled professionally and maturely by schools and the Department. Importantly, there was no panic among students or staff. Responsible reporting and management minimised undue parental concern. This threat may now be the number one concern for schools.

Last week it was reported (James Tomkinson, The Conversation) that bomb threats during the second week of May, were directed at 85 schools in the UK and USA. He reported that ” the schools were evacuated, resulting in panic and disruption for staff and students.”

This type of threat seems to becoming more common-place. It is to the credit of our department and school councils that planning for the management of disruption and threat is an uppermost priority. Where possible, fire drills and other rehearsals are carried out. These familiarises all concerned with understanding of what needs to be done if emergencies arise.

Many schools now have SMS contact with parents, allowing group messages to be sent in the case of emergency. This also helps in the case of urgency contact with individual parents.

It would be foolish to suggest that mishaps and emergencies never occur. However, the safety and security precautions school have in place, together with their ability to make immediate contact with parents, should be reassuring.