Term 1 holidays for me are now synonymous with ignition. For those not in the know ignition is a 2 day un-conference. You throw a 100 or so passionate educators in a room and MAGIC ensues.
When I look over last year’s post, I remember how super-charged I felt after attending the event. I know the learning in my class has changed as a result of ignition. As I mentioned in my ignite talk, so many of my great ideas came out of attending the event. Goodie buckets for the start of the year, the classroom redesign, even the submission came about through conversations and collaboration at ignition.
This year I came away with more questions than answers.
Key competencies
The more control I give over to my students, the more I realize how important integral those key competencies are. Learning what makes an effective learner and making those key competencies more than buzz word is a challenge for my class and I over the coming year.
Moving professional learning into the 21st century.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a terrible student when it comes to the traditional weekly PD. If something doesn’t hold my interest, then I will quickly wander off the task. However ask me to find resources to support teaching contexts or a new idea to implement in the classroom and I’ll jump into action.
With ignition even though I was tired after a busy and long first term, I was well aware I had given up my time and money to be there. There was no slacking off, there was engagement.
I can’t help but wonder how we expect teachers to create an individualized programme for our students when there is often little choice about how, who and what we learn about as teachers.
Should more time and money be freed up for teachers to make their own decisions about their professional learning?
How do we do this?
Secondary schools are a mystery.
The more I talk to secondary teachers, the more I realise I have no idea what goes on in schools after year 8. All I have to go on are my own memories which are well out of date. If I was to identify a weakness in the education sector, it’s that teachers and schools don’t talk to each other enough. This is particularly the case with the primary/secondary divide.
Are we short-changing our students by not communicating?
Do teachers collectively put too many problems in the too hard basket figuring next year’s teacher/s can handle it?
Moving out of the education sector
There’s always a risk when you bring a group of like minded people together that you get people agreeing with each other. As ignition matures, I think a challenge for the unconference is how to engage with people interested in education (which is a lot of people) and the people working in the sector. Again, I see a disconnect between the people charged with making educational policy and the people charged with implementing it. Having creative industries come in would for me be fascinating however there’s always that risk that this dilutes the purpose of the event.
Be the change you wish to see in your school
You might want to change your school or even New Zealand education as a whole. The easiest place to start is in your classroom. Perhaps I’m lucky that I teach at a school that encourages people to try new things. But at the same time it’s really easy to go back home and keep doing what you’ve always done especially when the inevitable obstacles come your way. You don’t have the facilities, cash, your leadership doesn’t get you. Obstacles aren’t there to keep you from doing something, they are there to show you how much you want something.
Lets get to it.
Teaching the Teacher 