Seeing School Differently

Since moving up to senior management the story of school has changed for me. A school is the centre of so much activity, central to the daily lives of so many people, each with their own part to play in it. Each person sees school in a different way, everyone has their daily narrative.

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My story as a student teacher was exciting. We had the opportunity to work in lots of different places, the role we played meant we were new people in classrooms and so the children would often respond warmly to us. We had the freedom to explore what it meant to put together a lesson and find exciting ways to do that. There was an amazing sense of companionship with other students as we got through our placements, each one held it’s own narrative. These school stories were very linear with an end point we often focused on. Each story was about improving and getting better – each experience shaping what I am now.

As a full-time teacher the story of school changed. Suddenly there was a greater sense of responsibility as I had my own class. All to myself. The story shifts to learning about each child and the huge part we play as their teacher. The daily narrative focused purely on my own class, of the children that may have been unwell – “Are they feeling any better?”, of those that are having a tough time at home. Our classes consume our attention and devotion. We are committed to the learning journey we are on together.

At Easter I moved to another school and so my school story had to start from scratch. The familiar plot lines and characters had changed and I needed to establish fresh ones. My role had changed too and I no longer could focus on just my own class, but needed insight and awareness of the myriad of tales from right across school. I have spent a long time establishing relationships and finding the part I can play in this new story.

The most significant new contribution to my school story is the awareness of the difficulties many of the most at risk children face in their daily lives. I am now embroiled in their narrative too, learning about the help they need and often actively providing it. This parallel, often unknown, story that occurs in every school is a new chapter for me. It has rewritten my school story with a new challenging layer of meaning.

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Photo: Petals, Toil and Business at Dadar’s Phulgalli [PHOTO 2] by lecercle

What Is The Purpose of Your School’s Curriculum?

I have enjoyed reading Bill Boyd’s blog recently, indeed my last post about curriculum films began from his own about Charles Leadbeater.

Another piece I came across was his post about the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence, titled “Having the Courage in Our Convictions“. He includes a really useful graphic detailing the 4 capacities, or as Bill states the 4 purposes, which underpin the Curriculum for Excellence.

To enable all young people to become:

  • Successful learners
  • Confident individuals
  • Effective contributors
  • Responsible citizens

Much of the detail around these curriculum foundations is applicable to our own school development. We are at the stage of exploring what should underpin the curriculum design, this is very relevant to us. Here is the diagram.

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Following Bill’s original post he refers to the commentary from Dave Cockburn who reflects that these 4 purposes

…will help us see the curriculum in a new light, as long as we remember that we are striving not to create a system which produces a plumber at one end and a surgeon at the other, but produces intelligent, well-informed, inquisitive people who understand the ideas of leadership and teamwork, and the vital role of intellectual enquiry and endeavour.

I certainly agree with him, this is a valuable starting point. Once you throw in the local requirements for a curriculum and wider stake holder perspectives we will be some way to establishing the foundation we need.

A Google View of One of My Lessons

It is certainly not normal to have people taking pictures of your lessons without your knowledge, well here is one that I wasn’t expecting!


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Yes that’s me and a colleague doing some throwing and catching work with our Year 5s during a PE session.

Since it started Google Streetview has been criticised by many for possibly breaching privacy laws and some residents in Buckinghamshire have even blocked the images being taken.

That said, I think the new imagery provides an incredibly rich educational resource. I think it can be used in a number of ways to support curriculum work:

  • Illustrate places that are crucial parts of topics, such as historical monuments or geographical features.
  • As part of a local area study explore the Street View imagery (where available) to start discussions and activities before going on a walk.
  • We used Street View to look at a type of building described in detail in Streetchild used in Year 5.
  • Help children picture part of storytelling or writing by following a path or looking at a setting using Street View imagery.
  • Explore the maths that surrounds us all using the resource and Maths Maps.

Let me know of any further uses you have for Street View in the classroom – or indeed if your lesson has been caught on the Google cameras.

I Hope…

My son will soon be pitched headlong into full time education. As a father and a teacher I have certain hopes for the kind of experiences he will have in the next 15 years or so.

I hope he will be in classrooms that are bright and engaging.

I hope that he will think school is exciting, where ever it is.

I hope there will be people that will find out what makes him happy.

I hope all of his successes are celebrated.

I hope he gets outside to see the world at every opportunity.

I hope his class sizes are smaller.

I hope that there will be teachers that understand what engages him.

I hope that technology is part of how he learns, but not the only part.

I hope teachers will really understand learning and not just teaching.

I hope that when he is learning he will be able to choose the technology and tools that he needs.

I hope that his teachers help him with this choice and stand back to let it happen.

I hope his achievements in one sector are not disregarded in the next.

I hope someone inspires him.

I hope he is encouraged to learn about the things that interest him.

I hope he begins to understand the world beyond his school and his home.

I hope that someone will help him understand what future contribution he might be able to make.

I hope that learning happens in a whole myriad of places.

I hope the teachers he encounters understand what technology means to him outside of school.

I hope his teachers feel free to innovate.

I hope he is happy.

I hope he is safe.

What do you hope for?