Activity #3 My Community of Practice.

Trend influencing education in New Zealand or internationally.

Globalisation

According to the OECD (2016) As Sir Ken Robinson says, paradigms are changing and every country on Earth is reforming public education. This is because the rapidly changing world and the effect of technological developments mean that our education systems need to adapt in order to meet the needs of our young people – even though we are not sure what those needs may be at this point in time.

Many aspects of globalization that directly affects education are highlighted in the diagram from the OECD report (2016).

 The area I wish to focus attention on is

Inequality

 Inequality is a trend that affects economic, social and educational aspects at community, country and global levels. Inequality may have an effect on other global trends, such as migration as people seek to find a more equitable society than the one they are in. Political intervention can be a cause of inequitable practice and economic factors can influence the way in which resources are shared and may lead to further inequality.

So what? How can I and my little school change the world? Why should we? Isn’t that what we pay the politicians to do?

Because!! Because we can! Schools have the power to make change. Sometimes it has to start small and ‘fit’ the model, but it can be done.

 It might begin with the notion of sharing food equitably. After all – we all know that children learn better when they eat properly. How often do you hear – don’t share your food – but this is an opportunity, when handled correctly, for children to develop empathy and realize in a small way, what inequality is.

School funding is not equitable because some schools need more than others in New Zealand – so tell me again how that works internationally when kids learn using a stick and a smooth patch of dirt to write? Or can’t always get to school because of the imminent danger they face just walking down the street?

So equitable opportunity means we must provide what is needed for students to access what they need in order to become 21^st century learners with social cohesion and flexible thinking.

What is a lifelong learner? Is this just a label? Are Communities of Learners (CoLs) going to deliver a seamless education where student engagement and agency are paramount? Or will it just end up with a few students benefitting from extension activities and some remedial work for others?

 We have a responsibility to be a part of a global trend that our students already engage with. Through the use of IT they are already connected learners, but can we equip the students with adequate competencies to cope with or adapt to the trend?

The facts are that more people have access to a mobile phone than fresh water. Unless we tap into this ability to engage with the world and use this to arm our students with the tools they will need in a context that has meaning for them, we will be doing them and our world a major disservice as they turn their backs on the education that could well be a measure of the world’s ability to thrive in the future. We need to be cohesive in our approach and embrace collaborative learning where different strengths and background knowledge inform the group ability to problem solve and comprehend issues. Our students need to be globally aware of the issues that our planet faces and the ways that this will impact on their lives. Only then will they see a need to address these issues.

If we teach with a social conscience and give our students agency alongside the competencies they need then we can have hope for the future. We may need to fight the good fight to ensure our ideology is not lost in individualized testing and the need to meet National Standards.

Activity #2 My Community of Practice

Activity 2: Current issues in my professional context

The Dreaded Decile Divider

Talk to a teacher anywhere in New Zealand that you have just met and once you get through the awkward social norms the next question inevitably is - “so what decile ranking are you?”

Then the aha moment. “So a 2.” The answer to the reciprocal question then determines the interest or otherwise and the duration of the conversation. If the deciles aren’t too far apart then the debate about relationships making a difference and the amount of social work involved begins. Every low decile teacher relates to this.

 So why are we there?

Highly intelligent and gifted teachers work in all decile schools in New Zealand - but why do they want to work in low decile schools?

I know from attending interschool events that many high decile people (parents/teachers/kids) look down their noses at us. Not everyone - but enough to know it isn’t an isolated incident.

Information from the Ministry of Education - we are decile 2 (barely) and The Christchurch City Council tell me that our students come from impoverished backgrounds.

https://www.ccc.govt.nz/culture-and-community/christchurch/statistics-and-facts/community-profiles/linwood-central-heathcote/linwood-ward/

I heard Nigel Latta say that “kids from privileged backgrounds go out to climb the mountain of life. They are equipped with an annotated map, a compass and the knowledge of how to use it, a cellphone and numbers of people to ring and all the necessary equipment to find their way. Meanwhile the disadvantaged kids don’t even know there is a mountain out there.”

 There is the crux of the job we need to do. Take these kids, whose parents have ambitions and love and desire for them to do well, and help them learn to read the map and work the compass and make connections to find their path in life.

 How will we do this?

Firstly we need to run a health check on our school culture. Are we using the Norms of Improving Schools. Stoll and Fink (cited in Stoll, 1998). With the changes that came about as the result of the cataclysmic Christchurch earthquakes the East side schools faced a major shake up. Under threat of merging with another school we were forced to  minutely examine or reasons for existence. What did we have that made us valuable to our community? Why should we fight to survive? Couldn’t “our” kids just fit in somewhere else?

The answer was a loud and definitive NO!!!!!

The community were adamant that the school should stay. Those who could made a stand. Those who were embroiled in the cycle of poverty and did not know how to express what they needed relied on us to do so for them. The school had to examine the way it stood for its community. The support it offered, the inter-agency approach ( MOE, Salvation Army, CYPFS, SWIS, CCC etc.) that worked so well, the use of community groups to support the needy - Kidscan shoes, raincoats and breakfast food for the Breakfast Club - run by parents. A lunch club for cheap nutritious lunches, again run by parents. Community Days with dental health, nutrition, and many other health providers offering information, advice and free samples.Application for grants so no kid needed to miss out on camp or Outdoor Ed opportunities. School garden club learning to grow, harvest and cook produce. Students are welcomed when they arrive - after all, they got there - even when they don’t turn up until 9.30 or later. Staff changes are mourned and celebrated. The loss of experience cuts deep, but new staff bring fresh ideas and a new perspective. A new leader who has the sense to delve into our school culture by exploring our mission statement and our values in a schoolwide way to see if we still believe in them and if they are relevant. The ongoing Professional development because our kids need us to find the right buttons to push to activate their learning - whatever speed and form that takes.

So- where was I?

Of course - I am at a low decile school. I am there by choice because the community pride and aspiration is just as prevalent as I would find in any community in New Zealand. The pathway to success may take a bit more effort but it is so worth it. To work in a community that values the teachers and wants to be a part of the school in whatever way they can makes me parochially proud. The collegial feel of the staffroom, and the formal and informal professional conversations that are a part of life give this school a vibrancy and level of success that is reflected in the community pride, the ERO report, and the high quality applicants that - like me - want to be here.