Education? A personal reflection.

Although I have read the growing number of reflections on the purpose of education, this post has been brought about by a number of other factors:

A colleague using the quote below in a feedback assembly to young people as part of a staff-pupil co-constructed off-timetable day.
Listening to the Foo Fighters very loudly during my walk to the train station this morning.
A few professional and personal events that have made me reflect on the journey that had led me to this point.

This is a personal reflection, written here so there is a record for me to return to. It’s also here to explain what I meant by this tweet sent this morning: Added clarity has been provided by Everlong by the Foo Fighters:

‘The only thing I'll ever ask of you
You've got to promise not to stop when I say’

I should point out that:

I’m a teacher, mainly working in a secondary classroom with 11-16 year olds.
I have difficulty in distinguishing between informal and formal education.
I don’t see a huge difference between adults and children. This may be because I haven’t grown up yet!
These reflection are based on my adventure so far – if you’d like to know the detail chat to me over a beer / coffee on day!
I’m quite an impulsive sort of bloke, so this was written in one hit during a 45 minute train journey so think ‘thinking our loud’

To strive means motivation.

What do we want to know and why do we want to know it? ‘Because the Government / teacher / Head / parents’ say so is not a good enough answer. I hated most of school but I love, and always have loved, education. A good education was the ticket out of the Welsh valleys, out of an area of deprivation and into the opportunity to help shape, change and, most importantly, engage with the world around me. Today, young people need to be aware of who they are competing against.

Education is not just about pieces of paper, examination results, seating plans, books, technology or classrooms but also stretching personal experiences, engaging emotions, changing lives, getting people to live and work together, opening minds to the world around them. We should strive for this ‘fat’ type of education instead of being happy with just the ‘thin’ reams of paper and qualifications.

It is important that each and every person will have a completely different aiming point. What does the latest iPad or climate change mean to an 8 year old that doesn’t know where the next meal is coming from? We must strive and encourage others to strive for their personal goals, to develop and justify their own opinions and those of others even if they conflict with our own

To strive means motivation. Motivation needs inspiration. Sometimes this inspiration needs to be provided by people. My life long ambition is to be inspired by people and places.

If we don’t have the right aiming point, how can those in education be motivated?

To seek means personal choice.

Once we know the goal, who is to say what the best way is to get there? A predetermined path, especially one that consists of a core knowledge of facts is too rigid to be sustainable or useful in the future.

In addition, skills are useless if learnt out of any context. What is the point of planning and event that doesn’t actually happen?

To seek hints at the way in which education should happen. Personally, I don’t care where or how education happens, as long as it happens (within reason ;). How are spaces and places designed to encourage education? Does having a box where education ‘happens’ encourage a culture in which education is valued, respected and longed after? I don’t think so. We should value the education that happens outside of classrooms, schools that has absolutely nothing to do with us.

A very good friend always points out that ‘all I can do David is show you the door, you have to decide either to peep in, to close the door or to batter it down.’ Education is about showing as many doors as possible.

To seek is to never give up. To seek is to follow your own path. To seek is to listen and be informed by others and then to chose to follow or lead. To seek is to enjoy the beautiful struggle. To seek is to learn as much from failure as success.

To find is not the end of the journey.

We get qualified, learn to tie in to a belay, not to touch the breaks around a go kart track or to comfort our sons and daughters. These are the starting point for new adventures, a host of new doors to consider.

And if we don’t get there? Then we find a new route to where we want to be. And not to yield.

High Impact, Low effort

This month is the start of the #29daysofwriting challenge. I enjoyed this last year and will be using my Staffrm account to post. I'll also be reporting here, both to give a little more detail and to keep a log of what I have written. The challenge developed a great sense of community last year, which is why I'm choosing to write on Staffrm. What I would say to those who are new to writing or don't want to run out of ideas is: Write for yourself. Clarify an idea, write something out loud. The process of distilling thoughts into writing is immensely beneficial to your practice. If other read, comment and respond, that's a bonus. Ignore the muppets who know nothing of your context, style or students. Mix it up - I like to read about real stuff from real classrooms and schools and also about other stuff. If we always write about school, how does that work for workload? If you've nothing nice to say, don't say it. So, the following has been

What makes a learning experience profound? Personal reflections and possible implications for classroom practice.

I have recently begun a Leadership Pathways journey. As part of the first core day, we were asked to reflect on a profound learning experience. This got me thinking about how many profound learning experiences I have both been involved in, and how many I have been able to give to others. Our group came up with a huge long list, but these are my five. Emotional Connected Demanding Reflective Collaborative As always, these are personal thoughts and quite mixed up. I put them here so that I can look back on them (plus they’d get lost inside my world-cup-free brain) 1. Emotional I can’t think of a time where deep learning hasn’t engaged my emotions. From being awe inspired to that tingle feeling when a student gets a light bulb moment. From this-is-the-happiest-day-ever, to I-think-I’m-about-to die. How often do we engage the emotions of those we teach? Here, I would argue that having a safe learning environment is not always conducive to profound

The danger of Teaching and Twitter conversations: poorly formed bipolar arguments.

Sometimes in life, there really are only two options. Get the wrong one and you can look like a muppet. Take this useful sign for the toilets in Morocco. I successfully navigated it, choosing the right option. The result? No egg on my face. As a mountain leader, there are many right or wrong decisions that I’ve faced, as there are all over life. It’s not a good idea to let inexperienced young people walk themselves down Snowdon. They may die or be seriously injured. If someone is showing the signs and symptoms of hyperthermia, you need to treat it fast in a specified way. There is no real arguing with this sign: Other options are less obvious. Take this sign recently spotted near to where I live: Now, I wouldn’t consider sleeping in a bin. However, faced with a sub-zero night, I could see the appeal. The danger? Being tipped into one of those huge lorries with a compactor. (by the way, I only really considered all of this thanks to questions from my four year old boy).

David Rogers

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