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The Principal’s Office

20/01/2020 / / 8 Comments

I don’t remember what day it was when I sat outside the Principal’s office.

The door was closed so I still had time to decide if I would run, or stay. The choices were simple enough. But what was behind each choice, made it hard to decide. To run was to give up – but to stay was to commit to something bigger than I’d ever done before.

I stayed.

It started with a dream

When I was five years old I made a decision to be a teacher. It was a dream that would continue to haunt me.

Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay 

I didn’t think of ambitions the way other girls did, switching from Air Hostess to Nurse on a whim. I just didn’t think about it at all. If I couldn’t be a teacher, I didn’t really want to be anything. And at that point in my life, becoming a teacher was a long way from my reality. To continue my education, I had to change schools – again.

At the end of Year 10 I had to make a decision; go on to another school a very long way from my home, or leave school.

There were four logical options:

  1. nursing
  2. working in a bank
  3. become a secretary
  4. finish senior school and go to University.

Nobody really talked about the fourth option. Besides, the nearest (Catholic) school that provided the last two years of secondary education was twenty miles away.

Nursing and banking were the most talked about options.

I didn’t want to do either – and I certainly couldn’t imagine being a secretary, cooped up in an office all day.

Leaving School was the only option

Tears flowed on the last day of that school year as we said our goodbyes and drifted off in different directions.

I didn’t look back. And I didn’t look forward.

When I applied for a job in a local Department Store, the manager gave me a maths test. He commented on my quick responses, but the questions were just too easy. I started work immediately as a sales assistant. Pretty soon I was promoted to the office; I was the newest employee and the youngest. My promotion upset a lot of older women, but I kept my head down and learned the new skills I needed.

And somewhere in that post-school year I met my future husband. He was in the Air Force, but what would you expect when you live in a military town?

Then, one day he walked into the office and I immediately read the look of sadness on his face. He had been posted interstate, and he had a little over a week to be there.

We got married in that week. I was eighteen and he was twenty. It all seemed perfectly normal to us.

Family Life

Before we knew it, we were a family of four. I was twenty-one and was coping with a new baby and a two-year old. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that hard either. I just did it.

When I look back I can see how I just took everything in my stride.

After four years interstate we were posted back to my home town. We worked hard and bought our first home just before our youngest child turned five. The following year my daughter started school at the same school as her older brother; the school was about a block and a half from our home.

The Dream

I had no reason to be at home all day while my kids were at school. It didn’t make any sense. What would I do with myself all day?

The dream that had been hidden away all those years, somewhere deep in my soul, started to emerge. Just little bits at first, you know – like ‘what-if’s’:

What if I could:

  • go to College now?
  • do my teacher-training?
  • graduate as a teacher?

But the dream kept trailing off. There was always the But…

‘But, you need to finish secondary school to go to College’.

There was a night-class about fifteen miles away where I could finish those last two years of school. But how could I not be there for my family at night? That just wouldn’t work.

I had talked about the ‘but’s’ at my daughter’s Playgroup before she started school and someone asked why I wouldn’t just go to our local high school?

The Principal’s Office

Christmas came and went and the new school year began. I settled my son into his new school year and my daughter into her Kindergarten year.

As I sat outside the Principal’s office at my local high school that day, my future was in his hands. I thought about the commitment I needed if I was going to make this work. And I wondered if I had the strength to do it.

When I left home at eighteen there was no fear. I just did it. Even having children at such a young age didn’t scare me – I just did it.

So why was I so terrified now?

The door opened…

I could barely think of what to say, but somehow blurted out “I want to come back to school”.

Mr Pope obviously hadn’t had too many requests like that. In fact, he had to leave the room to make a phone call – and I suspect it was to District Office, seeking permission to enrol a twenty-six year old.

He finally returned, and he had good and bad news. I could enrol, but I would have to wear the school uniform and follow school-rules – including no jewellery. In hindsight, I think he used that as a possible deterrent. But it didn’t work.

On Monday morning I arrived at school in the regulatory uniform, as I did for the next two years. And I only wore my wedding ring on weekends and holidays.

Most teachers had no idea I was married.

When a teacher gave me a permission note for Sex Education, I explained that it was probably a bit late for that class because I was married and had two children. She knew there was a married student on campus but didn’t know it was me. I guess that’s because I looked more like a seventeen year old than a twenty-six year old.

At the end of the two years I bought a new dress for the Formal (Prom). It marked the end of the struggle of juggling two jobs – supervising my kids homework, and then doing my own once the kids were tucked up in bed. But it was mostly a celebration of my strength. I’d managed to hold down the two jobs – oh wait, make that three – I was a wife, too.

I knew by then that College was going to be a lot easier. For a start, I didn’t have to wear a uniform, I could wear my wedding ring everyday, and there were some days when I wouldn’t have lectures.

After three years of College, I graduated as a teacher!

And that was the start of my very long teaching career.

As I sat outside the Principal’s office on that day long ago, I had no idea what the future would hold. I only knew that I had a dream to be a teacher and nothing was going to stop me.

And nothing did!

Every Kid Needs a Champion

18/01/2020 / / 2 Comments

I was a teacher for a very long time. But by the time I saw the TED Talk by Rita Pierson explaining why every kid needs a champion, I think I had it all figured out.

Before I flew solo in a classroom of my own, I watched an older teacher approach a difficult situation in the playground. Within minutes she had those tough kids knocking themselves out to do what she had asked.

I was mesmerised. Her explanation was simple:

You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

I never forgot those words, or their effect on that unruly bunch of students.

Over the ensuing years of my long teaching career, I figured out a lot of things – mostly out of necessity.

Like the year I inherited the group of students no other teacher wanted. There were only about six kids who were the problem – but they were pretty much considered the thugs of the school. And I got them all!

Luckily, a few years earlier, I’d had a much bigger challenge. A really difficult little guy who no teacher wanted. In fact, no school wanted him. Alternate arrangements were made for me to teach him in an off-campus setting.

On the first day I figured out that I had to find something to love about this kid. Okay – at first it came down to how well he breathed. I just loved the way he did that: in – out – in – out.

Eventually I discovered that this ten-year old had a lot going for him – but he’d been totally misunderstood. Together we worked hard on his skills and the following year he graduated into the school I was attached to.

Because every kid needs a champion

So when I got that tough group of kids – it wasn’t a problem. I just found something to love about each one of them. And it worked.

It wasn’t until a few years later that I discovered the wisdom of Rita Pierson. Not only did it validate what I’d already learned, but it gave me the reason why. It made me realise that every kid needs a champion because they often have nobody else in their lives to stand up for them; to have their back; to not give up on them.

And at the end of that first year with those tough kids I went to the Principal’s office with a whole bunch of research to show why a teacher should move up with their class. He laughed.

“Are you kidding?”, he said. “Nobody else wants those kids. They’re all yours!”.

I stayed with that group for three years. And loved every minute of it.

After watching Rita’s TED Talk, I figured it out. I had become the champion for those kids. The one who believed in them. The one who had tears of pride in her eyes when my reluctant non-reader read his first book to the Principal. The one who secretly laughed inside when the class made their own classroom rules and insisted on much tougher penalties than I ever would have. And the same one who missed five minutes of break-time when I broke one of the rules. Those kids were tough disciplinarians! But it worked.

So whether you are a teacher or a parent, take seven minutes out of your busy life to watch Rita Pierson deliver this passionate (and humorous) TED Talk.

Tip: Watch for Sir Ken Robinson in the audience, as well as a few other notable faces.

And if you know a teacher – make sure you share.

Where Have All The Teachers Gone?

15/02/2019 / / 0 Comments

A friend posted an interesting Article on Facebook today about the drain of experienced teachers in Australia. So, where have all the teachers gone?

They Have Retired!

Or at the very least, they’re thinking about it. Years of experience and skills walk out of the classroom every day, leaving a void that is hard to fill.

I retired almost three years ago from a teaching career that spanned the eighties, nineties and more than the first decade of the 2000’s. My career took me from Jelly Pad to iPad, and everything in between.

Experienced teachers are disappearing into the sunset

Why did I retire?

The pace of teaching has increased to the point where it is hard to keep up. We’ve gone from teaching the three R’s to teaching so much more, including how to function in the modern world of technology (cyber-safety). The curriculum is at breaking point and I shudder every time I hear ‘why aren’t they teaching that in schools?’.

I loved my job and gave it 100% of effort, but I found it hard to sustain the long hours.

It was time to go.

When a teacher retires, they hand in their laptop and their identity. A teacher’s world is contained in the files on the Government issued laptop; when they hand it back, their teaching world ceases to exist.

Departure time

But the retired teacher goes full circle – they embrace retirement with the same enthusiasm and passion they had for teaching when they were a new graduate. The difference is – they are now the boss and work to their own hours.

I’ve come full circle

But my heart is still back there in the classroom, wanting to help just one more student, or another parent battle the maze of paperwork to have their child diagnosed and accepted as having extra needs.

Should we try to lure retired teachers out of their new comfort zone and back into some kind of meaningful relationship with classrooms?

A lot could be gained:

  • We could salvage some of the knowledge and experience that walked out the door with the retiree
  • new graduates could be mentored – something new graduates identified as an area of need
  • the agility of mind that took teachers from Gestetner machines (if not, Jelly Pads) to Smart Boards and iDevices could be put to good use in the busy classroom in a meaningful way

Supply teaching is available to retired teachers, but it doesn’t offer the opportunity to pass on the experience of years of teaching. And it doesn’t highlight the depth of skills of the older teacher, especially in managing difficult behaviours and diverse classrooms.

New graduates start their teaching careers with enthusiasm, passion and a lot to learn – as we all did. They are the first to arrive at school each day, and usually the last to leave – at least for the first few years. The smart ones take advantage of senior teachers on staff and ask lots of questions – others prefer to learn the hard way.

Was it easier back then?

  • How did we go from Jelly Pad to iPad?
  • How did we move from chalkboard to Smartboard?
  • Where and how did we learn ‘the look’ – you know, that look that stops a wayward student in their tracks – without a single word?
  • How did we manage a classroom of over thirty students, many with Special Needs, without a teacher-aide or Special Education support staff?
  • How did we cope with thirty 4 and 5 year olds in their first year of school – on our own?
  • What could retired teachers teach new graduates that would help them over the five-year hump?

If only there was a way to bridge the gap between retired and newly graduated teachers – it would be a win-win, and the children in today’s classrooms would be better off.

Our Prime Minister surprised me yesterday when he gave the Closing the Gap Report. To get better results, Mr Morrison offered to wipe the HECS Debt for new graduates who offer to teach in remote areas.

I applaud the offer to help new teachers find a job, but our most vulnerable students deserve the expertise of our most experienced teachers. An ideal way to marry experience – with the exuberance of youth – would be to offer incentives to retired teachers to mentor new teachers in remote areas.

Mr Morrison – I’d go!

Day 19 – UBC – Oops! Will the Delete Key Fix That?

27/07/2018 / / 2 Comments

What is the best invention in the world? It has to be the Delete Key! How many times has that little button saved us from a potentially catastrophic consequence? It’s a wonder mine still works; I’m sure it is the most used key on my keyboard. But what about those other mistakes? You know, the ones we make in the real world, away from our i-Devices and laptops. Where is the Delete Key? And how do we fix things when the Delete Key just isn’t there?

Let’s face it, we all make mistakes. Wait, maybe I should rephrase that – most of us make mistakes. I have known one or two people who think they are the exceptions to that rule – but for the rest of us mere mortals, it happens. And in the real world, there is no delete key – once it happens, it’s out there for all to see.

Errorless Teaching – Really??

In my teaching career, I made mistakes. And when I did, I apologised to my students, and took whatever consequences we deemed necessary at the time. By being as vulnerable as they were, we all learned how to cope with mistakes, from both sides of it.

At the beginning of each term, my students and I would sit down and work out our Behaviour Plan. One of the problems we had one year, was having a few students who found it hard to filter out the words they shouldn’t use, before they spoke. The result was, ‘expletives’ would fly around the room – usually at the most inappropriate time. Well, was there ever an appropriate time?

Don’t Say It!

We drew up a list of words that could be used as alternatives. We also talked about the words that just wouldn’t be accepted, ever! And for everything else, there were consequences. The funny thing with kids is, if you ask them to set their own consequences, they’ll be a lot tougher than most adults would be. With a bit of tweaking, we managed to get an acceptable level of consequences. There was never any judgement if someone fell off the wagon – it just happened – the offender accepted the consequences, and we all moved on. Including the day it happened to me.

I had worn a pair of boots to school that day – it was winter and my feet needed extra warmth. All was going well until one of the students commented on how big my boots were. Without a second thought, I said “All the better to kick butts with”.

“Right, Miss”, was the quick reply, “that’s two minutes at recess!”.

“Damn!” I replied. “Uh – that’s another two minutes!”, he said. I could see where this was heading and had the good sense to stifle any further comment.

And Your Time Starts – Now!

You see, the plan we came up with at the beginning of term, was to ‘fine’ offenders two-minutes of their break time for every wrong word. I’d just racked up two fines, which totalled four precious minutes. Heck, the morning break was short enough, and I’d just lost a sizeable chunk of it. So, I spent the first four minutes of the break, sitting quietly in the classroom, reflecting on my choice of words. And trust me, the students were less lenient on the list of bad words than I would have been, but the die had been cast, and I was guilty, as charged. Just to make sure I spent the required time in deep, silent reflection – two students volunteered to be the time-keepers.

As a teacher, one of the keys to success is showing students that you are vulnerable and human, and just like them, capable of making mistakes. It’s how you react to your own mistakes that teaches kids how to deal with theirs. The students had ownership of the plan, and I accepted the same consequences for any wrong-doing. And believe me, the kids were tougher on me than I was on them. But it worked.

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin

Trust me, this method works well for all those times when there is no Delete Key.

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