A New Day
Today was a new day for the staff of Papakura High School. It not only marked two weeks since the beginning of the Covid-19 national lockdown, it was the first time ever that our whole staff got together - not physically present in one room, but on a Google hangout. Seventy faces all excitedly greeting each other and happy to be in the same space again. The world we live in is changing, and our circumstances are dictating different ways of doing business, doing school, and this was a landmark moment for us. Funnily enough, over the past five years, since the launch of the Kootuitui ki Papakura Trust and the first distribution of chromebooks for our year 9's, we have spent so much time engaged in professional learning, with not only the Manaiakalani mantra of "learn, create, share" but also with our own focus on creating ubiquitous learning for our students... maybe though, without the sense of urgency which was called for. Thank you to the Kootuitui team for not giving up on us!
Somehow, until today, there was a theoretical aspect to this approach to learning. As teachers, we tend to be quite set in our ways - and yet we, of all people in our society and in our communities, should be at the forefront. Many are, of course, but there are equally many who lag behind. Well, no more of that, as next Wednesday we launch into our new day of online learning. Today we shared the joy of reconnecting with each other - it had a fun element to it, and along with its important messages, there was also the sheer joy of being together. Now now have the serious business ahead of us, firstly to connect with our students, and secondly, to hook them into a new style of learning.
Kia ora John, thank for sharing this post. As Michael Fullan has recently tweeted, "Those who moved forward in the last 5 years with technology, collaboration and pedagogy are in the best position to cope with COVID-19 conditions, and best poised for post COVID-19 innovation". Our government would not be providing the internet to households and devices to students if it thought the present conditions only temporary. Right now hundreds of NZ schools are also receiving special PLD to enable them to transition to remote learning, whereas the Manaiakalani Outreach schools continue to utilise all the opportunities that the PLD since 2015 has provided to make the move relatively easily. My hope is that post COVID-19, we are able to incorporate some of the interim ways of leading, teaching and learning in a new paradigm that best serves our students for their achievement, our whaanau for their engagement, our teachers for their effectiveness and our communities for their rangatiratanga.
ReplyDeleteI hope so too. I'd hate to think that people view these approaches to teaching and learning as emergency measures, when there is so much of value that we can integrate into our pathway forward.
DeleteKia ora John, it is so lovely to see the sense of excitement that your team are bringing to this new challenge. You are right that sometimes, even with the best will in the world, it takes a big push to make us really evaluate and innovate in our practice. I think that teachers are at their best when we are connected to and engaged in our own learning, especially when we are doing it as a team. Wishing you and your team all the best as you navigate these turbulent waters.
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