Watching Tony Ryan (#primedchatnz GHO) talk about teaching made me (almost) wish the holidays were over and I was heading to the classroom. His ideas certainly resonated with me.
He put the Key Competencies first, develop a strong sense of self in all children. I loved his idea that there are only two groups in the world - you and everyone else. Now get them in balance. Such a great way to get a balance between selfishness and selflessness.
His strong statement about teachers needing to be learners, if they are not they are hypocrites. By developing our own PLCs we are able to learn what we need when we need it - just in time.
Social justice, resilience, growth mindset, and on.
But the statement I like most is that which he demonstrated. Get children excited about learning! Model it. Well he certainly does that. He is enthusiastic and fluent. He speaks from the heart and he has said so eloquently what I believe.
Inspire the children, the teachers and the parents, and everyone else to learn.
Note to self: Those acronyms creep in everywhere!
How wonderful it is to catch up with people who can inspire us to move on, to expand our vision and to take on challenges that we didn't know we were capable of.
Talking with Sonya today made me realise how far we have both come since we first met. What I love about our irregular catch ups is how willing she is to share her new findings and how to implement something in a practical way. She shares and inspires. She shows she believes that I can. After each get together I find myself pushing out my boundaries, moving more and more into that great unknown - my un-comfort zone.
Helping teachers to learn is what inspires us. They are our learners. We find satisfaction in seeing them take on a new way of operating. Seeing teachers within our schools sharing their own learning and being enthusiastic about teaching is hugely rewarding. To see technophobes and self proclaimed 'dinosaurs' trying something new and then sharing their success means I have done a good job.
How many people do you have in your life who truly inspire you to make changes? Perhaps even more important is how many people do I inspire to creep out of their comfort zone? Do I show by what I say and expect that I believe they can make changes?
Time for me to audit my interactions with all the teachers I have contact with and to ask myself how am I showing I believe in them as learners.
