Johnson"ism" continued- Leadership/Curriculum

"the best leaders work toward replacing themselves"

I've heard this statement many times in differing contexts but it always rings true for me. The K-12 curricula are being replaced over the next couple of years as we've discussed this fact at length in our EC&I classes. This is an important time for teachers and administrators within our division because there may be several administrators at various levels moving on or retiring withoin a short time frame. I like to think of myself as a realist and a pragmatist and I believe this transition will be strenuous on all staff but especially new teachers. Many changes are happening within the new curricula that will challenge new teachers in many areas including planning units and assessing those units. At all the renewal meetings and vetting sessions I've attended we have been advised not ot throw away the old curriculum but to use it as a resource, a reference, a starting point.

Learning

The mind and body need exposure to learning and growing opportunities. I am a idealist in this respect because context is key in a learning environment. Learning has to be meaningful and motivating to students. I like the frame works of "where have we been?"- "where are we going?" I feel locally determined instruction and will promote deeper, more meaningful learning opportunities. Differentiated instruction is also key in meeting the needs of unique and diverse learners. I resently went into class and told my grade 4 students, "you will be responsible for your own learning today". I then asked, "what do you want to learn about today?" After hearing their ideas and responses I asked them to write down some questions they would find the answers for. Some students came up with 3 or 4 key questions while others came up with numerous questions from varying perspectives. We spent the better part of the morning doing this. Since then each student has been given an opportunity to share their findings, their ideas, their learning. I found this process empowering for the students and at the same time very scary for me. It reminded me of Steve's story about the student that called Steve over in the computer lab but really all the student wanted was for Steve to move ou tof his way so he could go on with what he was doing. I am not a reconceptualist by any stretch of the imagination but I do see wisdom in some of the questions and ideas they have. Michael Apple once said, "just because we've done something forever it doesn't make it right". Schools, learning, technology ans students are all changing. Will we be able to keep pace??

Epistimology

I argue that knowledge is context based with a goal of knowing and understanding our local (Meadow Lake) and surrounding (Saskatchewan) knowledge base. Sheila Giesbrecht's "100-mile curriculum" challenges teachers to tweak their classroom curriculum to explore local issues and bring larger-scale or more abstract issues home for their students.

Ontology

What does it mean to exist? How are we in the world? To me existing is just the beginning. Having goals, dreams and a sense of purpose are key in this equation. Learning experiences that afford students the chance to grow and develop to their full potential will define how they will be in the world. We need to teach students to act upon the world, not sit passively and let the world act upon them. We want to students to grow up and be informed and knowledgable and not afraid to question the status quo but we want to do this without them ever getting a chance to practice this in their youth. Not at school at least. What does this say about how we exist in their world?
Is a world characterized by peace and understanding a pipe dream? I hope not but tolerance, acceptance and forgiveness are also necessary elements in moving toward this ideal. I play a game with my students called "no empathy silent ball". During this game the students get a chance to see examples and non-examples of empathy. They also get a chance to see what happens when no one understands or cares about other people's feelings. The biggest difference I see between kids and adults when talking about empathy is that adults are less inclined to say sorry when they've done something wrong. I found this next piece on the net and I refer back to it on a regular basis.

All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

“Most of what I really needed to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the classroom of Kindergarten these are the things I learned:

Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say sorry when you hurt others, wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm biscuits and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work some every day.

Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody knows how or why, but we all marvel at the growth and reflect in wonder.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word they learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK. Everything you need to know is there somewhere.

Think of what a better world it would be if we all- the whole world Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say sorry when you hurt others and when you just had to tell the truth.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when the going gets tough, it is best to hold hands and stick together.”

Robert Fulgham.