“Crafting Minds, Cultivating Hearts: New Zealand’s Artistic Odyssey in Schools”

As many of you know I have spent almost 200 days at home recovering from long COVID. More on this journey in a future blog. One of the things I have come to appreciate is Art. I have made an effort to look at the world differently. Noticing, instead of letting the world rush by. I have also read Rick Rubin’s book which I highly recommend. 

In the vast panorama of our NZ curriculum, the arts often emerge as a vibrant splash of color amidst black and white academia. The value of the Arts in secondary schools is more than aesthetic appreciation; it encompasses holistic education, critical life skills, cultural reverence, and emotional exploration. New Zealand’s curriculum, enriched by a blend of Māori, Western, and Pacific Island influences, showcases this importance vividly.

There’s a memory from my school days that often resonates with me. I remember the time I was introduced to the classical compositions of Douglas Lilburn at a time I was more predisposed to Neil Finn. The experience was transformative, making me view music as more than just notes, but as stories and emotions.

Deep within any artistic pursuit lies a dynamic force that ignites critical thinking and creativity. The realm of classical music, especially, stands as a testament to this journey. Composers like Douglas Lilburn, New Zealand’s premier maestro, brought an authentic Kiwi voice to classical music. His compositions, rich with motifs reminiscent of our breathtaking landscapes and cultural narratives, impart students an in-depth understanding of merging tradition with innovation. It’s more than just music; it’s an emotion, a narrative, a lens into New Zealand’s heart. And in this narrative, students learn not merely to replicate, but to innovate.

For those unfamiliar with Lilburn’s genius, imagine an auditory journey that blends the serene landscapes of New Zealand with the depths of human emotions. 

New Zealand, with its diverse cultural blend, celebrates a unique tapestry that’s vibrant, rich, and deeply rooted in history. At the forefront of this is Pacifica Arts. From the rhythmic beats of the Samoan Siva dances to the eloquent narratives of the Tongan Lakalaka, each art form narrates tales of ancestry, resilience, migration, and integration.

But Pacifica Arts isn’t just an art form; it’s an educational journey. Through it, students explore history, geography, socio-political evolution, and most crucially, cultural identity. In an age where globalization often blurs cultural lines, Pacifica Arts emerges as a medium that not only celebrates its unique identity but also bridges global cultural understandings.

As an exercise, consider attending a Pacifica festival. The explosion of colors, sounds, and stories creates an immersive experience that educates as much as it entertains. If you’ve ever been part of such a celebration, pause and reflect: What did you learn? How did it make you feel? For me it was life changing.

One of my recent discoveries is Rita Angus. Her work, particularly “Cass”, is emblematic of her unique style, combining realism with emotional intensity. I am an artistic rookie but I think Angus didn’t just depict landscapes and portraits; she breathed life into them, infusing them with her personal experiences, emotions, and perspectives. For students, engaging with her works means not just learning about art, but also about history, feminism, and the essence of New Zealand’s socio-cultural fabric.

Art isn’t merely about expression; it’s also about acquisition – of skills, values, credits and insights. The collaboration required in an orchestra or the patience needed in visual arts are life skills that extend beyond school walls.

Can you recall a time when art taught you something more than the art itself? Maybe it was a team project, a play, or a musical ensemble where you learned the importance of teamwork, timing, and effort.

New Zealand’s art projects, especially within schools, often intertwine with community outreach and social themes. The canvas becomes a voice, speaking for the environment, societal integration, indigenous rights, and more.

Art becomes a medium to communicate pressing issues, challenges, and hopes. For students, this is invaluable. They learn to view art as a potent tool for change, advocacy, and social responsibility.

Relegating the Arts to a mere subject overlooks its profound influence on shaping minds and hearts. In New Zealand, the importance of integrating Arts within secondary education isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. The Arts don’t merely educate; they inspire, question, innovate, and most importantly, connect.

How has your personal experience with the Arts influenced your understanding of culture and identity, particularly in the context of New Zealand’s rich artistic heritage? Considering the profound impact of the Arts on cognitive and emotional development, how can we further integrate and prioritize artistic education within the broader secondary school curriculum?

As usual, I am interested in your thoughts. 

Upholding Standards

After more than 100 days of being hit by long COVID I am now for the first time able to blog. What a journey. More on the journey later. I think I am almost there. Todays blog is an attempt to get back to reflection.

I have yet to encounter a prosperous organization or a high-performing team where mediocrity prevailed in their standards.

Someone who upheld exceptionally high standards throughout an extended tenure: the former manager and coach of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson. Footnote: I am an Arsenal fan!!!

Ferguson’s remarkable legacy at the club spanned an astonishing 26 years, during which he secured an astounding 13 league titles and an additional 25 domestic and international trophies. A significant contributing factor to his remarkable success was his unwavering commitment to holding every member of the club to the highest of standards. Sir Alex firmly believed that the pursuit of excellence permeated every facet of the organization.

Leading by example, Sir Alex epitomized dedication and diligence. He was the first to arrive and the last to leave, leaving no room for complacency or behaviors that could potentially undermine the club’s culture. The triumphs Manchester United achieved during his tenure unequivocally stemmed from the exacting standards he established, embraced, and preserved.

Ferguson prioritized discipline and consistency in upholding high standards, skillfully adjusting his leadership style to suit the unique characteristics of each generation of players he worked with, while never compromising on his unwavering standards.

And so, this prompts me to pose a critical question to you as a leader: which standards do you need to work? What do needs to be examined? This can be hard but rewarding.

Assessment and Agency and all that Jazz…

We can be committed to learner agency and different forms of assessment but often still over assess. I came across the great article from NZCER.

Teachers making decisions about their students’ achievements based on a range of sources of evidence is the cornerstone of an effective cycle of inquiry in any school. The evidence-based cycle of inquiry is the engine that drives improvement to teaching and learning in classrooms and in school-wide initiatives (Timperley et al, 2010).  Research says this is how you make a difference.

The expectation is that it is the professional responsibility of teachers to decide what the students can and can’t do, using multiple sources of evidence. That evidence will inform the decisions schools make to meet the needs of their students. Isn’t that what we’ve always done and continue to do?

Learner agency is about moving students from passively responding to acting with purpose to reach a desired goal or outcome. When students have an authentic purpose and audience beyond their teacher to share what they are learning, they are more motivated to learn and often go above and beyond.  I am excited to see more schools moving toward structures that empower learners to share and drive their learning process through portfolios and student-led conferences. Opportunities for learners to share their work beyond the teacher in student-led exhibitions can be powerful to ensure students have an authentic audience and are doing work that has value.

We can teach necessary skills while creating experiences that allow learners to take ownership of the process. Learners have access to an abundance of resources and experts that enable us all to learn in ways that extend beyond the expertise of one teacher or classroom. By tapping into those resources, we can create more experiences that can allow students to apply their newly learned skill in ways that are meaningful and relevant to them and others.

Solutions Orientated

I like to think I am solutions orientated so on the back of my last piece here are some ideas around how we can be better at catching students up.

Make Catch-Ups Purposeful

Ensuring catch up sessions aren’t just an opportunity to recover what was taught in lessons. Because this may convey the message that if they don’t listen first time in class, they can listen to it again in our time after school.

Enrich

Instead of catch up classes, can sessions after school actually go beyond the curriculum?   Can we link with specialist providers in our field to show how our subjects are used in industry?  Can we bring in experts to share their knowledge and push learning beyond its existing level?

Set Boundaries

There are students who genuinely need this additional support and I don’t know any teachers who would want to not provide this.  But do we ensure that those who need it get it rather than those who can’t be bothered getting a second chance

Phase them out

Could the way we design lessons, curriculums and schemes be reviewed?  Could we analyse our teaching and learning?  Asking the question why additional sessions are actually needed could lead to some real improvements to the department.  Why do we not have the time to deliver the course in lessons?  Why isn’t the content sticking? How could we use technology to complement this?

In conclusion though and why would you remove them if hardworking students are seeking to improve their grades further?  But then again, would removing them and addressing why we might need them solve the problem itself?

Supporting Your Students

When students struggle, many of us see the vastness of their struggle and try to solve it all at once. We end up throwing the kitchen sink at them, trying to fill in every gap and meet every challenge they face. But when students struggle in class, they are struggling for a specific reason. Sure, they may have several learning gaps and challenges, but at that moment, their struggle can usually be tied to a very specific learning gap or challenge. Rather than try to fill EVERY need a struggling learner faces, we need to target what they need right now. The better we are at pinpointing their specific source of struggle, the better we will be at solving it. Acceleration helps us target the source of students’ struggle today and quickly get students back on track so that they can be successful immediately. We should always remember that our students are not problems waiting to be solved but gifts and should be treated with dignity.

Planning

How do you know if you are driving the right way when you are traveling somewhere new? You use the road signs and a map (although nowadays it might be SIRI ). In the world of education, your objectives for your students act as road signs to your destination. Your plan is the map. Making a plan does not suggest a lack of creativity in your curriculum but rather, gives creativity a framework in which to flourish.

We can’t all be blessed with “epic” workdays all the time. Sometimes, life is just mundane and tedious. Teachers with a sense of purpose that are able to see the big picture can ride above the hard and boring days because their eye is on something further down the road. However by planning and making outcomes clear to our students we can clarify things for students and ourselves.

Differentiation

As we think as a school about acceleration, tracking students with various abilities and needs of students in your lessons mean that we need to tailor how we teach each one.  It doesn’t mean that differentiation needs to add to workload or contribute to an over-complicated lesson.  Differentiation should also be for the students we are providing it for, not for a tick box ERO review or Faculty Review inspection.

Differentiation need not be observable

Differentiation is for your students.  It shouldn’t be about ticking off boxes. Differentiation is subtle, personal and ingrained in what we do.  It isn’t a short term fix but a longer process.

Differentiation is key to good teaching

It’s the conversations we have, the bespoke feedback we give, the way we differ questions between groups of students.  Differentiation is a response to what is going on in class. Key word is response not a reaction. It should be thoughtful by the teacher.

Differentiation is not about making tasks easier but clarifying thinking

Show students what they should be aiming for and help scaffold students up towards that outcome.

Note I still have a great deal of thinking to do on this.

Great Leaders and Parents

It is Fathers Day’s and I am reflecting on how my has changed in the last 8 years as a Dad. The other week I posted a photo of my daughter completing her first Weetbix Triathlon. She suggested I post the above of me finished my first and only (so far) half iron-man.

I have been contemplating a leadership metaphor used by Simon Sinek on a Ted Talk.

The quote that sticks out to me is “great leaders are like parents wanting to give their children (employees) opportunities to try and fail in safe ways and to discipline when necessary”.

I’m struck by the use of the term “discipline” in the metaphor when applied to leadership in a school.

Discipline is commonly defined as getting someone to follow the rules and there is some implication of punishment if you don’t.

Perhaps if people don’t follow the team decision that provides for consistency then discipline is applied – usually a one on one conversation between leader and in this case teacher. But is it then about natural consequences of not following the decision.

 

 

EQ

Goleman (2002) brought the idea of emotional intelligence to the public consciousness, but researchers have long known that how well a person manages his or her emotions and those of others influences leadership effectiveness. For example, recognizing anger in yourself and others, and being able to empathize with people, can help you be more effective at exerting influence. Influence is at the heart of leadership. Emotional intelligence is an individual difference that is important for both leaders and followers. It is an individual difference that like many leadership skills is not fixed for life and can be improved by training and development. Emotional intelligence refers to qualities like: understanding one’s feelings, empathy for others, and the regulation of emotions to enhance living.

This type of intelligence has to do with the ability to connect with people and understand their emotions. These are not skills that form part of most formal curricula in schools or universities. Nor do they often get mentioned as something that needs to be developed in order to be effective in leadership or in life. Most good leaders are alike in one essential way – they all have a high degree of emotional intelligence. The five key factors in emotional intelligence are:  self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill. Space not does permit an explanation of these factors here. However, an internet search will uncover many emotional intelligence tests that you can undertake. Just type ‘emotional intelligence test’ into Google. Try however, to find a test that is underpinned by good research and has been found to be statistically valid and reliable.

Goleman, D. 2002, The New Leaders, Time Warner, London.

The Peace Table

This week our staff took part in an amazing PD Day around restorative practices. It made me understand Restorative was about relationships and about having the entire community on board. This is an effective alternative to punitive responses to wrong doing. Inspired by indigenous traditions, it brings together persons harmed with persons responsible for harm in a safe and respectful space, promoting dialogue, accountability, and a stronger sense of community. Restorative justice is a philosophical framework that can be applied in a variety of contexts — the justice system, schools, families, communities, and others. As a teacher, I have used restorative questions with my students and find them to be a powerful tool.

However, I frequently catch myself putting more focus on the person who created the conflict, and having them use the restorative questions to reflect on the situation. With those who have been impacted, I tend to talk with them about the event, rather than give them the restorative questions to answer. While my reasoning was mainly about time management (and a bit of laziness), not allowing my students the time to reflect on those questions robs them of an opportunity to develop self-identification of their emotions and needs. Due to a recent situation, I have experienced first-hand the benefits of reflection using restorative questions, and truly recognize their importance to all parties involved in an act of harm.

I realize now how valuable restorative questions are, not only those who have committed an act of wrongdoing but also those who were affected by the act. The time spent processing what had happened to me was time well spent. It was a strong reminder for me that short-changing the process for my students can affect some of what restorative practices attempts to achieve: involvement of all parties; self-awareness; and the potential connections that can occur through recognition and acknowledgment of others’ feelings and needs.