This afternoon I had the privilege of attending NZEALS visiting scholar session, with Dr Vicki Carpenter and Dr Karen Nairn.
We need a real living wage...
The book -
Taking all children to their potential!
A powerful contributor list...
Fabulous discussion starters...
Out of sight, out of mind, looking at Karen's chapter! Exploring transitions. Is it transition from primary to secondary, or changing pre teen to teen?
Male and Maori are disproportionately over represented in alternative education.
Poverty of vision and provision.
AE provides for disengaged learners. How do we engage the disengaged or renegade?
Critical success factors:
Relationship, passion, compassion, future focus, holistic, leadership and teamwork...
Poverty of vision and resourcing for alternative education providers.
Relationship with schools...
Barriers to re-engagement...
Resourced pilot project tracking school leavers across Otago - explore this...
What a fabulous discussion this was. I felt incredibly moved by the story and privileged to be a part of the discussion. So much of what was shared must be at the forefront of where we are at when working with schools, leaders, teachers and learners.
Engagement, well-being, learning, holistic view of learner and learning, all at the forefront of ideas shared. And yet again Fionna's blog post challenge...
"Every action of ours serves to include or exclude."
A greater awareness of our actions, our reactions and interactions enables us to be more mindful of this quote. Relationship is crucial, really getting to know our learners, and understand what they want, need, perceive as inclusion or exclusion.
WOW - thanks for sharing this clip Greg. What a powerful watch for us all. Watching this video this morning was an awesome time to reflect on some of my notions of 'team'. I used video notes to capture some of the points along the way. + Don't peck... you don't need to blow my candle out to make your's burn brightly... we don't need to compete + Do superstars together grow success - no! + We need to find a better way to live that doesn't involve in suppressing others. + 3 characteristics of successful teams - high degree of sensitivity to each other... empathy.. + 2nd - equal time to each other, do domination or passnegers + 3rd - more women in the groups... + Social conectedness matters! + What happems between us really counts! + Asking for help... solutions are out there... culture of helpfulness! + Getting and giving help + Getting to know each other drives helpfulness - he tangata, he tangata, he tangata + Invest time in REALLY gettihg to know each other + Fika - collactive restoration - gathering together over coffee + When the going gets tough - social support is there to help you + Companies don't have ideas, people do... + What matters is the mortar - not just the bricks. + Social captial - reliance and interdependency + Resilience in times in stress + Gives momentum, makes companies robust, + TIME is everything... + Time builds value + Synchronised coffee breaks.. dedicated time to talk to each other... + Conflict is frequent, candor is safe, good deas turn into great ideas + Social capital supports growth + Talent and creativity - in the power of many.. + Drama is between the students or ideas... Outstanding collaborators... + Bringing out the best in others is how you bring out the best in yoursefl + Everyone matters + How much more can we give each other if we stop trying to be super chickens.. + Work is SOCIAL - a lot has to change, + Rivalry must be replaced by social capital, + Motivating each other must be our goal... + Leadership - create conditions for everyone to do most courageous thinking together... + No stars in our team - we need everybody + We work to one standard only - the best imaginable + Boss has to butt out, no space for power.. + We solve our problems by involving everybody! + Everybody has value - to create the BEST beyond measure...
View in VideoNot.es A very powerful watch which I can thoroughly recommend. For me the reflection is in my privilege to work for a company that oozes social capital. People are invested in, time is given to relationship building, time it allocated for connecting and sharing what is on top, both in our personal and professional lives. Time is given for us to connect across teams, contracts and areas. It also compels me to share a link from Fionna Wright's recent blog post... http://blog.core-ed.org/blog/2015/10/quite-simply-included.html Fionna offered three questions that sit with me and continue to challenge and shape me...
What is that I/you might do to unintentionally exclude others?
Where are my/your ‘blind spots’ (what am I/you not seeing)?
How can I/you help all of my/your learners quite simply feel included right now?
I am forever mindful of the privilege of our role. As a facilitator I believe our role is to 'make easy the journey'. We are in no way experts or pecking chickens. What is I might do to unintentionally exclude or fail to engage others? What are my blindspots? How can I help everyone feel included?
Recently, as part of the CORE team working at Ulearn I had the privilege of working with, collaborating with, socialising with, getting to know so many of our CORE whanau. It is in these conditions that our most courageous thinking can happen. It is in these times that we can best support, challenge, provoke and interact. It is in these times that we grow our social capital and what it is to be CORE whanau. No more strongly was this felt than in the singing of Tatai Aho Rau at the conclusion of Pat Snedden's keynote.
WOW, two days of ‘no agenda’. WOW what a luxuriating treat. Two sleep ins, family time, meals out, BBQ, garden walk, coffees with family and friends, sunshine, and thinking time. It really doesn’t get any better than this.
I have taken lots of time this weekend to be ‘offline’ and mindful.
Coming back online has been a little overwhelming with so much ‘dialogue’ in the social media sphere. An interesting conversation around those new to twitter has resulted in some exciting new opportunities and possibilities. I will keep you posted.
Being mindful of the need to maximize the learning, networking, sharing, challenges and celebration from Ulearn has caused me to begin a crowd sourced doc to capture some of it, making it accessible and rewindable. Check out the first edtalk up today - Grant Lichtman's keynote!
As educators enter classrooms for the first day of term four, we are excited by the potential of impact on learners the length and breadth of New Zealand.
Today I am going to spend a little more time reflecting on the MAGIC of 1800+ educators together in one space for this conference. Many, many times I post, “he tangata, he tangata, he tangata”, and this indeed was the MAGIC of the conference for me. Working as part of the connected educator team comes with the privilege of being where the people need us to be, being alongside them, listening and supporting with next steps. It is also a HUGE honour and privilege to support beyond the event itself. Reflections and conversations on twitter over the weekend have led to a Google Hangout tonight to look at ways of supporting those new to an online environment over the initial barriers, confidently able to grow and maximise their new networks.
I am going to focus today, on my connections with e-fellows at Ulearn. CORE Education Ltd celebrates a number of e-fellows each year and I had the privilege of being an e-fellow in 2012, alongside Beverley Kaye, Helen King, Paula Eskett and Rachel Boyd. We were / are the ‘famous five’ and Ulearn15 is the first opportunity we have had to be back together since Ulearn12.
What an incredible reunion! It is so powerful to re-connect and catch up on our lives since our amazing year. It was as if we hadn’t been apart and we chatted, giggled, laughed and caught up. The e-fellow dinner was an opportunity for us to celebrate dinner together with e-fellows current and past. What an incredible time to be there for the 2015 celebrations of their amazing year, with tears and laughter testimony to their tight-knit, incredible year together. An awesome touch was the book they were presented with celebrating their year together! E-fellows from 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012 celebrated.
Thursday morning saw the announcement of six brand new e-fellows who begin their journey for 2016. What an incredible time!
Some very interesting ideas in here. What does this mean for us now? What MUST we change? What MUST we increase our awareness of? What MUST we decrease?
Homeward bound before I slowed down for long enough to write up my goals for Ulearn…
So I am reflecting without the written goals…
Has it really only been five days since I left home? It seems improbable that so much has happened in one week. It seems impossible that we are already reflecting on #ulearn15. It seems inconceivable that so many educators have made so many connections, so many aha moments, so many new wonderings and challenges, so many calls to action.
Where to begin?
Let me start with the absolute declaration that I am privileged to work for the MOST amazing whanau in the world – CORE Education Ltd. From the initial preparations, through to the opening, the connections, the presentations, the sharing, through to the closing waiata – Tatai Aho Rau, our whanau have embraced us all in the heart of learning. So long ago I was speaking of the dream of wearing the ‘yellow lanyard”. Three years in and I am privileged to wear the lanyard with pride, embracing all that it means to learn, share, laugh, dream, connect, embrace, celebrate and just BE ME in our CORE whanau. Celebrating my third year as part of the Social Media / Connected Educator team is a true blessing and privilege. To BE where educators need us, to support their next steps in a connected journey is such an incredible opportunity.
To share three sessions with delegates at Ulearn15 is an awesome privilege. Each session unique and MAGICAL…
Links to presentations to come…
Lets have a little look at my week…
Monday – arrive in Auckland, connect and collaborate with Vicky as we prepare and embrace mindfulnees.
Tuesday – Permission to play – tweeting from sessions, connecting with educators, setting up rooms at ACG, conference showcase, e-fellow dinner.
Wednesday – Keynote seat drop, Tweeting from key note, vox pop filming, Presentation on Twitter and connecting, tweeting from Grant Lichtman’s workshop, Connected Educator Lounge party, Twitter dinner
Thursday – Tweeting from keynote, Connected Educator lounge, Presentation with amazing crew – Mentoring, Presentation Driving your Professional Inquiry, Connected Educator lounge, Reflection time with Connected Educator team, Conference dinner
Friday – tweeting from Derek’s reflective panel session, Connected Educator Lounge, Pam Hook’s Solo workshop, Thanking Pam Hook, Tweeting from closing keynote,
Running on the adrenaline of the week, til now, the yawns have set in…
I want to capture some of my highlights…
· Mindfulness with Vicki on Monday.
· Grant Lichtman really lit my heart and soul with the challenge of hearing the story, listening to the people, reflecting on successes and challenges.
· Deliberate Acts of Facilitation from Grant Lichtman’s session. I am totally in awe of the way he used the power of the people at the table to collaborate and share, then share with others… very clever facilitation.
· Sharing my story of the transformative power of my journey, being mentored. Sharing a very personal story, from my heart, holding my tears.
· Feedback from my session from Whare. We all need validation, but to be quoted by Whare and to be tweeted this by my twitter buddies bought tears… Aroha and gratitude…
· Being a part of the Connected Educator team. My dream and belief that connection with others is EVERYTHING, socialisation and collaboration is everything, means it is a privilege and a honour to be part of this team. Gratitude and respect to Tara and Catriona for leading us this week.
· Sharing our twitter / connected educator session with educators so hungry, so thirsty for connection, online, outside their own back yard.
· Sharing my session ‘driving your inquiry through networking’ with such a beautiful group of people. The feedback from the session bought tears to my eyes. We must never forget to validate, and accept validation. We must never stop connecting and acknowledging the power of connecting to move us to so much more than we are capable of alone. We must never stop dreaming, believing and achieving.
· The socialisation – small group, one to one, face to face, e-fellow dinner, twitter dinner, showcase dinner… We are all about the learning and this conference is so focused on the learning. The socialization, the relationship building is what takes us beyond this just being #ulearn15, empowering us to connect and maintain the relationship online until our next face to face.
· The visual recording of the keynotes. A powerful way to capture ‘the story’ in a way offering another way to connect with and engage with the story.
· The power of the story within us all.
· The showcase dinner deserves a mention all of its own. WOW just WOW! The high seas was the place to be…
· Ann Lieberman’s keynote was an incredible story of the power of the teacher, leader, learner. Some incredible challenges issued to us all. How I am I going to share my learning, how am I going to lead?
· Pat Snedden’s keynote was an incredible privilege to hear. I have such an inside view into the life and MAGIC of my dear friend Helen King who is instrumental in transforming. I have renewed awe.
· Fionna Wright’s post on the CORE Education Ltd blog this week challenged me and heightened my awareness this week. “Every action of ours serves to include or exclude’. WOW what a challenge. I was very mindful this week of every opportunity I had to include. Thank you to everyone who included me!
· The buzz, the hype, the absolute ‘learning’ focus of CORE Education Ltd. What a privilege to work for this company. Tatai Aho Rau!
· Living in! This is an absolute highlight of the conference. Being able to return to our rooms, being able to take a lighter bag, being able to have space – thank you for this beautiful privilege.
· Being in amongst almost 2000 passionate, dedicated, educators who create MAGIC for learners daily.
· To acknowledge the incredible team who work to make this possible. From tech, to events, to media, to minders, and everyone involved, CORE Education Ltd you are MAGICAL.
As we approach landing, I am thinking about how #ulearn15 must be much, much more than a week in the life of learners. It must be a catalyst, an affirmation, a challenge, a connection, a trigger. It MUST impact on learning and learners. It MUST impact on us, our hearts, our minds and our ways of being. It MUST call us and challenge us. It MUST sustain and nourish us to take action. It MUST be oh so much more than a conference.
Personally, #ulearn15 is etched within me. It is in my breathing, as I breathe deep, mindful of my privilege of being an educator. It is in my movements, as I walk many paths, facilitating, ‘making easy the way’ of educators, it is in my mind as I reflect, synthesize, integrate, embrace new learning. It is in my eyes as I see new ways, new horizons, new opportunities. It is in my ears, as I listen, really listen to the voice of all, learners, educators, leaders, whanau. It is in ME!
Ulearn15 has called me to action. I am going to create a doc to share all of our reflections from Ulearn15, as we share and connect and continue the journey.
Thank you for the privilege.
I would love to hear your highlights, reflections, calls to action…
I have a reasonably significant new condition... #tedxcitis... and, be warned, it is very contagious! I just can't stop thinking about, reflecting on and talking about TEDX.
Many, many years ago I started watching Tedtalks. Of the hundreds I have watched over the years, each and every one has taken me on a journey, challenged me, and caused me to reflect and think again.
Way back in 2010 I had the privilege of recording an edtalk with Claire Buist, thanks to the wonderful Jane Nicholls. Since then I have been able to share my story and I really do believe it is MAGICAL to have your story captured. I know that much of my journey might have disappeared had it not been for this capturing and I am grateful for the opportunity.
Back in 2012 I had the incredible experience of attending my first TEDX event, TEDXDunedin. I was in awe. The crowd, the talks, the ideas, the connecting... the entire experience filled me with wonder and awe.
Then in 2014 I attended #TEDXChristchurch, a day of intense emotion, learning, challenge, story telling, reflecting and connecting.
In April 2015 I was privileged to get tickets for #TEDXQueenstown and I feasted on another incredible day.
On Saturday I attended #TEDXChch and my heart, mind and soul were blown wide open. I experienced intense emotions from joy, to sorrow, to grief, to fear, to wonder, respect, and absolute awe! The power of the story was evident from sun up til sun down. Each and every story touched me in some way and I just cannot stop talking about it. To be fair, I think my family are a little relieved I am flying away today. Flying away to share my tedx wonderings with new, eager listeners I am hoping to find. I have talked them out. From VW fuel emissions, to stories from the inside, to tourettes, ants, cancer treatments and power, imagination and character.
So, would you believe this coincidence? Left in the magazine pocket on my seat of the plane is a copy of the 'the economist', a magazine which I have never, or probably would never read. Well, the cover photo and article are 'dirty secrets of the car industry' - the story of the VW lies, which connects and causes me to reflect on the second TEDXchch talk. Eric Frangenheim talks of being RAS alerted, and I am so mindful of this. Had I not attended TEDX I would not have given the cover a second glance, and would not have read the article. I am richer from the experience and opportunity to reflect on this significant issue. How can we keep destroying the beautiful world we live in? Why do we lie and cheat? How can companies live with lies? Is it always wrong to lie? What will become of VW? What questions will need to be asked?
So a word of warning to those at Ulearn... I am going to talk about TEDX! I am going to continue to reflect and discuss. I am going to tell a slightly different story at the start of my presentation... I am going to tell more of my story... It is in the story that the true MAGIC is woven....
And, two more serendipitous moments of MAGIC to add to this post... Flying with me was Professor Richie Poulton, speaker at TedXDunedin 2012. So of course, I took a moment to chat and grab a photo.
Professor Richie Poulton is Director of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit which conducts the Dunedin longitudinal study, one of the most detailed studies of human health and development ever undertaken. A multidisciplinary, longitudinal study of 1,037 babies born in Dunedin during 1972/73, the Study members have been followed up since birth, at age three, then every two years to age 15, and at ages 18, 21, 26, and 32. The latest assessment phase, at age 38, commenced in 2010 and was completed in March 2012, and was an outstanding success with 96% of the surviving Study members being assessed.
Then later this afternoon, on the waterfront in Auckland with Vicki, we viewed the National Geographic Photographer of the year exhibition. And there before my eyes was the clip by Mark Gee, from TedXchch 2014.
WOW - what co-incidence. The stories are everywhere... all around us!
...and thanks to Vicki for tolerating my #tedxitis....
