I can’t say that I have ever read any of Neil Gaiman’s work (although I most certainly will after listening to this speech). This speech spoke to me on so many levels; about following your passions, breaking rules and being yourself.
I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
I have many convictions that help to shape my life. I have convictions about looking after my health, building a strong marriage and convictions about investing time and energy into my family and friends. The word ‘conviction’ is quite a traditional word that for some contains connotations of being restrictive. I see convictions as quite the opposite I see them as being deep principles that you can build your life around. I see them as anchors that give stability, even in the storms of life.
When I was seven we lived in quiet a remote village in the Peak District, in England. it’s a beautiful area, covered in lush green paddocks but far from the water. When my parents told me that we were going on holiday on a boat I was thrilled! On our first night on the boat, a small rickety old thing, it was my father’s responsibility to anchor down for the night and secure our spot on the river. It was a calm night and there was no wind. After we had anchored down our family went to bed early. In the middle of the night, there was a terrifying crash. My father jumped up out of bed to investigate. We had drifted about three kilometers down stream and smashed into a wharf. We had done incredible damage to the boat and the neighbouring wharf all because we had not anchored down properly for the night.
Anchors are interesting things; they are not merely metal objects that moor a boat to the bottom of the river bed or the ocean. They provide stability or confidence in otherwise uncertain times. As teachers we have to have an unwavering believe, a conviction in fact, that we are here to make a difference. Our convictions will anchor us during challenging times.
My convictions about teaching are:
For me:
What are some of your convictions about education? What are your anchors?
Please leave your thoughts here.
Small actions done consistently every day add up to big outcomes in the long term. A while ago I heard one of my favourite speakers, Robert Fergusson give a presentation titled ‘Mastering the Mundane.’ In his presentation Fergusson spoke convincingly about the importance of attaching significance to the small, seemingly insignificant, things that you do each day. His presentation got me thinking and it has stayed with me for many years. We often don’t see the compounding results, either positive or negative, of small decisions until much later in our lives.
Acts like brushing your teeth, daily exercise, kissing your spouse or being grateful may seem inconsequential but the truth is if you do these consistently they could have more significant outcomes than you can imagine.
Conversely, daily habits and actions that are unproductive can also have negative compounding results over the long haul. If you consistently work late, skip breakfast or neglecting time with your family you may find yourself heading down a road that you did not expect. When I was a student I never serviced my car. I was living out of home, had very little money and I just didn’t really see the point. I would drive my car all over the place, fill it up with the cheapest fuel possible, never change (let alone check) the oil and rarely check the tyres. I just assumed that it would keep going indefinitely. Of course it didn’t. The money that I had ‘saved’ from not servicing the car was quickly surpassed by the price of a new engine. Lesson learned. Small decisions like regularly servicing your car can save you lots later on.
If your health, life and career could be dramatically improved by the ‘small things’ that you decide to do or not do every day what would you do differently? What small things would you change today?
Here are a few small thing that, if done regularly, could have a huge impact on your teaching career:
It is so easy to neglect the small things that we (should) do each day. Amidst the busyness and chaos of the start of the school year these things can be easily forgotten. But these small things build up, so decide to build a reservoir of small decisions and do you best to minimise the poorer options.
What other actions would you add?
In the words of actress, director, and civil rights activist of Maya Angelou
‘People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel’
How will your students feel and view themselves after you have finished teaching them?
We tend to remember the extremes: the amazing, and the horrible. If you think back to your childhood, it tends to be filled with these extremes. I remember the most horrific day of my schooling specifically Term 1, Year 4. I had a crush on a girl named Sarah. She had just arrived at our school, and within hours I had had enough time to plot our future together and was convinced that she felt the same. The truth is, I doubt that she even knew of my existence. I only spoke one sentence to her. I asked her ‘Could I sit with you at lunch?’ To which, in front of all of my friends, she laughed and turned away. Looking back, that wasn’t such a big deal, but then, as a slightly chubby Year 4 student, I wished the world would have opened up and swallowed me whole. Or the other time, the greatest day of my life, when in Year 6 I won a community award for my ‘engaging and entertaining’ acrostic poem on hot cross buns. Upon re-reading the poem many years later, I realised that there were a number of typos and strange rhyming sequences, including feast and treat, and Easter and minister.
If you’re reading this article I am going to assume that you want to leave a lasting teaching legacy.
One day your teaching time will come to an end. One day you will have taught your last lesson and all that will be left will be your teaching legacy.
How would you like to be remembered by your students?
Today I thought that I would share some ideas that will just make your teaching life easier. It’s not rocket science, nor do you need a master’s degree to implement them. They are just common sense ways that will make your day run smoothly.
Use your own mug. One casual teaching day I grabbed a mug from the staffroom and sat down to have a cup of tea. I wondered why one of the teachers was scowling at me. Doris was watching someone else drink out of the ‘Doris Mugs.’
Pay for your tea and coffee. If you use the tea, milk or coffee it’s a privilege. Make sure that you put money in to cover your cuppa.
Take notes in meetings. It’s important to take notes for two reasons: it helps you remember what has been said, and it makes your look like you are paying attention.
Be courteous with staff members. Just be nice. Say please, say thank you and show a smile. It doesn’t cost anything.
Thank people specifically. When your praise people, be specific. ‘I really appreciated the way that your spoke to Jane’s parents about the issue in class. Thank you’ is far more effective than ‘Good job with the assemble.’
Check your emails regularly. I check my emails each day at 8am and at 3:30PM when I finish. It’s just good practice to reply to emails and stay on top of your inbox.
Look at the duty roster. I am guilty of forgetting my duties. Each day, remind yourself of when and when your duties are.
If you jam the photocopier then fix it. It’s just bad manners. If your jam the copier, just fix it.
Say hi to the office staff. The office staff are the backbone of the school. Things that seem to just happen, don’t. Be appreciative.
Plan your day before it starts. I write down everything that I need to do for that day. I keep a detailed daybook and I write down my to-do lists. If it is in your head it will distract you from teaching.
What can think of that will just make your day easier?
No two days are ever the same in teaching therefor; handling complexity is a huge component of teaching. At any given moment you will have deadlines (often conflicting ones), parent expectations, staff expectations, school policies to implement, class routines to uphold and supervisors giving you feedback. To add to the complexity you will could have student(s) having a bad day, a differentiated curriculum to implement and students to engage in a variety of creative ways. There are always things to do and things that you will feel as though you could have done better.
Amongst all of this chaos and confusion, you have your own emotions to deal with; are you cranky, sick, or have you just got a lot on your mind? The nature of our profession makes it essential to have the skills to manage complexity or you’ll end up feeling tired and burnt out
So what can you do to simplify your work habits and get the most out of your day?
How can you manage the complexity of teaching? How can you plan and prepare, but still remain flexible?
Write things down. I would not survive without my daybook. My daybook doubles as my diary and I carry it everywhere. I do a daily ‘brain dump’ (link to David Allen article) and write down all of the things that I am thinking about.
Remember: If you don’t write things down they take up valuable mental space.
Make actionable items. At the end of each day I write essential and actionable items for the following day. This helps me to feel in control and gives me a sense of accomplishment when I complete the essential items. It also helps to write using ‘verbs’ so that you attached an action to each of the points. For example, for tomorrow, I have ‘Book excursion bus, Burn new musical CD, Practise drumming composition with the students.’
Remember: Choose three things that are essential for that day.
Plan your week. I always plan a whole week in advance. That means that all of my photocopying, class resources and teaching equipment are ready one week ahead. This is not always possible as others teachers may be using equipment, but I try my best
Remember: Think ahead, what equipment and resources will you need?
Teaching is a complex profession. It’s important to get some of these practises in place so that you can keep some brain space free for what matters most, your students.
Sometimes you get used to things not working as they should. After a while we begin to tolerate things not working properly. In my apartment the toilet seat is not securely attached to the throne. It was like that when we moved in, the owner forgot to attach a couple of screws during the renovation before he rented it out. When I was inspecting the property and deciding if it was a suitable abode for myself and my wife, I neglected to lift the toilet seat up and check that it was secured on there.
All these months later and we still haven’t fixed it! It’s not that annoying, really. We’re used to it now, but when people come over and use the bathroom we occasionally hear a little “Whoops…I’m ok!” It’s such an easy thing to fix, but the problem is that we are used to the toilet seat being a little off, we are used to managing and manoeuvring around the problem rather than addressing it with a simple solution.
It can be the same in our schools and in our classrooms. A few weeks ago my (new) supervisor decided to come and observe a new student who’d arrived in my class. As she walked through my classroom door she stopped and asked what that pile of papers (student posters) was doing there close to the entrance. Despite searching the depths of my brain, I couldn’t come up with a plausible answer. The truth is they had been there since Term 1 and I had always intended to move them but I hadn’t quite got round to it. It was embarrassing. As with the broken toilet seat, I had simply got used to things not being as they should.
So I decided to, and I encourage you to, go on a bit of a mission:
Look at things with fresh eyes – take a few moments, step back and evaluate one area of your professional life. This may be your planning, programming, classroom set up or your interaction with other colleagues. What have you become used to? What is one area of your work or workplace where you have begun to tolerate dysfunction?
For example: That pile of posters on my classroom floor.
Decide what is not working – What specifically is not working? Does the set up of your classroom mean that one child cannot see the board? Do you leave your planning to the last minute so that you always feel anxious and disorganised? Have you never really invested time into thinking about classroom management systems?
For example: It is not the best place to store it as it takes up valuable space on the carpet, students’ work is not displayed appropriately and it makes the space look messy.
Choose one thing and fix it – There is no point in trying to do everything at once. You will just end up feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Choose one thing and do it until the task is completed.
For example: Plan to stay back after school one day, pick up the pile of posters, display them appropriately, and from now on don’t leave things on the floor.
That pile of posters and my broken toilet seat has taught me a lot about my teaching ], finishing tasks and finding focus. They have also taught me a lot about how we can slowly become immune to things not working, or not being as effective as they should.
What are some things that you have begun to tolerate?
Transition is a funny thing. Depending on your personality you may love change or you may hate it. Some people love the challenge and the new opportunities that come with change, others greet change with a feeling of fear and suspicion. Over the years I’ve learnt that things change, but people transition.
Term Four is a time of transition in schools. It’s a time when teachers start to evaluate the year that was and think about transitioning into the New Year. If you’re on a teaching contract at your school, you’ll be thinking about what work might look like next year and hopefully you’re putting job applications out there if you need to. Or maybe you’re in discussions about what class or year group you’ll be teaching next year? Perhaps you’re taking stock of your career and considering a step up or some other form of career progression? Whatever the case is for you, I want to share one piece of wisdom that I’ve always tried to live by: The way you finish something impacts the way you start the next thing.
Sometimes the crossing over part, the transition, can take forever! There’s so much to think about and do, that we can get a little ahead of ourselves and lose perspective and focus. At times transition can seem overwhelming as you consider all the work you need to do to finish the project, the work, the year AND the effort it will take to start all over again. Perhaps fatigue has set in for you? Or maybe you’re a little over it in general? Or maybe you’ve had a great year, but you can’t wait to go on holidays? Now is not the time to let things slide and it’s not the time to check out. Why? Because everything you do now will set you up for your next year! So here are my Six Tips for finishing the year strong.
Declutter. If you take a moment and look around you may notice that a year’s worth of paperwork, projects, resources and generic junk has somehow crept into your classroom and into your life. Term four is a great time to take stock and get rid of some stuff. Decluttering your desk or your pigeonhole can make a huge difference to your state of mind. You make instantly feel lighter, maybe even more productive. I find that the best way to declutter is with a vengeance! If you haven’t used it in three months consider recycling, donating or tossing it. If it’s something you know you’ll use again, find a place for it and store it – otherwise it has to go! Once you start you may find yourself motivated to declutter and organise even more key spaces in your life, that unruly corner of your classroom, the boot of your car, your home office maybe even your wardrobe?
Dump the emotional baggage. While you’re taking out the trash, consider the junk that’s stored up internally. That colleague you can’t seem to get along with, that dominating parent, the student who let him or herself down, that mistake you made, that betrayal. So much can happen in a year, and it’s natural to feel hurt, angry or confused. But if you keep bringing it up in many of your conversations, or if it just feels kind of ugly, I’d suggest you’ve dwelt on it for long enough. Term four is a great time to take a deep breath and let it go. If you can make peace, do it. If you’ve done all you can, it’s time to forgive. I don’t believe that forgiving someone is suggesting that what they did is ok, it just means that you choose to not let it bother you anymore. You’d be surprised at how peaceful and content you feel when you forgive others.
Revisit your goals. Did you start the year with a few goals? Maybe you wanted to get healthier, or you had a habit you wanted to kick? Most people start the year enthusiastic about the changes they want to make in their lives! I wonder how many of those people actually make the time to evaluate how they tracked at the end of the year? Starting (or quitting) habits is hard work, so if you’re not going that well please don’t be discouraged! Now is a great time to remind yourself why you wanted to make the changes you had in mind in January. You still have two months to give it another go! Trust me, finishing with just one more of your goals achieved can supercharge your resolve for changes you want to make in the new year.
Plan your professional development. No other person is going to take responsibility for your career and development. Taking some time this side of the year to think seriously about your career and professional development will ensure that you’re ahead of the game come next year. Consider where you’re going and come next year you’ll be on the path to your career goals. You may want to update your resume, plan which courses you want to do or start a conversation with a teaching mentor about what you need to do to get that next promotion?
Be kind. Do you know any people who are always thinking about others? They remembered to ask you how your grandmother was feeling after the surgery or how the renovation’s going. They’re never too busy to chat and they always seem willing to help. Then you have those people who constantly complain, always talk about themselves and never think of others. The end of the year is a great time to think about what kind of person you want to be more like and adjust accordingly. No matter how big or small, make it a priority to do something kind for someone else. If you’re feeling ambitious I’d challenge you to SIX acts of kindness before the year ends. Write a thank you card to that person, bring some fresh muffins into the staff room, make it your goal to make the administration staff smile in the morning, acknowledge someone’s hard work… Honestly there are so many things you can do to brighten up someone’s day and you’ll find that you’ve just made your own day so much better too.
Make time for fun. Fun is seriously underrated. Think about what you love to do, what makes you laugh and who you love to spend time with then lock something in that incorporates all those elements. Whether it’s a fun experience to celebrate the end of Term or it’s some activities the whole family can enjoy during school holidays – planning something now will give you something to look forward to.
No matter what kind of year you’ve had, finishing on a positive note can help you to transition into the New Year with momentum rather than having to push through and “start again.”
Words are powerful tools and as teachers we should always be aware of what we say around our students. I learnt this lesson in one of my classrooms as an early career teacher.
I was teaching literacy lesson on Dougal’s Deep Sea Diary (It’s a fantastic read!). The students were hard at work writing their own version of Dougal’s Diary in response to his diving adventures. While the students were writing, a colleague of mine came into the room and was discussing with me what my plans were for the holidays. Under my breath I said to him ‘I’m going away, it is going to be awesome.’
I though nothing of it, he left he room and the lesson continued without concern. The next day, while I was introducing a lesson on Data, I told the students that we would be making a lunch box graph. The purpose of the lesson was to see what the most popular coloured lunchbox was. I heard a girl turn to her classmate and whisper ‘Graphs are awesome!’
I was amazed, and before I knew it the rest of my class were using the word to describe all sorts of exciting events. “Awesome” became so popular that I actually had to ban the word as it was the only adjective that they would use: “The cat sat on the awesome mat” and “The new playground equipment is awesome” and so on!
As excited as I was that the students’ descriptions were developing, I also realised just how much students see their teachers as a role model and how they seem to copy everything that we do. Lucky for me, they picked up the word “awesome”, but I wonder what words we let slip out that we’d rather not have our students mimicking?
This is why it is so important to:
As educators you hold an immense amount of influence in your classroom. To your class, you are the one with the answers and the one who offers support and guidance. In some cases, your opinion holds more weight than any other adult figure. So keep your words positive and your interactions with others healthy.
I’m not sure about you, but this term is a very, very busy term for me. Upon reflection, I wonder if it is currently a term that I am spending well? Was it really crazily busy, or just incredibly unproductive?
Tiredness and stress are not badges of pride they rob you of job satisfaction and they prevent your students of getting the best from their teacher.
Teachers are busy. We rush, photocopy, staple, make tea, eat lunch in a frenzy, photocopy, talk, hypothesise, talk, photocopy and make (more) tea. We rise early, work late, work through lunch, work through recess and take on numerous extra curricular activities. We seem very busy but could it be that we feel busy because we are actually unproductive with our time?
Could it be that we are tired because we don’t take breaks, switch off or because we don’t each your lunch?
I am not saying that are we being wasteful with our time. I am suggesting that every now and again we need to stop, think about and plan our commitments. Ever year or so I reread two books, Insanely Simple by Ken Segall and Getting Things Done by David Allen (I interviewed him here). These two books help me to gain perspective and help me to make sure that I manage my time and energy effectively so that I can teach my students to the best of my ability. I am also quite obsessed with trying new productivity tools, tricks and apps.
Just because we are busy, doesn’t mean that we are being productive. Being tired, looking like death and staying back at work isn’t a badge of honour it is a poor example our students and to our family.
So how can we structure our term in a way that reduces busyness and increases productivity?
Move slowly and consciously. So often we rush from one thing to the next. This has been one the biggest things I have had to work through. If we are rushing, multitasking and juggling too much we end up doing lots of things badly.
Pause before you say yes. We all get caught in saying yes to too many things. Before we know it we are sitting in on that meeting or we are running the Oz-Tag competition. Next time someone asks you to do that thing, notice your desire to commit and then politely say, ‘Can I get back to you?’
Have a few clear goals for the day. I try and have only two or three significant goals for the day. They may be to return that email, to send that letter out to parents or it may to finish my students’ assessments. Everything else gets put in the non-urgent section of my diary.
Revisit your goals throughout the day. Despite all your intentions, the school day never quite goes to plan. That teacher is away and your have to cover a duty (that was your maths planning time!) or your class is having an off day and your wonderful lesson in tessellations doesn’t quite get off the ground. It is precisely for these reasons that you need to revisit and adjust your goals throughout the day.
Remember, just because we are busy doesn’t mean we are being productive. In fact, busyness is quite often a nice disguise for our inability to prioritise tasks or organise ourselves.