Government

This term sees Year 6 focus on the topic of Government in Inquiry Studies. The initial thoughts of most students about this topic is one of boredom and total disinterest.
Initial questioning of the students revealed a distinct lack of knowledge and awareness in this area. Students could tell me who the Prime Minister of Australia was, they knew Barack Obama and a few (1 or 2) other world leaders. Despite this they were unable to tell me in any great depth what it was that a government does.
The opening lesson in the unit saw us view a clip from Lord of the Flies. Following this there was discussion as to why the events that we were viewing were occurring. The discussion lead to the common response was because there were no rules or laws. My follow up question was simply "What does a government do?" The reply was "Creates rules and laws".
After dissecting what a government does we then move onto types of governments where in small groups students do mini projects on democracies, communism, monarchies and dictatorships.
Investigating how the Australian system of government works can become a little tedious. There is nothing overly stimulating on a how a bill becomes a law. I try to make this participatory by conducting an election in the same manner of how this occurs in Australia and then having a class parliament where all students are assigned roles.
The final part of the unit is the key, the most stimulating part for the students. It is a sub-unit entitled "Making My Voice Heard: Taking a Stand". In this section the students choose an issue that interests them, research the cause and then get the message they are trying to make out to others. This section of the unit is to show that we can all play a part in the political process. Last year my students chose some fascinating topics such as children in detention centres, killing of dolphins, coal seam gas mining to name a few.
Why do we do the government unit? I believe it is important that young people are not ignorant of how our political system works. They see it in the world around them; on TV, on the web. They hear their parents discussing political issues and often complaining about their leaders. I want my students to generate opinions for themselves even at this young age. They need to know that they can make a difference and when the age comes they need to think carefully about for whom to cast their vote.
When the time comes for my students to step forward and write on a ballot paper I would be thrilled if they casted their minds back to what they learnt in Year 6 and this assisted them in their voting decision.

Leadership

Last week I was fortunate enough to travel to Shanghai to attend a workshop on the topic of leadership. The main emphasis of the course was 'Adding to you Leadership Toolbox'. It was an incredibly worthwhile and rewarding course predominantly by an excellent presenter and the opportunity to network with other middle managers from international schools in China was invaluable.
Much of the course content one would think is straight forward information that we are already aware of. Some of this included conflict resolution, problem solving as a leader, communication skills. The tips given set out one would assume that we are aware of but this is not necessarily so.
For example the section on emails was quite fascinating. As handy as emails are they can be incredibly impersonal, rude and at times, vicious. People will write things in an email that they may not say to a person face to face. Tips we were given included making use of the save option, re-reading an important email before sending and never sending an important email if you have only 5 minutes before you have to do another task. Don't over capitalise,italicise or underline. End your email on a personal or happy note such as 'Have a nice day' etc.
Conflict resolution was another fascinating topic. Role plays helped us get in the practice required to perform such a task. As a leader we need to develop the skills required to listen to all sides of a situation before we act taking into account personalities and emotions.
We conducted what is called a Belbin's personality leadership assessment on ourselves. After the responses I gave I came out as what is termed a 'shaper'. Apparently this is someone who is challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure and has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles. These types of people are also prone to provocation and may offend a person's feelings. What me? I thought that most of this I could relate to somewhat particularly with the ICT role I have. A great deal of this is role involves overcoming obstacles. I like to shape where classes are going with IT so in this sense I can relate to the role type I was given.
I came from this workshop with some constructive ideas of what I can do back at school. I have a series of emails I need to send this week that may cause some angst, issues and problems for those involved. I am looking to use the knowledge gained in the course to assist me with this task. I need to make these emails personable and helpful and not demanding and overly assertive.
I have already put to use two ideas I gained from the workshop. One was a problem solving task involving 7 hands on top of each other and having to rearrange them. Difficult to describe in words, even more difficult to undertake. This was a great activity to use in leadership training for Year 6 students. It involved the essential skills of communication, problem solving and cooperation.
The other great take away was this superb video which is all about leadership.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO8MwBZl-Vc

Images of Greatness

This term my class are working on a tremendous unit in Inquiry Studies entitled Images of Greatness. This unit sees the students choosing an eminent person and delving deeply into their lives in order to discover why this person is great.
To start the unit we brainstorm the meaning of words such as greatness, eminent etc in order to investigate what it takes to be great. We look at some individual case studies that also help to shape the student's thinking.
After this initial opening period of the unit the students then choose a person on who they will do in depth research project. The choice is totally up to the students themselves. Their work is going to be of a higher level if the choice of person is made solely by themselves. For a 12 year old boy to be able to do a project on a famous sportsman, a 12 year old girl to work on a musician or an actor passion is going to be displayed as it is a subject they love. I even think back to my time in Year 6, if i could have done a project on a sportsman I would have been in heaven.
I first did this unit in 1999. I have now led it 10 times in 3 different schools. There have been numerous highlights over the years many of which include:

• Chatting to cricketing great Imran Khan as part of my student's project in 1999.
• For the first 4 years I did the unit I also did a project. The people I chose were Australian war hero Weary Dunlop, Elvis Presley, Lance Armstrong and U2 lead singer Bono. The finale of the unit sees the students having a presentation day where they must dress as their chosen person. This included me as well. Having to wear a bit too tight Elvis suit is a highlight/low light of my career.
• Having one of my students in 2006 do her project on her mother who was at the time battling cancer. It was beautiful, touching and incredibly heart warming.
• Having a student open my awareness to the incredible Aung San Suu Kyi with a stirring project in 2001.

These are just a few of many highlights.

This year sees a few familiar faces who seem to pop up every year: Sir Donald Bradman, Bill Gates, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Muhammed Ali and J.K. Rowling. Mark Zuckerberg is one who I believe will become very common as the years progress from now.

As well as doing a general biography on their chosen person students must write an exposition (essay) arguing why their person is great. This truly refines their thinking as they look deeply into the life of accomplishment and achievement.

As a final thought can I direct you to the life of Terry Fox? I watched a documentary on his life in January and was truly blown away by his life. It was great without a doubt. I showed this documentary to my class as an introductory activity. It was a great way to focus their thinking about what qualities somebody must possess to be great.

Reading

Today I wanted to
blog on a topic that I am passionate about: reading. I don’t know when I became
passionate about this subject but I think it may have been 1995 when I
travelled the world for the year and had plenty of time to read. I had always
read and would become engrossed in books but I probably spent more time reading
sports and music magazines and newspapers (which I still do). Now days I cannot
sit anywhere (in front of the television, on a plane, train, bus or lie in bed
for that matter) without some form of reading material in my hands.
Reading takes us
places. I remember being captivated in the early 1990’s by reading National
Geographic magazines of these amazing places in the world. I am very fortunate
enough to have visited some of these locations such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia,
the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, the Ring of Kerry in Ireland and Table
Mountain in Cape Town to name a few. If it wasn’t for reading I would not have
discovered these places.
Reading extends our
minds, our vocabulary and our outlook on life. I am very strict on reading in
the classroom to put it mildly. I make all of my students read a novel every
two weeks. I have to approve the novel at the start to ensure that it is
appropriate, not too easy and not too hard. At the end of the two weeks all the
class sits down and each individual stands in front of the group to present an
oral book report. They give us a brief summary and then importantly tell us
their opinions. After this their classmates ask questions about the book. One
of the reasons we do this is to ensure the student has read the book. If they
have not completed their novel there is no way they will be able to do their
report. Occasionally some will try to bluff their way through but their
classmates like catching them out. I tell my students that if they do not read “Would
you like fries with that?” will become a line they had better get used to. A colleague
once suggested I may have been a little heavy handed when I wanted to write on
a student’s report ‘Not reading will condemn (student’s name) to academic
failure’. I didn’t end up putting it on the report.
I know parents like
this task. They like making the students accountable. If a student has not
completed their book they miss 4 weeks of Friday free time. They hate this. I
want students to eventually read for enjoyment but for some the whip has to be
cracked to get them reading in the first place.
There has always been
a myth (I Believe) about boys and reading. I taught at all boys schools for
seven years and I generally had classes of enthusiastic and eager readers. I
used the same strategies as I currently do but I was thrilled with the way my
boys read. Get them enthused, find books on topics they will enjoy and you will
captivate them. A huge thank you to the Australian author John Marsden for
creating the Tomorrow When the War Began series of books. I first discovered
them in 1999 and was hooked straight away and I loved sharing them with my students
many of whom went on to read all ten books in the series. One of the reasons I
loved these books was that the truly heroic characters in them were female and
this was important for young men to see.
I still say that the
three best books I have ever read I did at school: To Kill a Mockingbird, The
Outsiders and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. A adore all three books and
find myself still reading them every few years or so, recommending them often
to my students and still being able to quote the last few lines of both The
Outsiders and Huck Finn.
Anyhow I hope this
entry has truly shown my passion about reading. As I say to my students….read,
read, read and when you think you have read enough…read some more.
Happy reading!

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Over the
past two weeks I have finally managed to read the much hyped book Battle Hymn
of the Tiger Mother. For those not familiar this is the story of Amy Chua, an
American woman of Chinese descent, who chooses to raise her two daughters in a traditional,
overbearing Chinese manner.
Last year
when this book was released there was much controversy over the manner in which
Chua raised her daughters Sophia and Lulu. Making a young girl spend hours
practicing the piano and barring breaks for food, water and the toilet, sending
another outside into the snow because she refused to practice the piano,
rejecting a birthday card from a then four year old daughter because not enough
time and effort were put into it seemed to horrify most readers and the casual observer
who learnt about Tiger Mother in the
press. For mine the major emotion that came out whilst reading the book was one
of humour. I found the book funny. A browse through the web about this book
states that it is a comedy. A lot of people may question the comedic value of
banning young girls from play dates, sleep overs etc. but I generally found the
book to be funny.
Amy Chua
must have had a full realization of what was going to occur when this book was
published. Yes she would be branded evil, outrageous and barbaric but she
strikes me as the type of person who doesn’t seem to be overly worried about
these feelings. Chua seems the type of person who loves the publicity and is
strong willed enough to handle the backlash that came her way. She would relish
the opportunity to justify in the media her parenting philosophies.
Whilst
reading I was also struck by the passiveness of her American born husband Jed.
He was not raised in a Chinese background and appeared to turn out absolutely
fine as he is a Yale law professor, so why let his wife take this approach to
his daughters? Throughout the book he raises an eyebrow or voices some level of
disapproval towards his wife’s methods yet he does not ever truly stand up or
overrule her. Jed obviously wants his daughters to succeed in life and seeing
how successful his wife is, he is happy to let Amy implement her parenting
plans.
The younger
of the girls Lulu (Louisa) is a real live wire. She despises her mother’s
methods and often stubbornly refuses to do what she is told. As a reader I love
this and find myself urging her on in her rebellion. Deep down though Lulu
wants to succeed, loves her mother and therefore goes along with the majority
of what she is asked to do. It will be fascinating to see when these girls become
parents themselves if they choose to undertake the same method of parenting as
they were raised in.
I myself
currently find myself in a battle with my 8 year old daughter about learning
her times tables. She is being a little stubborn and pig headed about memorizing
these multiplication facts. It is really the only time in my life where I find
myself wanting to implement Chua’s techniques. I know they will work but I may
lose the love of my daughter during the implementation.
I was
telling the class I teach yesterday about this book. Yes they were horrified
about the stories I was telling them. Sadly though one or two of my students
nodded their head as they could relate to what occurred in the book. This is
sad but we leave in Hong Kong, a city of high expectations, no matter what the
age.
I do
encourage you to read Battle Hymn. It is thought provoking, controversial,
cringe worthy but most of all funny. I would love to know what you think.

Blogging

Today I thought I would simply blog about blogging.
As I sit here at my desk writing this entry I am watching my students as they also set about writing their latest blog post. One of the issues I face with them each week during blogging time is what can they blog about? I try to tell them that they can write about what ever they want be it a recent event in their lives, a current affairs story, a book review, what interests them right now. Hey last week I even blogged about my favourite television show.
I was pleased with the entries that the students wrote last week. We have just updated our blogging platform to weebly. The beauty of this is that their work can be easily shared with myself and their parents. It is important that a comment is added. Feedback is crucial and also the students need to know that their work is being read.
I am looking forward to seeing the blogs of my students unfold and develop as the year progresses. It will be interesting to see if the quality of their entries deepens as the year progresses. I am also hoping that regular blogging has a positive influence on their general literacy skills.
So why do I blog? To get things off my chest, to make my voice heard, to develop my own writing skills. Anyhow I am enjoying it and my New Year's resolution to blog weekly is so far standing true. I like being able to add a tiny url to my blog and then send it out on twitter.
Anyhow enjoy my work.

Friday Night Lights

Whilst on a school trip to Shanghai in late October I picked myself up the 5 season box set of the American television drama Friday Night Lights. I heard little bits about this show but had never watched a full episode. Friday Night Lights is set in the fictional Texas town of Dillon and tells the story of their two high school football teams the Dillon Panthers and the East Dillon Lions.

I was very keen to watch the program but my wife not so. She described it as Beverley Hills 90210 set on a football field. After a few episodes of Friday Night Lights we were both hooked.

Whilst it is set mainly in high schools I would say it is not a high school drama nor a sports drama, more a small town, real people drama.

The characters are incredibly likeable. Coach Eric Taylor is a leader for his team both on and off the field as he strives to make the boys in his team better players and even better young men. He and his wife Tammy share an amazing relationship where they support each other's careers and listen and value the opinions of each other.

Through 7 seasons of football viewers are only introduced to 7 players: Jason Street, Tim Riggins, Brian 'Smash' Williams, Matt Saracen, Landry Clark, Vince Howard and Luke Cafferty. The fortunes of these boys on the field and in everyday life boys are followed closely. For mine my favourite character was Vince. He struggled with a turbulent home life with a drug using mother and a father recently released from prison. Vince wanted to rise above his background and become both a great player and a great person.

Passion is one of my favourite words. I love people who are passionate no matter what it is about. Friday Night Lights is full of passion. The town of Dillon is passionate (obsessed would probably be a better description) about high school football, Tammy Taylor is passionate about her job as a school counsellor, Landry is passionate about Tyra, Tyra is passionate about Riggins, Julie about Matt (the characters are mostly teenagers remember), Coach Taylor is just as passionate about winning on the field as he is about developing his players to be fine young men.

The final thing I want to add about Friday Night Lights is the amazing battle cry the players scream before running on the field:

"Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose"

Hey I am going to use it whenever I need to motivate myself.

Friday Night Lights.... Watch it.