"Every Kid Needs A Champion" - Asking 'Why?'

Image courtesy of The Independent

So often at a TeachMeet event, there is a little moment that sticks with you. Mine last night, at the second TeachMeet that I've organised (<link>), came from Mr Beezy (@TheReal_MrBeezy). He stressed the importance of asking 'Why?'. It is an important reminder to all of us to step back and ask the question 'why' when we look at our teaching... "Why is student X not behaving?", "Why is student Y not making progress?", "Why is student Z falling asleep in my lesson?". Too often we focus on the behaviour and not what is behind it.

I guess part of this is due to my new role as Pastoral Development Coordinator (PDC) for Year 10. Obviously teaching always involves pastoral care, but from September I will be at the frontline for 125 fourteen year old girls embarking on their GCSEs ensuring all their many needs are met. I'll need to be asking 'why' a great deal.

It reminded me of a TED talk that I hadn't watched in ages by the late Rita Pierson, "Every Kid Needs A Champion". She begins with a quote from a teacher she used work with:

A colleague said to me one time, "They don't pay me to like the kids. They pay me to teach a lesson.The kids should learn it. I should teach it. They should learn it. Case closed."

Well, I ([Pierson] said to her, "You know, kids don't learn from people they don't like."

This does pose problems. Many of us have seen colleagues try too hard to be liked. Ultimately, we are here to teach and to educate. Sometimes that means we have to do things that mean our students will not like us. They may even hate us!

However, as we listen on to Rita Pierson it becomes clear that this is not the end of the story, and actually her view is not an over simplistic one. They will understand when we say no, put them in detention and show them tough love. They will understand because in the lead up to this point, we have developed a relationship with them so that they know that everything we do is to help them achieve. They may be angry with us in the short term, but when they calm down and 'get over it' our relationship will remain strong.

Will you like all your children? Of course not... You won't like them all, and the tough ones show up for a reason. It's the connection. It's the relationships. And while you won't like them all, the key is, they can never, ever know it. So teachers become great actors and great actresses, and we come to work when we don't feel like it, and we're listening to policy that doesn't make sense, and we teach anyway. We teach anyway, because that's what we do.

Teaching and learning should bring joy. How powerful would our world be if we had kids who were not afraid to take risks, who were not afraid to think, and who had a champion? Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.

For me, asking 'why' can help us be a champion to our students. How can we believe in them, support them, understand them if we don't ask why?

Read the full transcript <here>
Watch the full video <here> - and I highly recommend you do!

TM Havering 2: Arranging My 2nd TeachMeet

Earlier this year, I managed to arrange a TeachMeet with @aknill just 4 days before my wedding. It was a great success and a lot of fun; read about it <here>. Straight away we got a date for TM Havering 2 in the diary.

There is a LOT to think about to make a successful TeachMeet. Part of it is maintaining relationships with sponsors, colleagues in other schools, potential presenters, with the Twitter network as a whole. Part of it is the on the ground organisation and liaison. Part of it is becoming a marketing expert and social media guru appealing to the masses! Many businesses struggle to launch brands and events, but somehow TeachMeets manage to happen.

As 'just' a teacher, I have learnt many new skills by arranging TeachMeets. Andy and I have successfully maintained a website, Twitter account, Facebook page, and email account for well over 6 months now. It is just one of several 'projects' I am involved in and it is sometimes hard to keep up, especially when you just want to switch off and do nothing.

We had sponsorship from 4Matrix, Uteach, Toshiba, Twinkl and Crown House Publishing and at least three of these will be involved in our second event. We had over 80 teachers in attendance on the night, with a further 70 watching at different points online. One week after the event, we had over 30 signed up for the next event.

This week I've spent a few evenings getting everything ready for the second event. Our website, www.TMHavering.co.uk is fully up to date to encourage sponsors, presenters and potential attendees. I've been emailing sponsors, promoting via Twitter and getting all our accounts in order as best I can. During this week, we have allocated a few more tickets plus our first four presenter slots have been filled.

It's a risk having it so close to the end of term, but there is going to be an emphasis on fun and getting to know a few local colleagues. It is also an ideal time of year for trying out a few ideas! I am determined to make it a success and bring along some more of my colleagues... it is at my school after all!

Maybe see you there?

TeachMeet *PLUS*... (More Fun, More Useful!)

After the great success of TMHavering (read all about it <here>), we're at it again in July. This time it will be at my school, and in our new 'Old Chapel' building. It's a fantastic space and we're very excited to be using it. Find out more about the Chapel <here>:

The important question is, what do people want at an end of the year TeachMeet? I think fun and entertainment are important. Plus it is a time for trying out new and creative things as exam pressures are off. There will obviously be food (thanks to the fantastic Mike Bostock and 4Matrix) and maybe even some wine! Socialising and networking is an important part of a TeachMeet.

We are going to keep to the 5min/2min presentation format as it worked well last time. Even 7min feels a little long in the summer! However I am trying to work out what else we can do to make it more fun as well as more useful.

I'm going to try "Bring and Brag" as I have seen at TMLondon on two occasions. This is when people not confident enough to present can simply bring one item or one simple idea and share from the comfort of the floor.

I also think a second badge with your subject/specialism/expertise is in... or maybe just bigger name badges with all that on! This way you'll have a better idea of who to introduce yourself to.

Lastly, I'm going to do TeachMeet bingo. What words do we need? 'Gove', 'Hattie', 'OFSTED', 'iPad'...

I'm blogging to ask for more ideas... over to you!

Please have a look at our website (<here>) and book up your tickets now!

Strict limit of 100 tickets for this event.

Organising My First TeachMeet

And so #TMHavering is taking bookings! Fancy joining us? All the info is here: www.TMHavering.co.uk

But how did we get here?

As long ago as last summer, Andy Knill (@aknill) and I said to ourselves, there is NOTHING going on in Havering. Well there is, as there is lots of great schools with amazing teachers achieving fantastic things... but since most schools became academies as soon as they could, escaping Havering Borough control, very little has been going on centrally.

We looked at the success of #TMEssex and #TMLondon and agreed to put Havering firmly on the TeachMeet map with a well-planned, straightforward, high quality event. There are many teachers in the area who have not even heard of a TM and so we wanted to keep it simple, but make it good. Careful planning and consideration were important from the start.

We met twice at Bower Park to sort out the basics: date, time, location, format. We then set about getting the electronic infrastructure in place: email, Twitter, Facebook, website, buying URLs, logo, PBworks ad, presenter wiki, Eventbrite listing... There is far more to think about than just saying "Let's do a TeachMeet!". Also key to get Martin (@ICTMagic) onboard to be both technical wizard and chief camel thrower!

Having experienced excellent sessions at #TMLondon, #TMEssex and #TMEast, it was clear this careful planning was needed to ensure interest and create a legacy. Some suggested we should use one of the established names due to what Ross (@teachertoolkit) and Tom (@headguruteacher) had built. However both Andy and I want to do the same in Havering, hopefully by this time next year, #TMHavering will be equally recognised and established.

Luckily I'd read Ross' various posts and collected a few others, collating on my site: http://tiny.cc/teachmeets (worth careful reading if you are thinking about organising). It's fun and exciting, but also hard work and needs an allocation of what is already precious time. We are only part way there and no doubt I'll be blogging again about this experience. If you have any tips or ideas, please do get in touch!

If you are anywhere close to Romford, we'd love to have you come along in February. We promise, we'll be trying out best to make it a really great evening: relevant, useful, varied - and fun!