sandr068

Education Readings By Allan Alach Chris Hipkins New Zealand’s new government has now been sworn in and is now getting down to work. The new Minister of Education, Chris Hipkins, has made it clear that national standards are going, so that teachers can focus on teaching rather than testing . While I’m sure that there will be policy decisions that we don’t agree with, the overall direction will be positive. Because of this, there will be a subtle change of emphasis in these readings, with more articles focussing on enhancing quality teaching and learning. The odd ‘anti-GERM’ article will still appear, to inform less fortunate teachers overseas, and also as a warning to New Zealand not to go back down that path. I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz Please forward these readings to other teachers, schools and interested people. Building Resilience, Preventing Burnout Are you putting your health and well-being first? You can...

Reflections by Phil Cullen who retired from his role as Director of Primary Education Queensland and who, since his retirement, has fought the good fight to resist the neo-liberal GERM ( Global Education Reform Movement that has infected Australian Education.   Charles Philip [Phil] Cullen  AM;  A.E d., B.Ed.[UQ], Dip.Ed.Edmin, M.Ed.Admin (Hons) [UNE];  FACE, FACEL, FQIEL, Gold Medal ACEL;  Life Member:  CCEA, QASSP, QSPSSA, QSSSA, Bris. SSRLA;  Co-author: 4 books;  Author 1 book; Former Q’ld Director of Primary Education; Chairman:  Q’ld Day Comm, Primary Curric.Comm, Review Primary Educ’n in A.C.T. Gov’t Schools; Regional Director NQ & N.West Q’ld;  Former member:  Lismore Catholic Diocese Ed. Council,  McAuley College  [now ACU] Council,  James Cook U of NQ Council ,  Townsville CAE Council.  Primary School Teacher/Principal 23 years; Regional Director & Inspector 6 year...

New Zealand has a new Prime Minister - great news for education Education Readings By Allan Alach I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz Why I Don’t Have Classroom Rules A high school teacher tries a classroom management experiment thinking it will fail. Years later, he’s still at it. ‘Although I encouraged my students to think critically and challenged myself to develop new methods of instruction, the actual conduct of the class seemed at odds with all that . I wanted my students to do more than just follow rules handed down to them. I wanted them to understand why those rules exist, and be willing to interrogate ones that didn’t seem valuable, meaningful, or useful.’ http://edut.to/2x6qd5w Ten Things Pixar Can Teach Us About Creativity ‘For the last two decades, Pixar has produced some of the most creative and epic films of this era. But this is the result of a culture of creative collaboration built on ideas of being ...

Education Readings By Allan Alach I welcome suggested articles, so if you come across a gem, email it to me at allanalach@inspire.net.nz More than bricks and mortar: A critical examination of school property under the National-led Government An article I posted last week referenced an article by Dr Leon Benade, School of Education, Auckland University of Technology. Here is Leon’s full article. ‘ Teachers are largely unprepared for flexible learning spaces that bring together multiple teachers and students ( see my earlier blog on MLE/ILE ). These (enforced) changes require students to master new learning habits and routines, while parents’ most recent school memory may have been of sitting in rows or possibly in grouped desks, in so-called ‘single cell’ classrooms with one teacher and no more than 30 or 35 students. So, where has this policy come from, and what does it look like in action?’ http://bit.ly/2yZqQyg Is Math Art? Dream or Nightmare? I was blown away by this remarkable (...