What's worth learning?

Why change something that isn't broken?  

Are you saying that what I have been doing throughout my career is wrong?

But the data shows that our students are achieving....

Often these questions and statements are thrown about in staff meetings, in particular when new ideas and initiatives are discussed or introduced.  It is human nature to get defensive especially when there is a suggestion of ''change'' of any form.

There is no right or wrong answer when leading innovation in education.  There is no silver bullet that will fix all problems.  There is no one initiative that will agree with everyone's thinking and understanding about teaching and learning. 

But there are some fundamental things that we need to ensure all key players are thinking about.  

Our data may be good, but what is it telling us our students are good at.  What has it measured?  Has it been knowledge acquistition?  Has it been certain skill sets that have been able to have been whipped out at the right time for an exam?  Does it tell us that our kids can read or write or do maths well? 

Because this data is good, does that mean we are successful as a school?  Are our students really ready to be active participants in society?  

For the amount of meetings I have sat in where student behaviour is discussed, I really do wonder if they are being prepared well for entering society.  In fact, the way in which some behaviours are very common place, you would think that we were in fact teaching them to be this way - no, did I just say that out loud?  Surely our hard work as educators has not been the issue here.  

Well yes and no.  Every teacher has most probably done what they feel is the right thing at the right time.  I know they don't go to work each day to not hae a positive impact.  They have made those phone calls home about kids not bring the right equipment, they have followed up the lateness of kids with detentions. They have slaved over planning and have tried to bring in new and exciting curriculum tasks that ''they'' think the kids will love. 

We all hear the arguments from teachers about the students who never bring the right equipment, or that the Year 10 cohort is ''again'' the ones to watch, or that their kids just don't want to engage or push themselves further; 'they don't ask questions, they just want to know what's in it for them, they are always off-task''

For 20 years now I have heard the exact same comments from teachers, in fact I bet every educator in NZ has said some or all of the above this year.  So when do we actually ask the question, is it something we are doing that is causing these behaviours?  

For example, self-management is a common theme that teachers bring up but mainly for students from Year 7 upwards.  Now coming from having 10 years teaching in Area Schools, I think I can safely say that as children go through the schooling system, they go from being self-motivated and self-managed learners, to the complete opposite.  So when did this happen?  

When do we stop and question whether we are managing the self-management ''out'' of our kids with our processes and structures, in particular in the senior end of schooling.  We tell them when to get to class, we tell them how long they will be in there and therefore put a value of time on what they are learning (and often the fun things get the least time), we have a bell to tell them when to move, we tell them that what is valuable in learning is what we will assess them on and so that is what they should focus on.  Self-manage their own behaviours and learning - please, we do this for them in our current schooling system.  We control students and then expect them to be self-managing?  

But the system and the proceses within this system, tradtionally in most NZ schools, has asked teachers to teach in a certain way, have a focus on standardised outcomes, feel successful if their stats look good, and not stray too far from the notion that knowledge content and academic prowess are the ultimate values in our education system.  I don't lay blame in teachers.  To be honest, I don't lay blame in anyone, not even the system.  It is what it is.  But we need our educators to show some courage, not be adverse to risk, and have a sprinkle of curiosity, to really look into the learning culture of each school and ask the questions - ''what is worth learning'' and ''do we measure what we value or value what we measure".

Developing a learning culture is a big picture idea that has to seen as a long-term project.  

Learning culture should be the beliefs, values and behaviours that underpin everything we do in an educational space.  In this space we should be free to grow, tweak, mould, improve, review, adjust, and continually reflect upon our learning culture.  What this looks like for every school should look different, because every school is different and every child within that school is different.  

As Guy Claxton explains in The Learning Power Approach, its not about finding a silver bullet that will fit and work with your school.  But taking all of the gold that is out there in terms of research into learning cultures and work out what fits in your space, based on your values and beliefs and contexts.  Rather than take one model and live and die by that sword, take the best of the different models out there and create your own.  Create what will be your school's learning culture.  

Be curious, be vulnerable, and be creative!