It was the best of years, it was the worst of years

So where to begin when reflecting on the year to date as the finish line approaches? ? ?

I guess I'll start with all good leaders like a challenge, so I guess that makes me a good leader? : )

As a quick snapshot... During this year I've had-

* 8 different staff revolve through 2 positions
* The worst timetable rotation/blocking/allocations EVER
(which has made staffing classes fun)
* The MASSIVE responsibility of launching & leading the F1 in Schools Illawarra hub
* To welcome a brand new DP & Principal to the school
* Lead a sprinkling of unhappy people
* To of course do all the usual faculty leadership & iiate stuff
* Teach my classes to my usual awesome standard

& throw in to that mix, managing the player-coach gig for the mighty Sutherland Sharks State League Bball team which meant 2 & 3 trips to Sydney and all over NSW throughout the season, which certainly clocks some kms : )

Oh, & let's not forget sneaking enough quality time in to spend with my beautiful fam & friends!

Now question time?
Would I change a thing?

A: NO WAY, NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST, I'M TRULY BLESSED WITH AN AWESOME ALL ROUND LIFE.

But where to now?

Well of course the answer is simple...
Keep on improving, keep on learning & keep on building on the already strong foundations of success already in place.

So what's in store for 2015?

Calling it now : )

I HAVE A YEAR 11 DT CLASS AGAIN
(after leading the implementation of DT in Year 9 a few years ago)
So I am going to LOVE this class!
#DesignIsLife!

Our school will excel in all our regional & state wide competitions.

Our Illawarra Hub & School will 'take off' with F1 in Schools going to a whole new level with more staff involved, more students engaged (if that's even possible LOL) & the hub expanding to 6 active teams.

And on a more simple note, work will be far more settled with a functional timetable, smooth allocation of classes (fingers crossed) & of course a happy and hard working AWESOME Technologies & Creative Arts team!

So get excited all & I say, "Bring on 2015!"

Excited as always, & possibly with an over use of exclaimation marks in my text?!?!?!

Thanks to all 2 or 3 of my blog readers ; )

E=R

How do you justify 'a good job?'

Deep question...
A good job can mean many things, improved data, top HSC results, or just getting kids to school, but when you're teaching in a disadvantaged community there's so many 'good job' moments, that usually outweigh the somewhat depressing ones.

I had many 'good job' moments this week as I led 20 great kids on a 3 day 3 hour each way adventure from Port Kembla to Penrith by TRAIN! The kids learnt more about life in 3 days than 3 months. So I feel like I did a pretty 'good job' to have them all smiling and still intact come 7pm Friday : )

Now the kids still had their moments - lost phone, found phone, lost again, found again, lost wallet (getting mailed home), broken shoes, no money, no food, forgetting devices, etc. etc. But one or two things were clear...

The kids competed on the big stage (@ a NSW final) against Selective High's, Independants, Catholics & of course a couple of other feel good story schools & it was obvious - ALL of our kids wanted to do better, wanted to be better, believed they could be better!

The kids all believe! They can see a future, a future where, they will have shoes, money, be organised, an have worked hard to achieve a goal (or two or three or more!)

So I think I've put my finger on it..
I teach people to BELIEVE!

Believe that anything is possible...
Believe THEY can make this happen...
Believe that they have support behind them...

And ultimately believe that

EFFORT = RESULTS

So I think this counts as a 'good job' right?

I had lots of really positive moments this week - smiley faces and feedback will do that to you I suppose, but the best one was definitely a kid telling me the familiar story.

It started with a, "Thank you sir."
And followed with a few more. But when the young fella thanked me for not copping his crap & me telling him that excuses were like toilets was just what he needed (because hes always full of them) & that now he has a vision & a belief that he can change a cycle!

He told me how his family has never been able to afford their own home, & how he's going to change that! It just made me smile : )

So while the technical skills may still be developing in many of my kids I can always sleep at night knowing I'm making a difference & teaching the real skills my kids need to succeed.

It's always summed up with E=R : )
So next time you're teaching a class I hope this story keeps you smiling as you reflect on how YOU are making a difference to people's lives!

Teaching truly is the best job in the world : )

How good is parent communication?!?!

There's a few words to answer this question. Good. Really good. Awesome. The list could go on forever, but communicating with parents is an absolute must in this day & age.
I liken it to building a sports team, you can't win with only a few spots in the line up filled, you need to cover all the bases & get everyone on side from the get go.
So what's the secret?
Let's start with a little story. From this evening. It was parent teacher night & I said to a colleague before we started, "I'm calling it now, I'm going to know at least 90% of these families." Sure enough, I was on the money. There were only two families of the 40+ interviews that I hadn't met or communcated with before. And this was great! Having already established positive, open & honest communication with parents from the time they enter our gates as wide eyed 12ish yr olds, as the years progress you get to know more and more about each family (& student), their lives,their likes, their needs... & it paves the pathway for success.
So how & why does this all work?
In a school of 500+ students, how, how, how do you get to know all these kids and families? Well here's a few simple ideas, guidelines or whatever you may want to call them.

#1 - 3PCD (3 positive calls daily)
Now this may take 10 minutes of your time, but if you can lock in time each day to make 3 positive phone calls, you quickly get to know your kids & fams. Hell, if 3 is too much, start with 1 & that's 200ish positive calls a year!
I love nothing more than when parents first walk in for an interview than to see their smiling faces & open up the conversation with something along the lines of, "Hi, <insert family name here> family, it feels like 2 weeks since we last spoke!" & further easing the conversation with some positve reference to a recent school or community event of activity their child has been engaged in & leaving the initial greeting open with a rhetorical Q to get the ball rolling. So thats number 1.

#2 - Stalk the front office
Any time you are around the front office, front gates, or out and about in the community, approach parents, introduce yourself & simply say, "Hi." You'd be surprised how much positive return you get from these mini meetigs.... And secretly, the kids love that you're taking the time to communicate with their family & showing that you care about not just results, but their lives in general.

#3 Talk to kids about their fam
If there parent loves footy, talk footy, works at a local shop, talk shop, is interested in art, talk art to to kids. Quite simply, letting students know you know them buys you respect and credibility from all parties. & kids react (positively) to the teachers that give them respect. Respect comes in many forms, but I'd like to think that the biggest mark of respect I pay my students is getting to know them, their parents, their cultures, their interests, & really providing a personalised learning experienced based on conversations. Conversations relating student interests and family cultures to the curriculum all working in an intertwined web to ensure their child achieves their personal best.

So how was Parent Teacher Night?
Awesome!
Excellent feedback, no real new information regarding students had to be discussed (as its already happened) & the time spent is devoted to further positive communications reinforcing the awesome things their students do, the top notch curriculum and opportunities afforded to them & refining existing (or sometimes new) strategies for success.

And what was the most common comment tonight?
There were a few....
* This is 'Johnny's' favourite subject.
* You're 'Johnny's best teacher.
* Thank you.

And most rewardingly, me... leaving the night knowing that I always 'teach & make a difference.'

So what exactly does an Industrial Arts teacher do?

Ok, so people wonder why 'work' needs to be done in the holidays & often one of these people is my wife... So here's some things you may or may not know or understand about teachers & also the massive additional workload pressures associated with teaching Industrial Arts subjects.

There's maybe three types of teachers
* The really diligent ones that plan work, create assignments,  tasks & projects, mark work promptly, provide feedback for students & regularly engage parents in communications
* The good ones, that get the job done, work their hours, go home when school finishes & enjoy their well earned holidays
* The handful that struggle to deal with kids and probably are in the wrong profession

... and then there's Industrial Arts teachers.

First and foremost, we still fit in to the categories above, but responsibilities associated with our job (and doing it well) include

* Maintaining tools, machines & workshops
* Managing workplace health & safety training, registrations & ongoing risks
* Ordering materials, consumables & resources
* Preparing timber and metal stock for student use
* Managing appropriate storage, assembly & finishing of a large number of student projects
* Managing money, ensuring fees come in & subsequently preparing orders and units of work based on finances and fees

And there's probably many more responsibilities too!

Now before I make the next few statements, please note, I have a massive amount of respect for all our teachers and the work they do (no matter what subject area they teach) but soooo many people in our teaching profession & wider community probably don't understand the work behind the scenes that goes on in 'our'  line of work. So here's some things to consider.

English, Maths & HSIE subjects are primarily literacy and numeracy based subjects. In other words, pens, pencils, text books, tests, assignments, essays, etc. etc. So these subjects are lucky enough that they don't have to manage all the physical resources we do.

PDHPE have balls & bats & singles & shorts & stuff to manage, & sometimes I feel sorry for these teachers as they are often unappreciated for the efforts they put in, but that's a story for a PDHPE teachers blog :-)

Science & Food Tech teachers DO manage practical resources & practical environments, even if they aren't as greasy & dusty as ours, but they are also lucky enough to have a kitchen & lab assistant to help manage their resources & prepare before practicals & assist with clean up, etc. etc.

But do Industrial Arts teachers get similar luxuries? No.
This leads to one of two things.
'IA' teachers busting their butts for the good of their kids, classes, faculty, school & community or disengaged teachers struggling with workload pressures & ultimately losing control of their kids, classes, workshops, etc, etc.

Now it may just be the fact that I have two of my staff out of action at the moment & am filling a 3rd position with an untrained temporary staff member, but I'll be honest, I'm feeling the pressure & wish I knew the answers on how to make things better. And this happens in every school!

Right now the answer is unsustainable.. that answer being working, myself in to the ground working 60-70+ hours per week to make sure all my kids, classes, teachers, rooms, etc, etc. are provided with the best possible opportunity to succeed, but in my pursuit of xonential perfection, I'm always looking for better ways of doing things & would welcome yur thoughts & feedback...

But to finish with the good news! I'm still loving life, love my job, love the time I get to spend with the fam, friends & playing sport & if you were to ask me, "What's your dream job?" I'll still tell you, "I'm living it!"

E=R :-)