A Great Time to be in Education!

With Dr Penland, Mr Petrey, and Mr Wendling currently in Canada and the US for recruiting, my meeting schedule has lightened somewhat. This has enabled me to spend more time in the classrooms - in the last two days I have been in 20 different middle school classes. I have observed so much learning and so much enjoyment and engagement in these classes! Here's some of what I have observed:

• Grade 8 students creating stop animation movies in Design Tech - displaying real inquiry
• Grade 6 students writing short stories and sharing these with their peers - examples of great thinkers and communicators
• Grade 7 and 8 students learning the finer points of volleyball - a great example of being balanced
• Grade 6 students performing in a guitar ensemble - another example of balance and also of being knowledgeable and taking risks
• Grade 6 students participating in drama activities involving lots of movement and risk taking
• Grade 7 students researching the countries of South America - demonstrating very open-minded attitudes
• Grade 6, 7, and 8 students studying the language and cultures of Korea, China, and Spanish speaking nations in their world language classes - students have been taking risks, communicating, inquiring, open-minded and principled
• Students enjoying the stories of the Bible and learning the value of prayer - thinking students who are balanced and caring
• Grade 7 students engaging with books and taking their online AR quizzes - communicating their knowledge
• Grade 7 students taking a Science test, while the grade 6 students were learning all about heat and conduction - students being knowledgeable, inquirers, and risk-takers
• Grade 8 boys working an interdisciplinary assessment that involves researching North Korea in Humanities and writing the report in their English class - this has really challenged the students to be inquirers, open-minded, caring, principled, and balanced in their views and preconceptions

After a visit to each class I have the same thought - Wow! Our students are learning so much and in so many different and exciting ways. Whether you are a student, a teacher, or an administrator, this really is a wonderful time to be involved in education!

The Power of Reflection

With 2009 drawing to a close now is a good time to reflect on the year and all of the highlights and challenges that occurred throughout the year.

As I prepare for the first two recruitment fairs in Sydney next week I have been reflecting on my recruiting experiences from earlier this year. I have been looking through my notes and my interview questions and thinking about what worked well, what needs to be improved, and what I have learned since then that can be incorporated this time around to enhance the interview experience for both myself and the candidate being interviewed.

While going through this process the power of reflection has really been evident - if we don't take the time to reflect and look for opportunities to improve then we run the risk of repeating the same mistakes, or even worse, we repeat a process that may be flawed. Modeling reflective practices for our students helps them to see the value in this process and enables them to engage in reflection of their own learning. Sometimes we see that the reflection can be equally as powerful as the learning process itself.