Not so long ago, the fight club issue was raised with kids after school organising fights and filming them. The infamy caused through posting these film grabs on u-tube and the damage to local schools needs to be acknowledged. It took these incidents to change the current policy (or perhaps enforce an existing one?) on mobile phone use in schools.
When mobile phones were first allowed on campus my initial thoughts were that this was a bad idea. It has proven true with sms bullying, filming of teachers and posting them on the Internet, sms'ing during class, loss and theft of phones and the like. Teachers spend a portion of each day confiscating phones and returning them, facing a barrage of abuse and pleading from students.
Information technology and personal technologies have other negative influences. The insular antisocial behaviour such as being constantly on an IPod cannot be measured. In many cases it is a way of managing a lone student (allowing them the dignity of choosing to be on their own) rather than facing the real issue of an isolate in the playground and assisting with social integration. The lone student is often subject to the worst kinds of bullying in the form of exclusion and schools must respond to this kind of treatment or face the extreme measures taken by lonely students in other areas of the world.
Facebook is another tool that causes concern. I started my own Facebook page and have had 'friend' requests from students. I declined these obviously, as a teacher is not a friend. A friend has to face issues that a teacher does not and vice-versa. To transcend this relationship is fraught with danger. Yet I had to think - am I being old fashioned? Has friendship been redefined by Facebook and become some sort of watered down acquaintance? Could it be a way of hearing about their successes and failures post school? Being conservative by nature, my original position stands.. as a male teacher, I don't think you can be too careful - watered down friendship or not.. it crosses the line.
The Internet itself in general is the great time-waster. Setting firm guidelines is required to keep students on task and maintaining standards of behaviour requires strong penalties. Yet the greatest penalty (denial of Internet) is often removed as an option as multiple classes require students to use the Internet and the same student performs the same misdemeanors in each class as they know the penalties are light.
Technology is a wonderful thing but to use it effectively is a skill. I am not sure education institutions have spent the time to master this skill and I would like to see some real evidence of where and when it is used to improve results of students.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Mackenzie Surprise
Anyone that knows me well, knows that I have a predilection to a Big Mac. Some wag at Kendra's work seems to know this and has started referring to my wee dear as Little Mac.
Anyhow, she seems to have a new game that I am told is common to all babies. It's 1.30 in the morning and we're doing the late feed. She commonly needs her nappy changed at this time, and it's normally the gross one smeared all through her nappy.. That's ok.. you get accustomed to it..
So you unfasten her clothes, take off the nappy, wipe off the poop, clean her up, put on the nappy cream reach for the nappy and...
whammo..
you're swimming in a tide of Mackenzie pee.. a wonderful 20 sec gush.. all over the change mat, all through her clothes.. in her hair.. and to top it all she just rolled the back of her head into that toxic nappy.
oh well.. off with the rest of her clothes.. I needed that fifth shower today anyway..
:-)
Anyhow, she seems to have a new game that I am told is common to all babies. It's 1.30 in the morning and we're doing the late feed. She commonly needs her nappy changed at this time, and it's normally the gross one smeared all through her nappy.. That's ok.. you get accustomed to it..
So you unfasten her clothes, take off the nappy, wipe off the poop, clean her up, put on the nappy cream reach for the nappy and...
whammo..
you're swimming in a tide of Mackenzie pee.. a wonderful 20 sec gush.. all over the change mat, all through her clothes.. in her hair.. and to top it all she just rolled the back of her head into that toxic nappy.
oh well.. off with the rest of her clothes.. I needed that fifth shower today anyway..
:-)
Labels:
baby
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Change management and the half cohort
When I heard the 'local solutions for local issues' chant last year, a siren went off in my head saying here comes another case of pushing responsibility down the line. The half cohort has been mismanaged thus far and schools now have to find 'innovative solutions' to maintain student levels and thus staffing levels.
Knowledge management is a key aspect in any organisation. If we let an ill thought out decision and implementation (like the half cohort) damage our long term ability to provide a service, this is a very poor management decision. Yet this is what we are faced with. When smaller numbers come in next year, schools face losing FTE. With a loss of FTE comes a loss in capability to deliver and retain content and a loss of knowledge of how to manage our students.
Innovative solutions typically means something experimental cobbled together with a low chance of success, with little forethought. This is because true innovative solutions requires a lot of work prior to implementation - after all, if it was easy everyone would be doing it already and it would not be innovative.
Once we have identified possible solutions we than have to consider how that change will occur. Managing change requires patience, skill and understanding on part of the participants. Change is a technical problem - not a people problem as too often people see it.
Steps in change management are:
a) determining the need for change
b) determining the obstacles to change
c) implementing change
d) evaluating change
(Human Resource Management, R.J. Stone, 2002)
In this case a driver for change is that we need to reduce FTE in 2010 and preserve school capability post the half cohort with fewer staff to share the load. Potentially the reverse issue happens in 2011 as the students held back in 2010 will appear in 2011. Using that knowledge (on face value) change may not be required as although retaining staff is more expensive than letting staff go, schools face the issue in 2011 of trying to restaff. A second driver for change is to re-instate job security. Whilst this issue is over the head of staff, good staff are more likely to consider opportunities elsewhere in case the job axe reaches them.
We then reach the second test, 'how to implement change'. Schools are now looking at where the 'fat' can be trimmed. Timetabling in this aspect is one of the biggest concerns. If a teacher leaves/retires/is let go organically another teacher of similar ability is rarely available on staff that fits the timetable to teach the topic (and if they do, they leave another similar hole elsewhere on the timetable). As restaffing is not an option, the solution here is usually a teacher teaching out of area or an 'innovative solution' to be used such as using leftover capability of various teachers to share a class, multi-age grouping (MAG - eg. grouping yr8/9 classes together) or integrated classrooms (eg. combined English/S&E classes).
The third test is the biggest concern where innovative solutions are bandied about. There is no doubt in my mind that given time and money, any solution can be made to work. My concern is that neither time nor money are available for such. For example, integrated classrooms may take up to five years to get right with dedicated staff committed to the project - one out of the box cannot work as student content and contextual entry points are different at each school. Furthermore staff that can create and plan these engaging projects are few and far between. Leftover capacity is nearly always a poor option. MAG streamed classes require a lot of skill to teach and have issues attached related to differences in work ethic and have the tendency to be taught to the middle (or bottom). MAG unstreamed classes exacerbate developmental, context ual and content issues thus requiring even more from the teacher than streamed classes. If we consider that the main issue resolves itself after 5 years we need to again ask whether these solutions warrant the change requirements for implementation.
The fourth test is the big one. If we are truly contemplating change we need to evaluate current performace before change has occurred, such that we can check later that the change has been positive. It is this step that shows good management from poor management. Pre-defined outcomes need to be set if we are to avoid 'crisis management' and move to structured 'change management'. NAPLAN is not the answer (though it can be one measurable) as it only measures what can be assessed in a snapshot test. It does not take into account staffing issues, affective requirements and behavioural response. More so it does not predict or respond to the potential success or damage to students in upper school (as is seen in some poorly managed middle school programmes). To realise the perils of over reliance on NAPLAN take a look at year 8 NAPLAN results and map them to senior school students. Ask yourself what happened to the block of students that did well in year 8 but were lost by year 10.
Furthermore if we instigate change 'from the hip' it makes it much more difficult to learn from our mistakes. If we know what we have done poorly, we can then do it differently in the future. This need to reflect is the key to success and to my mind, when this occurs, it is true 'change'. Something we need to consider more when defining future success.
Knowledge management is a key aspect in any organisation. If we let an ill thought out decision and implementation (like the half cohort) damage our long term ability to provide a service, this is a very poor management decision. Yet this is what we are faced with. When smaller numbers come in next year, schools face losing FTE. With a loss of FTE comes a loss in capability to deliver and retain content and a loss of knowledge of how to manage our students.
Innovative solutions typically means something experimental cobbled together with a low chance of success, with little forethought. This is because true innovative solutions requires a lot of work prior to implementation - after all, if it was easy everyone would be doing it already and it would not be innovative.
Once we have identified possible solutions we than have to consider how that change will occur. Managing change requires patience, skill and understanding on part of the participants. Change is a technical problem - not a people problem as too often people see it.
Steps in change management are:
a) determining the need for change
b) determining the obstacles to change
c) implementing change
d) evaluating change
(Human Resource Management, R.J. Stone, 2002)
In this case a driver for change is that we need to reduce FTE in 2010 and preserve school capability post the half cohort with fewer staff to share the load. Potentially the reverse issue happens in 2011 as the students held back in 2010 will appear in 2011. Using that knowledge (on face value) change may not be required as although retaining staff is more expensive than letting staff go, schools face the issue in 2011 of trying to restaff. A second driver for change is to re-instate job security. Whilst this issue is over the head of staff, good staff are more likely to consider opportunities elsewhere in case the job axe reaches them.
We then reach the second test, 'how to implement change'. Schools are now looking at where the 'fat' can be trimmed. Timetabling in this aspect is one of the biggest concerns. If a teacher leaves/retires/is let go organically another teacher of similar ability is rarely available on staff that fits the timetable to teach the topic (and if they do, they leave another similar hole elsewhere on the timetable). As restaffing is not an option, the solution here is usually a teacher teaching out of area or an 'innovative solution' to be used such as using leftover capability of various teachers to share a class, multi-age grouping (MAG - eg. grouping yr8/9 classes together) or integrated classrooms (eg. combined English/S&E classes).
The third test is the biggest concern where innovative solutions are bandied about. There is no doubt in my mind that given time and money, any solution can be made to work. My concern is that neither time nor money are available for such. For example, integrated classrooms may take up to five years to get right with dedicated staff committed to the project - one out of the box cannot work as student content and contextual entry points are different at each school. Furthermore staff that can create and plan these engaging projects are few and far between. Leftover capacity is nearly always a poor option. MAG streamed classes require a lot of skill to teach and have issues attached related to differences in work ethic and have the tendency to be taught to the middle (or bottom). MAG unstreamed classes exacerbate developmental, context ual and content issues thus requiring even more from the teacher than streamed classes. If we consider that the main issue resolves itself after 5 years we need to again ask whether these solutions warrant the change requirements for implementation.
The fourth test is the big one. If we are truly contemplating change we need to evaluate current performace before change has occurred, such that we can check later that the change has been positive. It is this step that shows good management from poor management. Pre-defined outcomes need to be set if we are to avoid 'crisis management' and move to structured 'change management'. NAPLAN is not the answer (though it can be one measurable) as it only measures what can be assessed in a snapshot test. It does not take into account staffing issues, affective requirements and behavioural response. More so it does not predict or respond to the potential success or damage to students in upper school (as is seen in some poorly managed middle school programmes). To realise the perils of over reliance on NAPLAN take a look at year 8 NAPLAN results and map them to senior school students. Ask yourself what happened to the block of students that did well in year 8 but were lost by year 10.
Furthermore if we instigate change 'from the hip' it makes it much more difficult to learn from our mistakes. If we know what we have done poorly, we can then do it differently in the future. This need to reflect is the key to success and to my mind, when this occurs, it is true 'change'. Something we need to consider more when defining future success.
Labels:
change,
management,
teaching
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Story of Mackenzie's birth
Wednesday Feb 18.
Baby late for appointment.. Doctor says will induce on Tuesday.
Monday Feb 23
5:59am Baby decides it wants to choose its own birthday and it's time to take a walk on the outside. Contractions 10 mins apart.
10:00am Doctor calls and suggests it might be a good time to come in. Kendra decides that she needs to clean house, do makeup and drop the rabbit off.. Contractions 8mins apart. Russell's heart rate at stroke levels.
10:08am Russell able to teleport wife to hospital 23km away. Contractions 4 mins apart.
11:00am Contractions 2 mins apart. Topped up oxytocin to speed up contractions. 0.5mm dilation. Doctor puts in epidural.
1pm Baby changes mind and decides it's too nice a day to be outside (this is where we should have realised baby was a girl). Sets up camp and goes nowhere. 1cm dilation.
5pm Doctor decides its time to come out. Wheeled into theatre. Doctor realises epidural put in wrong place - it's doing nada other than making one leg numb. Tries something else. This seems to work better.
6pm Doctor cuts hole in abdomen and reaches for baby. Doctor calls baby a scallywag. Wedged under Kendra's 6pack and won't come out.
6.05pm Kendra complains she's feeling cold. That's because her bp has dropped to 50. Madly having 3 bags of saline pumped into her.
6.45pm Kendra's 6pack becomes a 4pack - Baby pulled out with gouged eyeballs, growling, wedged no longer. Doctor holds up gruesome blood encrusted baby. Husband of year says - "gees that's an ugly baby"...
7.00pm Baby cleaned up. Husband says "gees now she's all pretty" and gets a nice cuddle. Kendra's lippy is still on and she looks suitably glam during both labour and major surgery - what a marketing opportunity for Revlon!
8.00pm Kendra back in room and says she is feeling sore - told that she can have a Panadol for the night. Pain score 4-5
Tuesday Feb 24
8.15am Husband goes to work after paying $115 to lie on the floor.
9.00am Kendra complains pain worse than contractions. Nurse rereads chart and realises that it should have been Pethedine not Panadol. Pain score 8 without Pethedine. Pain score now "Happy smiley face" with Pethedine. Birth forms explained and completed under the influence. Baby name now AppleMoonbeamFlowerChild.
3pm Russ renames child Mackenzie Trudy.
Wednesday Feb 25
Learning about baby language.
Going pink - hungry
Going pink - hot
Going pink - needs nappy changed
Going pink - needs cuddle
Going pink - wind
Looking forward to romantic dinner provided by hospital on Friday. Husband still paying $115 per night to sleep on floor, grumpy and giving out high number of detentions at school. Kicked in head by nurse in morning. Mackenzie eats, poops and sleeps. Is suitably adorable. (update 28/3: Hospital acknowledges fee is exorbitant and agrees to waive it.. yay!)
Thursday Feb 26
9am Moved to nice room with bed for two. Mackenzie eats, poops and sleeps. Still adorable.
Friday Feb 27
5pm Romantic dinner set up. Comprises plastic flowers, plastic tray and red tablecloth. Can't stop laughing. Russell realises that he has been doing it wrong all these years. Promises to buy plastic flowers in future and some plastic trays. Mackenzie eats, poops and sleeps. Even more adorable.
Saturday Feb 28
5pm Go home. Mackenzie decides she has slept enough and goes pink at irregular 2 hr intervals. This adorable thing doesn't seem to wear off. Parents realise that they are clueless but are enjoying the ride.
Sunday Mar 8
It's great to be home.. We're having a special time and Mackenzie has been wonderful spending much time hiccuping and creating frothy milkshake pants. She's so cute albeit we are a little biased. Russ denies being wrapped around Mackenzie's little finger, he just does whatever she wants, whenever she wants. He has taken a couple of weeks off to care for Kendra during her recovery, and then Mackenzie's wonderful doting grandparents will stay with Kendra until the school holidays. We're learning all her little messages and enjoying her windy smiles.
Life is good.
Baby late for appointment.. Doctor says will induce on Tuesday.
Monday Feb 23
5:59am Baby decides it wants to choose its own birthday and it's time to take a walk on the outside. Contractions 10 mins apart.
10:00am Doctor calls and suggests it might be a good time to come in. Kendra decides that she needs to clean house, do makeup and drop the rabbit off.. Contractions 8mins apart. Russell's heart rate at stroke levels.
10:08am Russell able to teleport wife to hospital 23km away. Contractions 4 mins apart.
11:00am Contractions 2 mins apart. Topped up oxytocin to speed up contractions. 0.5mm dilation. Doctor puts in epidural.
1pm Baby changes mind and decides it's too nice a day to be outside (this is where we should have realised baby was a girl). Sets up camp and goes nowhere. 1cm dilation.
5pm Doctor decides its time to come out. Wheeled into theatre. Doctor realises epidural put in wrong place - it's doing nada other than making one leg numb. Tries something else. This seems to work better.
6pm Doctor cuts hole in abdomen and reaches for baby. Doctor calls baby a scallywag. Wedged under Kendra's 6pack and won't come out.
6.05pm Kendra complains she's feeling cold. That's because her bp has dropped to 50. Madly having 3 bags of saline pumped into her.
6.45pm Kendra's 6pack becomes a 4pack - Baby pulled out with gouged eyeballs, growling, wedged no longer. Doctor holds up gruesome blood encrusted baby. Husband of year says - "gees that's an ugly baby"...
7.00pm Baby cleaned up. Husband says "gees now she's all pretty" and gets a nice cuddle. Kendra's lippy is still on and she looks suitably glam during both labour and major surgery - what a marketing opportunity for Revlon!
8.00pm Kendra back in room and says she is feeling sore - told that she can have a Panadol for the night. Pain score 4-5
Tuesday Feb 24
8.15am Husband goes to work after paying $115 to lie on the floor.
9.00am Kendra complains pain worse than contractions. Nurse rereads chart and realises that it should have been Pethedine not Panadol. Pain score 8 without Pethedine. Pain score now "Happy smiley face" with Pethedine. Birth forms explained and completed under the influence. Baby name now AppleMoonbeamFlowerChild.
3pm Russ renames child Mackenzie Trudy.
Wednesday Feb 25
Learning about baby language.
Going pink - hungry
Going pink - hot
Going pink - needs nappy changed
Going pink - needs cuddle
Going pink - wind
Looking forward to romantic dinner provided by hospital on Friday. Husband still paying $115 per night to sleep on floor, grumpy and giving out high number of detentions at school. Kicked in head by nurse in morning. Mackenzie eats, poops and sleeps. Is suitably adorable. (update 28/3: Hospital acknowledges fee is exorbitant and agrees to waive it.. yay!)
Thursday Feb 26
9am Moved to nice room with bed for two. Mackenzie eats, poops and sleeps. Still adorable.
Friday Feb 27
5pm Romantic dinner set up. Comprises plastic flowers, plastic tray and red tablecloth. Can't stop laughing. Russell realises that he has been doing it wrong all these years. Promises to buy plastic flowers in future and some plastic trays. Mackenzie eats, poops and sleeps. Even more adorable.
Saturday Feb 28
5pm Go home. Mackenzie decides she has slept enough and goes pink at irregular 2 hr intervals. This adorable thing doesn't seem to wear off. Parents realise that they are clueless but are enjoying the ride.
Sunday Mar 8
It's great to be home.. We're having a special time and Mackenzie has been wonderful spending much time hiccuping and creating frothy milkshake pants. She's so cute albeit we are a little biased. Russ denies being wrapped around Mackenzie's little finger, he just does whatever she wants, whenever she wants. He has taken a couple of weeks off to care for Kendra during her recovery, and then Mackenzie's wonderful doting grandparents will stay with Kendra until the school holidays. We're learning all her little messages and enjoying her windy smiles.
Life is good.
Labels:
baby
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