Number Agents

When the Wind Keeps Changing Like so many of us, I have found the last few years overwhelming. The pace of change has been relentless, made all the more difficult by the fact that so much of it has happened without the voice of the sector. Rather than being driven by need, it has too often felt as though it has been driven by ego. We now have a curriculum we didn't ask for, assessments many of us don't need, and policies that seem to serve little purpose beyond existing on paper. The recent kerfuffle among National MPs following Chris Hipkins' announcement that Labour would remove the requirement for one hour a day of reading, writing and maths is just another example of how little some of those making decisions understand what life in a classroom is actually like. For most teachers, this policy has meant very little in practical terms. In fact, I'll be bold enough to say it has meant nothing. At most, it has amounted to an adjustment to a policy somewhere, destined to ...

When the Screen Started Getting in the Way Over this year, I have been reflecting on my use of screens as a medium for delivering my whole-class literacy sessions. Like many of us, I got caught up in the PowerPoint wave a few years ago. It started with UFLI and slowly developed into creating my own slides, including words and sentences for children to read from the screen. Of course, I still used paper texts, books and all the other things that make up a literacy programme, but the PowerPoint gradually became the backbone of my sessions. And initially, it seemed to work. The children appeared receptive, I liked the structure it gave me, and it helped me feel organised and prepared. As a device-free class, I didn't really question the use of the screen in this way. Our Year 1–3 rooms have been device-free for a long time, with the rest of our school using devices fairly minimally. The majority of our children's day is screen-free, filled with play, conversation, hands-on learnin...

  Are We So Focused on the Nuts and Bolts That We Are Forgetting the Story? Has writing become so much about the nuts and bolts that we are missing the gift of storytelling in our classrooms? I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Like many of us, I can get worn down by the feeling that I am not doing enough when it comes to writing. There is so much to becoming a writer. In fact, writing is one of the most complex cognitive tasks we ask children to do. I made the graphic below as an attempt to capture just how much is involved in being a writer. I am sure there are things I have missed, but it gives you an idea of the sheer number of things we are asking children to hold in their heads. And this is where I have started to wonder. Are we so focused on all of these things that we are forgetting the role of storytelling? Or perhaps we haven't forgotten it at all. Perhaps we have simply convinced ourselves that we don't have time for it.  Perhaps the educational pressure c...

The Quiet Art of Teacher Sense The best school improvement rarely makes headlines. It happens quietly, one thoughtful decision at a time. An article about a school choosing to remove devices from its junior classrooms sparked a huge amount of interest recently. As I read through the responses, it got me thinking about the importance of what I call teacher sense —that ability to draw on our deep understanding of children, learning, and our craft to make decisions that not only feel right, but are right. It also got me thinking that, much like common sense, teacher sense is becoming something of a dying art. So much of what is happening in education right now is being done in the name of "research". Changes are being rolled out at pace, often to us rather than with us. Despite the fact that many educators are deeply sceptical of some of these sweeping reforms, there seems to be very little pushback. Where are the stories about the schools that never jumped on the bandwagon in t...

The Present We Didn't Ask For Non-contact time allows my mind to wander—to seek new understandings, refine current ones, and, most importantly, reflect. Lately, my mind keeps circling back to one thing: the state of our education system here in Aotearoa. Have you ever had a birthday or Christmas where you receive a pile of presents, but not one resembles what you actually asked for? Of course, you're grateful. The people giving the gifts have clearly put thought into them. But you're still left wondering whether they actually know you—whether they understand what you need or whether maybe, they were actually buying something they themselves wanted.  Or perhaps it's that present, you didn't know you needed, but others obviously wanted to give you a great big hint, like that cake of fancy soup, or that gym membership. That's what education feels like right now: the present we didn't ask for. And I use the word present deliberately. It refers both to the endle...

The Importance of Teacher Understanding Over the past few years, I have continued to advocate for the importance of teacher understanding. In my view, it is the single most significant factor affecting the achievement of our learners. Unfortunately, in the current pressure cooker of curriculum development, building genuine teacher understanding—which takes time—has too often been replaced by reliance on scripted programmes. Scripted programmes are not inherently negative. In fact, they can serve as training wheels, providing structure and support until teachers gain confidence. The real risk, however, is that those training wheels never come off. In a climate where teachers are overwhelmed by constant change, there is a danger that these programmes become the only way we teach, rather than a temporary scaffold. Teacher Understanding: More Than Just Academics Teacher understanding should not be limited to academic content. Don’t get me wrong—I absolutely believe teachers must understand...