Many people recently have been subjected to my theory on
cultures. I don’t mean the fungus
growing in a cup on a window ledge, or the stuff they now spend millions on in
order to make yoghurts more interesting. Sadly, nor am I talking about the
review pages in the Saturday Telegraph.
I’m talking about social cultures, group habits and expectations, shared
practises or established methods – those cultures.
My theory is simple: you can either change a culture,
challenge a culture or establish an entirely new one. Changing a culture needs subtlety, patience
and time. Lots of time. Challenging a culture means difficult
conversations and lines in the sand, having to stand and act as a barrier to
the reluctant tides. And it takes
time. Establishing a culture takes unshakable
faith in a good idea, and energy. But
very little time.
It strikes me that – through a happenstance combination of
design and weird science – that is what we are currently trying to do on
several fronts. Our success rate, the
true markers, won’t be known for some time to come. But the green shoots, if you’ll excuse me an
early Spring metaphor, look promising.
Take social media.
Over the last three years we have taken a massive hit on Facebook and
the like. I have personally become a
referee for fights between parents whose issue started on social media. We have had to deal with children’s misuse of
it, despite our frequent term 1 esafety curriculum. Staff have been harangued, my decisions have
been questioned and the school has been negatively portrayed. So why on earth (or Cyberspace) should we
enter into this fray? The answer is
simple: we could never reverse the damage done, nor challenge the negative press
without resorting to similar tactics, possibly becoming embroiled in an
e-argument that, as with so many arguments, never really has a victor. Instead, we could create our own version of
how to use social media, our own model of how to use this tool for good, our
own code of conduct, and our own culture.
Now, our children can share with their parents what they have learned
and achieved each day; many social media savvy parents know before they even
collect their little darlings. Teachers
can use it as part of a topic or to get parents involved, and you can break new
exciting ground at will: last night, we tweeted the results of our staff
meeting. You can’t always challenge, but
you can always start anew.
We’re also trying to rebrand our pedagogy, our teaching and
learning. With the children’s centre at
the start of its journey, and the school some considerable way into its own,
reconciling the two may not be the easiest thing. However, you know me – if someone says
something is impossible, I generally peel a Satsuma, follow it up with a bag of
crisps, maybe some chocolate then an apple, and consider the
possibilities. Far from sitting at the
SIP writing table last summer and balking at the potential challenge, I lapped
it up. This was time to create a brand
new culture, not try and challenge long standing notions or reshape tired
efforts.
Over many coffees and biscuits last summer the leadership
team came up with our “phase planning”; an approach to key stage 1 and 2
pedagogy which really got me excited. It’s about moving proudly away from the
teacher-at-the-front model towards a class in perpetual learning model, it’s
about learners taking responsibility, it’s about building stamina, resilience, independence,
and about having fun. Above all, for me,
it’s about teachers knowing their class well enough to design exciting
activities to make our children think “Wow! I’m having some of that!”. Okay, perhaps they don’t talk like me at a
food market, but you know what I mean.
It doesn't stop there.
In discussion with the people who know me well enough, and those who can just about tolerate me, I knew I had to radically rethink my philosophy on early years to
reconcile the good and outstanding practice within the school with that within
the children’s centre, but I had to make one offer. We had to start a brand new culture.
I had to go right back and recall what I had demanded not as
a teacher but as a father, sending his young children to nursery and then to
reception. I had to examine my own
feelings before I could consider how to articulate my desired pedagogy. There was much car-thinking (that is very
serious thinking, my second highest level). It came to me in a flash – what do we want
every child to have every day? I want
them to have what I demanded for my children every day: 1000
opportunities. I wanted my own children to
walk into a facility full of learning, excitement, vibrancy and (above all) the
opportunity and the freedom to design it in their own ideal. What I wanted the
practitioners to do was to follow the path, from a safe distance, and help
reshape the learning with every new direction they took. That’s what we’re now pushing across our 0-5
age group; that, in essence, is our new culture.
Regardless of what it is, we have to say one thing: this
culture building is really exciting! It is also infectious – no negative
comments on twitter; loads of followers for the school and individual classes;
loads of school-to-school and teacher-to-teacher collaboration (and lots of
children talking to children in a safe and productive way). Our pedagogy has provoked masses of
discussion, some wonderful planning, a real buzz of creativity and excitement and
some of the most interesting staff meetings I’ve ever had the privilege to be a
part of.
Therefore, I feel I am justified in my standpoint on
cultures. If in doubt, or if you’re
short of time, start a new one, and see it flourish. As the end of January approaches, I hope 2014
has started for you all very well.
With the exception of a little self-indulgence below, that
is all.
PS See you Uncle Bill.
Thanks for all the laughs, for ever x
