Strengthen and Bolster

I have watched, viewed and read with interest over the last six weeks as everyone has found a way to navigate through these interesting times we find ourselves in.

I need to write a disclaimer here that I am currently on sick leave so while I watch the twitter discussions, facebook feeds, professional writing and gatherings online I am in the slightly privileged space of being able to observe while not having to implement or coach and lead others to implement.

I hear the cries for change- that we've proven that we can change schools very rapidly and we need to keep these changes and this pace of change when we return to whatever our new normal is. I also hear the counter arguments that a solution in times of emergency can not and should not be transferred back into everyday practice.

I can understand both schools of thought.

However I do think this situation provides a window of opportunity to self reflect- particularly on the issue of engagement versus compliance. If you think you are getting engagement with learning because students have to attend your class and do what you say is it really engaging or is it a compliance? How do we get real engagement? If you are not getting engagement now why? It could be the personal circumstances of the student. It could be the inequities of the situation and their lack of access to the tools and resources. And it could be because they just don't connect with the learning being offered when they are not being forced to do it.

All of these discussions aside the biggest argument for me, in the current situation, is that of the importance of moving our schools much more rapidly towards transdisciplinary learning.

This doesn't mean let’s do a bit of science and then a bit of maths and a bit of English all centred around a theme.

It means how can we use our discrete knowledge of one discipline to strengthen and bolster our learning in another. When the government talks about an All of Government approach this is what they are talking about. The solution they have put in place has not been a health one or a science one or an economic one, it hasn't just been a legal solution or about provisioning for those without or looking ahead to employment issues. It’s a solution that encompasses all of these and more. It uses the knowledge from multiples areas to create a solution together. And most importantly overriding the health solution, the economic solution, the safety protection, the provision solution is one of both building humanity and understanding the interdependence of all of these things. The stand out message for me was Stay Home Save Lives Be Kind. We were constantly reminded to be kind, and the message was continual that by everyone doing their bit we would save lives even if your own wasn’t in immediate peril. We had to understand interdependence. And we had to respect humanity.

Transdisciplinary approaches are often decried by subject specialists as losing the integrity of their discipline. Actually a transdisciplinary approach still values the knowledge and deep understanding of each discipline, but the outcome of transdisciplinary learning is to use that knowledge and understanding to the benefit of another discipline in order to create a new solution to an issue or project.

It is not until we stop the competitive nature of disciplines in schools- where departments are compared to each other for who got the best passes, or the more students taking them, or the ‘right’ to teach certain standards that we will see progress.

It is not until we fully understand, subscribe to and all work together to create the interdependence of the learning of each discipline in a transdisciplinary model that we will see real life authentic learning happening.

It is not until we take an approach that puts humanity and the development of humanitarianism at the top of our priorities that we will be able to see real change in education, in schools and in the outcomes for all of society.


And to do that will take all of society's approach. While we still place such prominence on league tables and comparisons we push schools into a place where it is hard to have the courage to explore other models of learning. It seems innovation can only succeed as long as you still measure up to all the old measures in place.


Let’s create schools and learning that truly help everyone make the world a better place going forward.

Thanks to an Amazing Kaimahi team

Three years in. At the end of last year we just finished three years with our students.  It hasn’t been easy, but it has been worth it. 

There’s been laughter. There’s been tears. There’s been joy. There’s been sorrow.  And there’s been learning. So much learning. Sometimes unrecognised learning because it doesn’t fit the ‘picture’ of school learning, but learning there has been.

What’s made that learning happen?

The people definitely.  We’ve said hello to some and farewell to others. Some have left, knowing a piece of their heart will always stay with us despite the challenges, tribulations and joy of being involved in something that will be truly ground breaking for our learners. Others have left maybe relieved, as they struggled to align our practices with what they think schooling should be about. But all have contributed to the growth of our little corner of the schooling system.

The relationships. All schools say they are about relationships, and all are in their own ways. But over the last three years I’ve watched our teachers and learners develop a true sense of Ako. They learn from each other, with each other and for each other. Our teachers have let go of their teacher egos. It’s not about them, on the whole part, ever. To truly commit to Haeata has meant that our teachers, despite at times great personal sacrifice and detrimental publicity have risen above time and time again. How many times I have heard the refrain or similar in either words o'r actions- it’s not about me, it’s about them. Each individual learner. And that’s impossible without truly personal relationships- the relationships that are formed through 1-1 interactions and conversations.

The commitment to doing school differently. To not tweaking but to significant change.

Grant Lichtman in Thrive outlines the following about change: 

Making significant change is difficult, if not impossible, without the willingness to take a risk . In school terms, what do we mean by significant change ? Change is relative for each school; I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all recipes. But changing a textbook or a curriculum package is not significant. I would argue that a change is significant if it allows or requires the school to change one of the five basic parameters of what I have called the school “operating system.” 

1. Changing how time is organised (day, week, month, year) 
2. Changing how physical space is used: breaking the boundaries of traditional classrooms and/or static organization of learning space within those rooms 
3. Changing how learners are organized (grouping by biological age, subject) 
4. Changing the student-to-teacher ratio and relationship; changing the static “one teacher per X number of students” for every class period 
5. Changing the ownership of learning, from teacher owned to co-owned and student 

At Haeata we’ve challenged traditional age grouping of students in schools. And along with that we’ve  challenged traditional leadership roles in both students and adults. No one is more important or deserves special treatment or roles just because of their age. People of all ages learn together. I’ve learnt a lot in my life from people 20 years and more my junior in age. People don’t deserve promotions just because they’ve been in the job the longest. People who hold certain positions don’t have an automatic right to sit in a better chair, or park in a better spot, or occupy a certain space. 

At Haeata we commit to a collective responsibility for success.Collective responsibility of many teachers for many students is a challenge. It requires new systems and intense communication- communication that is way different than traditional school communication lines. But it can also be ever so powerful. When a young person knows there are multiple adults investing in their success it means something to them.

We are working hard to be giving students of all ages, not just those who have “earned” the right on some adult set of criteria, a real voice in their learning. Our teachers are collaborating together to design timetables that are responsive to learners needs and that challenge the traditional uses of times in schools. Gone is the power one timetabler wields over learning and learners. 

At Haeata we give control of space to learners. Many teachers have a need to keep strong order in how they do things. My first memory as a beginning teacher is being required to take down a wall display because it wasn’t  backed and was slightly crooked and being stood over while I backed it and measured the wall to ensure the reinstallation was perfect and didn’t offend my tutor teachers sense of order. Creating purposeful uses of space, where students are not afraid to get involved In the “messy” of learning, where they don’t feel everything has to look perfect and satisfy someone else’s sense of order as a priority is important. Understanding, allowing and expecting that students will move things around within pre set spaces is part of our practice.

We've had a vision for learning and schooling and the courage to interrogate many of the more conventional practices that occur in most schools, for the potential value or otherwise they make to each individual student. A preparedness to interrogate the purpose of every practice before continuing it, or adding it into how we do things.

We enjoy the resilience and positivity of so many. We have amazing young people to work with, some of whom have their own challenges to overcome but many of whom are starting to show every sign of thriving. Not just surviving by gaining a qualification, but thriving in their own personalised way with confidence and a development of their own voice. 

But mostly this post is to celebrate the staff who have stuck with us, or who have joined us along the way. The staff who show amazing resilience, sometimes at great personal sacrifice amidst attempts at public shaming of something others are yet to understand.

You provide amazing opportunities for young people. You continue to ask why of the things we’ve accepted “just the way it is” in times gone past. You support each other, and even more importantly you challenge each other. You are passionate about what you do. You couldn’t keep doing it if you weren’t because it’s just too hard. It’s certainly not the easy way out. But it has been worth it. 

As we head into a our fourth year I sincerely hope you've all taken time to relax and refresh. Thank you for all you have done, and will continue to do.