Good Teacher Magazine 2015, Term 2

Term Two 2015

“The best teachers don’t give you the answers...

They just point the way ... and let you make your own choices.”

2 Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015

Index 3 Your Soapbox

4

Is companioning the evolution of coaching and mentoring?

Murray Fletcher & Lyn Pascoe

5

Abu Dhabi schools back the switch to ‘Stem’ subjects

Roberta Pennington

7

Want students to be ready for university?

Ed Lawless/Pajoma Education

8

Finland schools

Richard Garner

16

China Hires 358,000 Teachers to Strengthen Rural Education

Sheena dela Cerna

19

Light Week at MOTAT – IYL 2015

Nicole Jones

20

Changing the world… One act at a time.

Elaine Le Sueur

24

Reversing the Teacher Dropout Problem

By Jon Andes

27

Learning: A process not understood.

Laurie Loper

28

Passports to record teaching career development

31

Shifting your Professional Network into the 21st Century

Tom Jenkins

32

First in class: No gold star for top Kiwi teachers?

NZ Herald

34

Designers Construct Crayon-Inspired Looks

Kate Sierzputowski

36

Spring Cleaning and the “Rites of Passage”

Michelle LaBrosse

42

Chinese teachers bring the art of maths to English schools

Sally Weale

44

Living in the Sky Between Buildings Press release

Christopher Jobson

50

New Zealand School of Dance Choreographic Season 2015

58

Most Countries Have Failed

Avaneesh Pandey

50

The best part of leading

Bill Treasurer

52

Schools face shortage of teachers in non-key subjects

Javier Espinoza

64

Many Afghan Girls Are Not Allowed To Ride Bicycles

67

LT’s Rant

76

ront Cover:

Fountain at Katikati Bird Gardens

Back Cover:

Adelaide Zoo, email us for further information

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Your Soapbox!

“

In Memoriam In recent times, children have been encouraged to attend the Anzac Day dawn parade at one of New Zealand’s 460 World War One memorials.

Fires burned in Europe, Our young men gathered round, They emptied out our cities And our farms and country towns: We gave them 3 months training And a farewell hometown dance Then we sent them off to battle in Gallipoli, and France.

And the man from Naseby saw the Angel of Mons The boys from Mosgiel bled into the Somme “We’ll fight for home and freedom” was their cry As they sailed away to battle, and to die.

Another generation, Another bloody war The sons of the survivors Came from Oamaru and Gore They fought across the ocean On land and air and sea, They fought with muscle, bone, and blood To keep our country free.

Now as you go from town to town In our lovely, empty land See proudly in the heart of town A soldier’s statue stands.

Memorial in granite stone It tears against the sky.

Around its base the names of sons And brothers who have died We have no unknown soldier These are not forgotten men But cousins, uncles, neighbours Who will never laugh again.

But they’ll not be forgotten For the price they had to pay.

For their children’s children’s children Will still march on Anzac Day No, they’ll not be forgotten For the price they had to pay.

For their children’s children’s children Will still march on Anzac Day.

”

Vic MacDonald 1998 If you want to have YOUR SAY please email your offering to: soapbox@goodteacher.co.nz

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Is companioning the evolution of coaching and mentoring?

Some thoughts from Murray Fletcher and Lyn Pascoe

In our lives as practitioner coach/mentors working in schools, we have had cause to think deeply about the relationships that are developed as we interact with teachers and leaders.

We have noticed, as we work over time and in depth, that traditional notions of coach or mentor seem to develop another dimension.

A dimension that is more than an ‘upskiller’- a giver of new skills or strategies.

A dimension that is more than an expert guide.

It is more than a critical friend.

Whilst these are all valid, well-tried and useful practices in the professional learning field, there seems to us that a further step evolves.

This brief article offers readers another way to think about coaching and mentoring.

We propose a ‘re-languaging’ of these concepts.

Why do we want to do this re-languaging and what is it? We looked to Humberto Maturana, who developed a logical, scientific theory to explain how humans understand themselves and their world and how this understanding shapes their relationships with the world and others in it- the biology of cognition. To explain this theory he developed a new way of using our language. This ‘new’ language requires that the receiver of the information considers things in a new way. He is reported as saying that his Professor of Neurobiology at University College London said “if you want to say something new, you must change your language. If you do not change your language, your listener hears him or herself, not what you say”.

This made us think long and hard. We recognise that we humans ‘filter’ everything we hear through our own world view.

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 5

There is much discussion around the terms coaching and mentoring and what they mean. We wanted to talk about the work we do with greater depth of meaning. We considered therefore, that what we do, as the relationships we have, develop, is companioning.

A companion, a buddy, equal in power, whose ideas and way of being reflect their experiences, upbringing, culture, religion, education and the many other things that colour our world and make us who we are. We see things according to how we are - not how the things actually are. Our world is coloured by our way of being, by our perceptions. When we companion with someone we walk with them, value them and their thoughts and negotiate a learning pathway for us both. This is a reciprocal learning partnership for self-growth, which may contribute to the building of personal identity for both parties.

Our notion of companioning aims at creating ‘triggers’ through conversation. We understand it to involve listening and really hearing the other person.

Listening to hear and understand, not to answer or argue a point. This listening allows the listener to create their own knowledge from the conversation, their own world-view values and experiences. What each of us learns from each other fits our needs perfectly. Companioning involves being there with the other person in a journey through dialogue, together,

transforming together, creating new knowledge and understandings for self-growth.

This notion of companioning, of walking together on a pathway through something that is important to each of us, creates deep understandings and transformative learning. Both companions benefit, both learn, both find new ways to view and operate in their world. It is not hierarchical. Equal value is placed upon each person and what they offer to the conversation. It steps away from the ‘goal focus’ and ‘solution- focus’ of coaching and mentoring and into a ‘reflective conversation. What Stelter (2012) names ‘third generation’ coaching.

We offer our thinking here as we continue on our learning pathways. We believe that the re- languaging of the words ‘coaching and mentoring’ offers us all an opportunity to look more deeply into the process of self- awareness and growth as it affects our daily interactions, work and play. By changing the words we understand that notions that we hold about coaching and mentoring have an opportunity to soar, to regenerate, to be re-energised. Companioning allows us to transform together. We believe that the outcome of companioning – walking a pathway together- is enhancing a way of being in the world. An evolving or emerging ‘formation’, touching one’s identity as a unique person.

Thinkers who have inspired us:

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Sieler , A ( 2012) Coaching to the Human Soul: Ontological Coaching and deep change. The Biological and somatic Basis of Ontological Coaching.

Newfield Institute Victoria.

•

Stelter, R (2012) A guide to Third Generation Coaching. NarrativeCollaborative Theory and Practice. Springer. New York and London.

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Illeris, K.( 2014) Transformative Learning and Identity. Routledge, London.

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Abu Dhabi schools back the switch to ‘Stem’ subjects

Roberta Pennington

Abu Dhabi public school principals and teachers have welcomed changes to the secondary school curriculum that puts more emphasis on science subjects.

However, they are concerned that schools will not have enough time to prepare for the reforms – due to be implemented in the next academic year.

The Abu Dhabi Education Council recently announced that pupils entering Grade 11 in August will no longer be given the option of choosing between a science or humanities stream. Instead, they will study the same unified curriculum.

This new model ensures that each pupil will spend 21 out of 45 periods a week studying science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) subjects.

These subjects will make up 55 per cent of their final grade, giving more weight to Stem classes.

The reform aims to equip youngsters with the skills and knowledge needed to enter federal universities, without having to go through a foundation year. It also focuses on preparing them for the job market.

“The plan is to really do something on the ground to help those students before they graduate and join universities,” said Dr Alaaeldin Aly, Adec’s knowledge management division manager.

He said: “The whole world lacks Stem (graduates), not just us. So the gap is huge.”

Hassan Youssef, principal of Hamdan bin Mohammed Secondary School in Abu Dhabi, said the revised curriculum would offer pupils a choice of elective subjects – something they have not previously been able to do with their preset schedules of 11 compulsory classes under the track system.

“Now the students will have a lot of choices,” said Mr Youssef. “They get a chance to choose the subjects that will align with their future career. They might think, ‘I’d like to be in engineering,’ or something like

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that, so they might choose classes suited to that profession.”

Although all children will be required to take maths and physics, they will have to sign up for elective Stem classes.

Ghada Fahad, a principal in Al Ain, said the revised curriculum “looks good”, but questioned whether staff will be prepared in time to deliver it.

“There is the willingness, but to what extent are the teachers really ready, and is that time frame enough?

That is the question,” said Mrs Fahad.

“Are the teachers really qualified? Will they be developed for these skills, with all these high expectations?”

Adec said teachers will receive training in advance of the new curriculum, but it has not released details of how or when that training will take place. It has said, however, that the revised curriculum will be implemented over five years.

Judith Finnemore, managing consultant with Focal Point Educational Consultancy, said she hoped Adec had a pool of qualified teachers and that it would “not just put a general science teacher in place and do a bit of ‘massaging’”.

“Teachers of the sciences and physics – good ones that interest children and bring the subject alive versus those who would read and explain the textbook – are in extremely short supply globally,” said Mrs Finnemore rpennington@thenational.ae Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 7

Want students to be ready for un

Onlin

Participating in some subject learning online during the high school years develops independent learning skills as well as confidence with technology says new research.

Principal of Pamoja Education, Ed Lawless explains...

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niversity?

ne learning helps says research

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 9

An increasing number of International Baccalaureate Diploma Progamme (IBDP) subjects have been available as online courses for the past five years.

This means that how IBDP students choose to study can be a combination of the traditional face-to-face classroom and the more independent, studentcentred online learning approach.

Currently over 2,000 IBDP students around the world are doing exactly that.

Recent research by London’s UCL Institute of Education (IOE) studied the impact of online learning on IBDP students who had progressed to higher education. The results suggest that an online learning experience benefited students in several ways.

How IB students learn online Online IBDP courses can be taken by any 16-19 year old IBDP students alongside conventional classes for other subjects. These courses are provided by the only approved provider of online IBDP courses, Pamoja Education. The online option allows students to select specialist courses when numbers might be too small for a school to provide a face-to-face class, or because a student chooses to take an online course as a different way to learn.

So what is that difference?

Online students work in a subject ‘class’ with other online learners who might be based in schools anywhere in the world.

The students access their learning digitally, on their own, at a time and in a place that best suits each one of them.

However, they are not in isolation; they are strongly supported by their online teacher; a fully qualified IBDP teacher who is also trained to deliver online learning. The teacher provides weekly objectives and assignments, guiding and connecting directly with the students, sometimes as a group and also one-to-one. The students work on their assignments both individually and collaboratively. Group work brings its particular challenges as students have to consider different time zones, communication techniques, and ways to work together; situations that students become increasingly competent at responding to as they progress through their course.

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The experience of online learning at this age offers several other potential benefits as the IOE research discovered.

Researching university learners 108 current university students from 36 countries were researched, 58 who had studied at least one two-year subject online as part of their IBDP. Developing confidence with technology was one benefit identified.

The research found that students who had studied online prior to university were familiar with technologies that formed an essential part of university life such as learning management systems, discussion forums, Google tools, and audio-visual resources. Not only were they familiar with such tools, they were also confident in their choice and use of technology for different needs; something that many other students said they struggled to master.

The research suggested that this proficiency in the selection and use of technology affected quality of life for university students, not just test scores, because it is such a necessary and expected part of the university learning experience. For the skilled users, technology helped make life easier, particularly by drawing together information and resources, and in some cases was necessary for making tasks possible that would otherwise be impractical without technology. One respondent said the experience of learning online “helped me to learn how to communicate more effectively through online mediums, including getting through group projects without the benefit of face-to-face meetings.�

Students in the research also talked about the cultural benefits of the online learning experience. Their online classes had brought together learners from a range of countries, giving them the chance to consider differing country and cultural perspectives to issues. Several respondents said that this had helped them to understand a range of cultures and communication styles, and that it had introduced them to different viewpoints.

Perhaps the results of most interest were those that related to independent learning skills.

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When asked about self-regulatory behaviours for managing studies, the vast majority of respondents agreed that these were important for success at university.

84% said that it was definitely important to be able to set personal goals as a way of managing the time they spent studying at university. 71% said it was definitely important to be able to set standards for work. 88% said it was definitely important to be clear about where and when to study.

97% said it was important to try to solve problems independently. And 88% said it was important to know when to turn to a tutor for support.

Students who had studied online described how valuable it was that they could learn independently. They were less likely than their peers to rely on the university tutors for help, more likely to set goals based on their own performance rather than that of other students, and they had better developed strategies for managing and pacing their studies.

One respondent said: “Studying online is different from attending regular classes.

You have to be self-motivated to study on your own and set your own deadlines.�

Responding to change The gap from high school to university remains huge. Studying is more intensive and complex, and undergraduates are expected to be competent independent learners from the start. Helping students to best prepare for this is as important as helping them to get there. As the research suggests, online learning experience helps to bridge that gap.

For more information about the full range of courses and to read a more detailed overview of the IOE research, visit Pamoja Education

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 15

Finland schools:

Subjects scrapped and

replaced with ‘topics’ as country reforms its education system Richard Garner

With Finland radically reforming the way its children are taught, Richard Garner visits Helsinki to find out if the teachers approve For years, Finland has been the by-word for a successful education system, perched at the top of international league tables for literacy and numeracy.

more collaborative approach, with pupils working in smaller groups to solve problems while improving their communication skills.

Only far eastern countries such as Singapore and China outperform the Nordic nation in the influential Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) rankings. Politicians and education experts from around the world – including the UK – have made pilgrimages to Helsinki in the hope of identifying and replicating the secret of its success.

Marjo Kyllonen, Helsinki’s education manager – who will be presenting her blueprint for change to the council at the end of this month, said: “It is not only Helsinki but the whole of Finland who will be embracing change.

Which makes it all the more remarkable that Finland is about to embark on one of the most radical education reform programmes ever undertaken by a nation state – scrapping traditional “teaching by subject” in favour of “teaching by topic”.

“This is going to be a big change in education in Finland that we’re just beginning,” said Liisa Pohjolainen, who is in charge of youth and adult education in Helsinki – the capital city at the forefront of the reform programme.

Pasi Silander, the city’s development manager, explained: “What we need now is a different kind ofeducation to prepare people for working life.

“Young people use quite advanced computers. In the past the banks had lots of bank clerks totting up figures but now that has totally changed.

“We therefore have to make the changes in education that are necessary for industry and modern society.”

Subject-specific lessons – an hour of history in the morning, an hour of geography in the afternoon – are already being phased out for 16-year-olds in the city’s upper schools. They are being replaced by what the Finns call “phenomenon” teaching – or teaching by topic. For instance, a teenager studying a vocational course might take “cafeteria services” lessons, which would include elements of maths, languages (to help serve foreign customers), writing skills and communication skills.

More academic pupils would be taught cross-subject topics such as the European Union - which would merge elements of economics, history (of the countries involved), languages and geography.

There are other changes too, not least to the traditional format that sees rows of pupils sitting passively in front of their teacher, listening to lessons or waiting to be questioned. Instead there will be a 16 Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015

“We really need a rethinking of education and a redesigning of our system, so it prepares our children for the future with the skills that are needed for today and tomorrow.

“There are schools that are teaching in the old fashioned way which was of benefit in the beginnings of the 1900s – but the needs are not the same and we need something fit for the 21st century.”

The reforms reflect growing calls in the UK – not least from the Confederation of British Industry and Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt – for education to promote character, resilience and communication skills, rather than just pushing children through “exam factories”.

But there would currently be little appetite in the UK for going as far as ditching traditional subjects.

Even in Finland, the reforms have met objections from teachers and heads – many of whom have spent their lives focusing on a particular subject only to be told to change their approach.

Ms Kyllonen has been advocating a “co-teaching” approach to lesson planning, with input from more than one subject specialist. Teachers who embrace this new system can receive a small top-up in salary.

About 70 per cent of the city’s high school teachers have now been trained in adopting the new approach, according to Mr Silander.

“We have really changed the mindset,” he said. “It is quite difficult to get teachers to start and take the first step… but teachers who have taken to the new approach say they can’t go back.”

Early data shows that students are benefiting too. In the two years since the new teaching methods first began being introduced, pupil “outcomes” – they prefer that word to standards – have improved.

Finnish schools are obliged to introduce a period of “phenomenon-based teaching” at least once a year.

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Pupils at Siltamaki primary school perform a rap as part of their cross-subject learning (Jussi Helttunen)

These projects can last several weeks. In Helsinki, they are pushing the reforms at a faster pace with schools encouraged to set aside two periods during the year for adopting the new approach. Ms Kyllonen’s blueprint, to be published later this month, envisages the reforms will be in place across all Finnish schools by 2020.

Meanwhile, the pre-school sector is also embracing change through an innovative project, the Playful Learning Centre, which is engaged in discussions with the computer games industry about how it could help introduce a more “playful” learning approach to younger children.

“We would like to make Finland the leading country in terms of playful solutions to children’s learning,” said Olavi Mentanen, director of the PLC project, The eyes of the education world will be upon Finland as it opts for change: will it be able to retain or improve its showing in the PISA league tables published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Case study: Finnish approach It is an English lesson, but there is a map of continental Europe on the whiteboard. The children must combine weather conditions with the different countries displayed on the board. For instance, today it is sunny in Finland and foggy in Denmark. This means the pupils combine the learning of English with geography.

Welcome to Siltamaki primary school in Helsinki – a school with 240 seven- to 12-year-olds – which has embraced Finland’s new learning style. Its principal, Anne-Mari Jaatinen, explains the school’s philosophy: “We want the pupils to learn in a safe, happy, relaxed and inspired atmosphere.”

We come across children playing chess in a corridor and a game being played whereby children rush around the corridors collecting information about different parts of Africa. Ms Jaatinen describes what is going on as “joyful learning”. She wants more collaboration and communication between pupils to allow them to develop their creative thinking skills.

If it does, how will the rest of the education world react?

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www.independent.co.uk Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 17

Working with you in 2015

Responding to cross-curricular writing challenges in secondar y schools

Developing Writing Teachers

Responding to cross-curricular writing challenges in secondary schools

Institute of Professional Learning, Faculty of Education University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand Phone: +64 7 838 4458 | Email: professionallearning@waikato.ac.nz

www.waikato.ac.nz/professionallearning consultancy@waikato.ac.nz

For more information email professionallearning@waikato.ac.nz 18 Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015

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China Hires 358,000 Teachers to Strengthen Rural Education

Sheena dela Cerna

China’s Ministry of Education said that roughly 358,000 teachers were hired in the past year to serve in primary and middle schools in rural areas across the country.

In 2014, the ministry also spent 4.4 billion yuan to provide professional training programs for local teachers, and organized exchange programs that benefited over 500,000 educators. The figures were revealed in a report that explored developments in China’s compulsory education.

With these moves, the ministry hopes to improve the overall quality of teachers in primary and middle schools, enhance the allocation of educational resources, as well as reduce the disparities between urban and rural education.

These developments were reported just a day after China’s central authorities promised to reform the country’s educational system, public hospitals and juror system.

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Officials who attended the 11th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform on April 1, Wednesday, approved a five-year plan to support rural teachers. Some of the approved proposals include raising the salaries of teachers, enhancing their political and moral awareness, and urging urban teachers to transfer to rural schools.

In a statement, central leaders who were in the meeting believed that education in rural locations in central and western China has been the weakest link in efforts to revamp the educational system.

Chinese leaders added that poverty could be stopped by providing equal educational opportunities for all children.

“It is crucial that every child receives an equal education so as to stop poverty spreading to the next generation,” the Chinese leaders said in a statement. http://en.yibada.com/articles/24225/20150403/ china-hires-358-000-teachers-strengthen-rural-education.

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Light Week at MOTAT – IYL 2015

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5

Nicole Jones, Education Coordinator at MOTAT.

2015 is the International Year of Light. This global initiative has been adopted by UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) with the aim of highlighting to the citizens of the world the importance of light and optical technologies in their lives, for their futures and for the development of society.

This project spans more than 85 countries around the globe, with different organisations hosting a range of events.

The International Year of Light is creating all sorts of exciting buzz around MOTAT. The Museum recently hosted the Photon Factory, The University of Auckland’s state-of-theart research facility specialising in ultra-fast lasers, at its Science Street Fair. As the team explained the importance of their work to the next generation of young scientists it was great to see the levels of excitement and engagement amongst the children. The Photon Factory facilitated a range of hands-on activities which the scientists then used as a launch pad for discussing more complex theories.

Whether they were attempting to slink through a laser maze, creating glow in the dark slime from scratch or refracting light through candy and jelly, the kids attending the Science Street Fair were ready and eager to learn more about light.

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Light Week at MOTAT – IYL 2015

MOTAT is supporting the International Year of Light by running a special Light Week during Primary Science Week (4 – 8May).

Classes which book in for the ‘Lights and Mirrors’ or any other Learning programmes during this period will have the opportunity to take part in a range of additional light-themed activities at the Museum. Students can explore the Oxford theatre with night vision goggles, create light writing using torches and single-lens reflex cameras plus get the chance to create their own show using a 2m tall shadow theatre.

Light Week once again gives MOTAT and teachers the opportunity to engage with students and excite them about the wonders of the world of light.

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Changing the world… One ac I believe that Aesop got it right when he said that no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

It reminds me that a few days ago I stood in the checkout line of our local supermarket behind a mum and her young daughter.

The little girl smiled happily when the assistant handed her mother the bunch of animal cards that were a store promotion to reward purchases.

I asked her daughter if she was saving them and she replied, “Yes I am, but I am going to give these to a boy at my school because he told me that he wanted to save them too and he’s only got three so far because his mum doesn’t have enough money to shop here.

And her smile got even bigger when the shop assistant quietly handed her an extra card, saying “This one’s for you.”

Guess where my shopping reward cards went?

I smiled all the way home.

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ct at a time.

Elaine Le Sueur It only took that one little act of kindness to set off a chain of events that left at least three people happier for the encounter, (four if you include the intended card recipient later on), and the little girl probably wasn’t even aware of the ripple effect that she had.

It wasn’t wasted.

Did you know that a simple act of kindness towards another stimulates the production of serotonin in both the giver and the receiver? Serotonin is a hormone within the body that acts as a transmitter to the brain and promotes the ability to change your mood and make you feel better.

Thinking about this story still makes me feel happy several days later.

So where am I going with this?

The incident provoked me to think about the possibilities for some action based research.

There doesn’t have to have a monetary cost attached to making kindness and compassion a powerful antidote to the pressures of life that we are all capable of giving. Acts of kindness make children feel good.

This emotional, social growth is important. Some children already have it in spades, while others can be encouraged to think of ways to pay it forward. The spin off for teachers is a happy classroom where the children feel good about themselves. They are more likely to be tolerant of others and can focus on creativity and learning.

This is how a group of children described kindness.

Kindness is…

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Sharing things. (Girl, aged 5)

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When you try to help someone even if they don’t know you are doing it. (Boy, aged 7)

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When somebody listens to you and doesn’t interrupt with their own ideas. (Girl, aged 8)

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Giving somebody a hug when they feel sad, like when my cat got run over and I was crying and my friend gave me a big hug and I felt a bit better. (girl, aged 7)

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Letting someone else have a turn on your bike if they haven’t got one. (boy, aged 8)

And my personal favourite…

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Picking up a worm on the path and putting it back in the garden so it doesn’t get squashed. (Boy, aged 6)

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How might we encourage children to give while expecting nothing in return?

Some initial ideas to get the class started…

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Discuss acts of kindness that you have caught other people doing

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Say thank you to someone in the community who makes a difference in your life

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Practise listening without interrupting

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Write a thank you note/ email/ or message to someone who has helped you

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Do something helpful for someone else, just because you can

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Hide a kindness note to the reader in a book in the class library

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Give someone a smile of your own and a coupon to hand on.

Challenge the students to think of ideas of their own and share them.

It’s a great opportunity to change the environment in which we live and to make it a better place for us being here… one act at a time.

Are you up for the challenge?

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Reversing the Teacher Dropout Problem Retain more of your staff by understanding their needs and helping them succeed.

By Jon Andes Each year, about a half million teachers are hired. School systems spend significant amounts of resources, in both time and money, to recruit, hire, and induct new teachers.

Despite this expenditure, up to half of all new teachers will become “dropouts” within their first five years. For school systems nationwide, the costs of new teacher dropouts are substantial-- estimated at $2.2 billion per year. For students, this teacher turnover impacts the quality of instruction they receive. Since a major proportion of new teachers are assigned to high-poverty schools, the negative impact on poor children is continuous.

Solving the teacher dropout phenomenon is a precursor to ensuring the success of all students. To address the challenges presented by teacher dropout, we, as instructional leaders, need to understand the unique qualities and needs of new, millennial-generation teachers; discover the general reasons given by new teachers for leaving the profession; and explore the strategies that instructional leaders can take to prevent this from happening.

Who Are These Teachers?

In general, members of the millennial generation have three common characteristics that will impact their career as teachers. First, they are digital natives, who constantly use technology to communicate and to access information. This generation sees access to high-speed Internet and devices as a given. Second, they are team oriented and seek to solve problems by working collaboratively. Since birth, members of this generation have been encouraged to be part of a team—in play groups, sports teams, summer camps, and arts programs. Finally, they seek tangible achievements and feedback, having been the recipients of trophies, medals, and even participation ribbons.

Why Do They Leave?

When researchers survey new teachers who have left the profession, three major reasons are commonly given for dropping out. First, they cite a lack of resources, including technology and classroom materials, and the time to plan and complete the many tasks associated with teaching.

Second, these teachers identify a feeling of isolation as a reason for leaving, specifically, a lack of time and the freedom to work together as professionals to address and solve instructional challenges. Finally, they identify a lack of support by school-building leadership as a reason for leaving.

What Can You Do to Help?

The obvious solution to addressing the dilemma of new teacher dropouts is to make sure that the right person is hired. Assuring the right person is hired may reduce attrition, but it may not be enough to retain the best and the brightest millennials. By understanding the unique

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characteristics of this generation and the reasons cited for leaving the teaching profession, instructional leaders can identify and implement strategies to retain these new teachers.

First, providing needed resources is critical. The millennial generation of new teachers expects that the tools of teaching—including technology—will be available in the classroom to optimize their instructional practice. In terms of time constraints, school leaders can ease these by eliminating or reducing administrative duties such as bus or playground duty, providing new teachers with common planning time, and reducing class size. Additionally, school leaders can make a conscious effort to carefully choose which students to assign to new teachers, for the purpose of setting up the novice for a successful first-year experience.

Second, to combat a feeling of isolation, the instructional leader can assign the right mentor and place the new teacher on a collaborative team. Veteran teachers are often selected as mentors for new teachers but this may not always be the best choice. In addition to assigning the right mentor, the instructional leader needs to provide time during the school day for the new teacher and a mentor to plan and work together.

Third, to demonstrate support for new teachers, the building principal must make an effort to connect with them. This might include actions such as scheduling a regular bimonthly time to meet with new teachers and mentors to discuss needs, informally meet with new teachers for an after-school snack and chat, make informal visits to the classroom to acknowledge instructional success, and use e-mails to reach out to new teachers with positive messages. Most important, new teachers need to believe that an instructional leader is listening to them and is committed to enabling their success.

As instructional leaders, we must remember that the success of a student directly depends on the person who is teaching him or her. As a nation, we cannot afford the cost of constantly recruiting, hiring, and training new teachers. The cost is too high in terms of both money spent and loss of student learning time.

The purpose of the hiring process is to replace ourselves with a generation of educators who are prepared and capable to meet the challenges that the post-millennial generation will bring to the classroom.

Jon Andes is a professor of practice at Salisbury State University in Maryland. He was superintendent of the Worcester County Public Schools in Maryland from 1996 through 2012.

Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 27

Learning: A process not unders Viewed dispassionately against the evidence, the practices that are carried out in the name of learning indicate that the learning process itself is little understood by anyone.

Least of all by those who are most involved with it, teachers particularly, but anybody who has ever had to teach anyone anything.

We do, however, know quite a bit about it with more being discovered all the time.

In a very recent development, for instance, we even know how to get previously failing students learning.

Learning for these students is now being conducted in a way that ensures not only can they catch up with classmates, their progress ensures they are developing much nearer to their full capacity to learn than was ever possible before.

Thus, in the progress they’re making it’s likely the students in question will soon be besting their age mates, if not students considerably older.

These previously failing young students are doing unheard of things like making as much as 4 - 5 years progress in one school year.

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Of course, this very rapid progress brings with it a bunch of new problems as teachers, policy makers, parents and others come to grips with the implications of this as an educational development. You’d think a development of this nature would be received gladly, with open arms even. The good news is that for an increasing number this is the case. For the vast majority, though, it isn’t. For the latter it just doesn’t square with what they know, namely with the fund of common knowledge – the accepted wisdom about learning – that has been built up over the millennia that mankind has bestrode this planet.

The fact that this common knowledge exists and has such a grip on the teaching practices cannot be pooh-poohed as being of no account. It’s the very reason we can say in education, ’the more things change, the more they stay the same’. Unfortunately, there’s a significant cost to teaching practices staying the same. For those with the eyes to notice, it can be best seen in the failure to develop all of the capacity to learn of each and every student who enters a classroom – or whatever passes for one – anywhere on the globe. That inefficiency can be thought of as costing anything up to half the learning capacity of the entire student population.

That this common knowledge – the lingua franca of teaching – is not understood to be a major efficacy problem indicates there’s a need to be broadcasting what’s going on widely. If an inquiry was to be made into recent interventions designed to lift student performance across the board, it would be ‘odds on’ that none would have knowingly addressed the efficacy issue being spoken of here. Oh don’t get me wrong, those interventions may somewhat improve the performance of many students. Yet what is overlooked here is this “improvement” is masking the fact that such common-knowledge based interventions are failing to develop something like half the learning capacity of the entire student body. Not only that, the position of those previously failing student’s remains pretty much unaltered.

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stood Laurie Loper Psychologist Part of what hinders an understanding of the reluctance apparent to be using this new information is that there is a powerful countervailing culture involved. Operating under the radar, this culture negatively impacts on the development of our understanding of the learning process. Anything and everything to do with the development of things educational is negatively impacted, policy development, parental thinking about education issues, classroom teaching practices, business expectations about what skills graduates from secondary or university ought to be bringing to the workplace, the lot.

Operating under the radar means precisely that, people are simply unaware of this culture and the influence it has in/on every educational matter. This culture is dangerous, more dangerous than say a cult religion. You would have to rank it up there ahead of something like Isis. It is more widespread than even all of the great religions combined, making it as much a global phenomena as it is a local community one. In its ubiquity lies it’s strength and also it’s greatest danger as it serves to deprive humanity of its full potential. Having achieved a status akin to that of a cultural icon, its influence on the development of a proper/complete understanding of how learning works is the aspect that concerns me most.

In handling the major issues facing the planet, arguably mankind is almost entirely dependent on the fullest development possible of its collective capacity to learn. Already signs of degenerative human functioning are starting to show up in social statistics. As global issues like climate warming affect the planet, mankind needs all the knowledge and know-how it can muster. While developing to the full every student’s capacity to learn is an idea likely to achieve wide acceptance, making it happen is an entirely different matter. A stalemate situation exists in that practices that show promise are stymied by practices based on accepted wisdom. Anything interpreted as a potential threat to that wisdom brings the predictable defensive response, power becomes

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exercised, and promising ideas are starved of resources.

So what is it going to take educationally to remedy this inefficacy situation? It’s going to take something politicians will always be reluctant to embrace, the cost of a massive teacher retraining programme that will be required. Sound science backs this suggestion. Nuthall’s learning rule states that the optimum learning condition operates when each individual student has the opportunity to experience the full information about any topic/idea/concept (tic) – that each individual student recognizes as being new to them – a total of three times, with each experience needing to be two days apart. That means the proper processing of each new tic takes place over a five-day period, a learning schedule that no learner observes, except maybe by accident and one that no classroom consciously allows for.

Proper processing is the difference between ‘knowing about’ and having a learning experience that ends up being fully integrated into the student’s accumulated knowledge base. When students integrate new tics in that way, twelve month’s down the track, not only can such learning be recalled, successful use can be made of it 80 – 85 percent of the time.

Moreover, ‘knowing about’ is heavily reliant on short-term memory. For those students who rely on it, short-term memory can be sufficient to enable the passing of exams with relative ease. The “advantage” short-term memory appears to give here is actually a disadvantage. Learning done that way – not integrated into an established knowledge base – will be, and is, easily forgotten. Additionally, since such learning has not been properly processed, a full understanding has not been achieved. To this lack of understanding, then, can be added a wasted swot effort on the part of any student sitting an exam who is relying on short-term memory to get them through. This is but another example of the “inherent inefficiency” Nuthall discovered that plagues education.

Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 29

If all of that wasn’t bad enough, teachers in this test crazy era are virtually forced to regard test results as evidence of understanding. Since virtually none of any learning being sampled by testing has been properly processed, such test data merely samples ‘knowing about’ not a properly processed understanding. Now that this is known, I struggle to comprehend why anyone would keep doing so. Clearly the data being collected is not worth the effort spent gathering it. Yet this invalid data gets used for all sorts of purposes as if it was valid. That is crazy in anyone’s language.

Picking holes is easy. Remedies are not so easy to come by. Surely the time has come, though, when a proper understanding of the learning process should be what’s guiding our use of it. Isn’t it time to ditch the current understanding of learning and make use of science-based information as the way forward? This is not to belittle the valiant efforts of a few dedicated persons like the ones of my acquaintance who are trying to ensure more students – many of them currently failing in the education system – wrest more educational reward from their daily attendance in classrooms wherein they are likely sitting, bemusedly trying to make sense of their experience of classroom learning.

But even those who are valiantly trying to bring more success to the lives of our failing students appear still to be enmeshed by the ancient culture of learning. Most of the more successful of these are making use of the fact that teaching and learning occur in a social setting. They are demonstrating that as long as the relevant social setting variables are taken proper care of, achievements of a kind previously thought impossible now face the prospect of becoming relatively commonplace. Such is the power of the culture involved success here is being achieved without the assistance of Nuthall’s efficacy discoveries. Think what success might be achieved if his discoveries were part of the mix. That they are not means there is substantial learning capacity still going to waste.

accepting the idea that the science of the learning process could be the way forward.

Mean time the waters are being muddied by the advent of the new informational technologies and the enticing things they offer. But learning is learning, no matter what the medium, and ditto, learning processes are learning processes and they need to be efficient and above all, understood. Realistically, though, it’s obvious that solutions based on learning science are going to take a long time to find acceptance.

Now is the time when something needs to be done about this situation. The chance to do so might just have presented itself. That’s because the Review of Statutory Interventions in State Schools and State Integrated Schools report is out – that title surely is a prime example of ministry speak if I ever saw one. One of the things this report is calling for is a Professional Learning and Development (PDL) Review.

I’ve already written to the Secretary of Education, Peter Hughes, about the direction I would like to see that Review heading. Having previous experience of how efficiently he conducts his email correspondence, I had no right to feel surprised that a bare 36 hours later, there was an acknowledgement reply, but given the nature and tone of my advocacy, I was. It said he had already read my email and would reply as soon as he was able. Whether or not this dialogue will result in the inclusion of the science of learning in this Review, only time will tell.

Let’s remember that culture counts. It’s culture that perpetuates things like violence against women, and for instance stops any thought that the contribution women make in the home might be counted on the nation’s economic balance sheet. In education it’s culture that’s blocking any real move towards

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Passports to record teaching career development Arwyn Jones BBC Wales

Learning - teachers will be expected to update their own skills...

Teachers in Wales are to be given more support to develop their careers and improve teaching in the classroom.

The so-called New Deal will reshape how they are trained as their career develops and help them to deliver the new “made in Wales curriculum”.Each of Wales’ 37,600 teachers will be given a learning passport by September to record professional development.

Education Minister Huw Lewis said having “high capacity, high skilled professionals” was essential.

Policies for recruiting and developing teachers and

other school staff are “underdeveloped,” according to a report by the OECD think-tank, looking at schools in Wales last year.

There has been a small improvement in the quality of teaching, which is now good or better in half of schools, says the schools watchdog Estyn in its annual report. But there are fewer schools where teaching is excellent.

The quality of assessment was also found to be variable in a minority of schools Teachers will be offered support but be expected to continually update their skills.

Mr Lewis will visit Brynnau Primary school in Pontyclun, Rhondda Cynon Taf, to highlight its record in developing its staff to benefit pupils.

He said: “We are currently undertaking one of the most ambitious series of educational reforms Wales has ever seen, aimed squarely at improving standards right across the board.

“However we know that excellent teaching and leadership is crucial to the learner experience and to our ongoing work of raising outcomes for all learners at all levels.”

He added that “the quality of the professional at the chalk face has a huge impact on the quality of teaching and learning”.

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 31

Shifting your Professional Network int When I first became an educator, the term “network” had a different connotation for me when I compared it to other professions.

In my mind, it implied we were supposed to reach out to other educators within our building, or perhaps at the district level, to exchange both ideas and resources.

After being selected to Honeywell’s Educators @ Space Academy in 2006, my idea of an educator’s network broadened to include educators not only in other states, but around the world.

In fact, after realizing the opportunity, a few of us decided to make our own website to stay in touch and collaborate.

It worked so well that my students participated in joint science experiments with students from other states, but they also helped set up an “American style” student council in Romania.

After seeing the value of collaboration, I was eager to be part of the initial cohort at the Dayton Regional STEM Center. This cohort included professionals from K-12 education, higher education, and industry, working together to develop STEM curricula for students in all schools. As a STEM Fellow, you participated in training which includes learning about the engineering design process, as well as touring labs at local universities and industry sites. Working alongside passionate individuals and seeing their amazing work environment was very inspiring. As an educator, I knew that I had to find a way for them to become part of my classroom. And that’s when things changed.

I had lived in self-imposed exile for far too long. I used to think that cross-curricular activities within my building were good enough, but when I saw the value that was added through these highly gifted engineers and scientists interacting with students, it forever changed the way I organized my units of instruction.

My idea of a professional network was forever changed.

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I started using sites such as LinkedIn to keep track of my professional contacts and building an even bigger network. Additionally, I started the practice of sending home a letter at the beginning of the school year outlining my course of study, which also invited parents to sign up as a potential volunteer/site hosts if their profession seemed to fit within the scope of our studies. Finally, I reached out to former students that were either in college or in their young careers for support. The response that I received was phenomenal.

As a result of leveraging my contacts, not only did the number of visitors coming into my classroom sky rocket, but my middle school students have been active participants and earned experiences that have been much more than just “field trips” at the following sites over the past 3 years: •

Mad River Township Fire/EMS

•

Wright State Visualization Laboratory

•

Schools of Chemistry, Physics, and Engineering

•

The Ohio State University Aero/Astro Research Center

•

Ohio State University Schools of Engineering and Architecture

•

Air Force Institute of Technology

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to the 21st Century Tom Jenkins

Once your classroom develops the reputation of engaging the community, entities will search you out.

As an example, I was contacted by Jason Kruger of Stratostarout of Indianapolis, Indiana. Even though his company is a couple of hours down the road, through reputation he found us. We worked together with my students to create experiments that would be attached to a high altitude weather balloon that launched into near space. Ovular objects (how fluids behave with changes in temperature and pressure), Dancing Confetti (a study in turbulence as well as sound waves at different altitudes), and the ill-fated AstroCrickets, were our way of conducting authentic engineering and scientific investigations for nearly a month. Our school organized a launch day in which all of the students in the building, as well as parents and local media, were invited to attend. We even had a mission control in which everyone could watch as the real time data from the sensors rolled into our classroom.

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The day after our successful launch and retrieval, one of my students — a 12-year-old girl who was very quiet — came up to me and said, “You know Mr. J, I had a great moment yesterday. When my dad came home from work, he asked me what I did at school today. I said nothing big. I just helped launch a weather balloon over 62,000 feet into near space.

‘What did you do?’” On that note, we both smiled then chuckled, and I knew that my extra efforts to reach outside of my classroom walls were well worth the time.

Tom Jenkins teaches both middle school science and STEM in Enon, Ohio. He is a NASA SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassador, Manager of Special Projects at the Dayton Regional STEM Center, as well as the Boeing Science Teacher Laureate for Teaching Channel.

Connect with Tom via Twitter: @ TomJenkinsSTEM. Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 33

First in class: No gold star for to Elite educators frustrated by ‘pointless’ paperwork, low pay and limited career options, study finds.

Are New Zealand’s best and brightest young teachers leaving the profession because of frustrations over too much paperwork, insufficient pay and a lack of career options in front of classrooms?

A Canterbury University study found more than half of high-flying young teachers were struggling with the job after nine years and a quarter had left or wanted to leave.

"Simply retaining teachers in itself is not enough," said associate professor Susan Lovett, joint author of the study.

"We want to have the very best teachers for kids in our schools. These are the people we need to nurture and support."

The study, part of the Teachers of Promise project, published last year, took 57 third-year teachers recommended by training organisations and principals as being "highly promising" and followed them for six years.

Of the 40 still in touch after that time, 10 had a high satisfaction with teaching, 21 were "persevering and coping", three were detached and thinking about leaving the profession, while six had already left.More than a third were "less happy teaching than they thought they would be" while "relatively few were in schools where they were able to make the impact predicted for them in their early years".

Those happy with their careers were in schools where they were valued as professionals and had a voice in decision-making in collaborative cultures that recognised teacher efforts.

Teachers who were "coping" or had become disengaged said their schools had too many changes, a lack of professional development or little ability to learn from colleagues.

Secondary teachers were most disaffected.

Career pathways were limited - the only way to get more money was to go into management, compromising frontline teaching time.

However, the biggest detractor from the job was the bureaucracy.

The introduction of NCEA and National Standards had seen the requirement for assessment and data collection increase dramatically, but for little purpose, reducing teachers' preparation time.

34 Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015

One participant said he spent a lot of time "keeping up to date with the useless paperwork that is 'vital' but never gets read or used for anything meaningful by the senior managers who demand it".

There was also a "culture of fear" in some schools which meant teachers were afraid to make mistakes.

"I'm starting to get that cynical disease that teachers get," said one teacher, who was planning to leave to start a business. "I get to school around 8.15am. If I really wanted to do my job with a high level of effectiveness, I'd be there earlier. But I'd rather leave [early] and go to the gym."

The study noted the huge change in that teacher, who was initially described by a principal as "an amazing presence, with a human, wonderful teaching style" and "someone who is going to go places".

Of those who resigned, four said they did so for better opportunities and working conditions, including a less onerous workload.

Post Primary Teachers Association head Angela Roberts said it was a sad situation that initially passionate teachers were being ground down.

"When you talk to early career teachers they still have a light in their eyes - but the pressures are extreme - and they spend more time on paperwork than going to places where kids are excited with their learning.

"And secondary teachers have had four years of university. So they end up looking to their peers in other sectors who are earning more money, and saying, 'why am I not earning that'?"

NZEI past president Judith Nowotarski said teachers needed the ability to move laterally in their career - taking on more senior roles but continuing to teach.

Mt Albert Grammar School principal Dale Burden agreed the scope for career paths was limited.

"Good teachers do tend to get promoted out of the classroom, and that's a problem.

"We are trying to make those opportunities so positions like our heads of department are still about learning - kids' learning and teachers' learning."

The money was a problem, particularly in Auckland where house prices were high and a teacher's pay wouldn't go as far as in other places.

Both Mr Burden and the unions felt the Government's $360 million Investing in Educational Success programme would go some way towards creating new career pathways.

The scheme creates "communities of schools" where

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op Kiwi teachers?

Saunil Hagler loves helping teachers to develop. Photo / Nick Reed principals and teachers are paid extra to collaborate and share learning and provide additional teacherlearning time for the schools involved. There is also a teacher-led innovation fund, which provides funding and time for teachers to carry out research with colleagues within schools.

Primary schools are still negotiating with Education Minister Hekia Parata over how they will participate in the programme.

Calling it quits for lack of prospects When Saunil Hagler first became a teacher in 2003, he thought he would stick with the profession for the rest of his working life.

The realities of the classroom, however, led to the Auckland teacher leaving after less than 10 years in the job.

Mr Hagler, 35, was one of almost 60 promising young teachers selected to take part in a study that tracked teachers through their first nine years.

Mr Hagler, who has now set up a business offering technology training for teachers, says at both secondary and primary schools he felt he had the skills to help other teachers with technology, but there was no set-up to allow him to do that. "The professional development was woefully inadequate. I wasn't able to either get professional development or do it for other teachers while a teacher," he said.

The former science teacher said while he believed he'd been a good teacher, he could have been better with the right environment.

"I remember my first principal said to me, pick one period for each class in the week that you do really, really well, because you won't have time or energy to do them all well," he said. "So sometimes I was effective, and other times I was just trying to survive."

Mr Hagler said he may have stayed as a teacher if there were better opportunities to do what he was good at — technology, and being in the classroom — and if he was able to afford it.

Like a third of his peers, he said teaching did not live up to his expectations — with too much paperwork, limited career progression and not enough money to make it worthwhile.

"I would be lying if I said my decision to leave wasn't financial as well. I was watching friends in the private sector moving up in life while I was finding it hard as a teacher to get enough cash to live in Auckland and support a family."

"When I started out, I thought I would go into management at some stage," Mr Hagler says. "But I've become really cynical about management. I wanted to be in the classroom — but there was no career pathway for that."

Mr Hagler was on just over $70,000 a year by the time he quit. Now he's doing what he loves, helping others to improve their teaching. A post-graduate course taught him more about effective classroom learning than "all his years as a teacher".

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NZ Herald Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 35

Designers Construct Crayon-Ins Bloomingdale’s For spring 2015, Bloomingdale’s reached out to several designers to create pieces that both matched and were constructed by iconic Crayola colors.

The pieces are designed with playful colors, yet have a sharp edge, the points of the crayons adding 3D elements to many of the elaborate pieces.

The most dynamic, a bright yellow dress designed

by Nanette Lepore, showcases a bustier of organized pinwheel crayon segments extending from the ornate neckline.

Other designers chosen were Rebecca Taylor, Clover Canyon, Rebecca Minkoff, Torn by Ronny Kobo, andParker. Parker added a creative spin to the project, incorporating the Jungle Green crayon wrappers as faux-fabric within their designed romper. Designers Derek Farrar and Laurieanne Gilner explained that not only was the piece environmentally sound, but also gave them a serious case of spring fever.

The pieces, photographed by Matthew Carasella, are currently on display at the 59th Street Bloomingdale’s location in New York City, and more detailed shots can be found on Carasella’s portfolio site here. (http://www.matthewcarasella. com/) EXTRA: It should also be noted that another artist, Herb Williams, has been creating similar Crayon fashion since 2007. (Editor’s note:You can find Herb Williams work online at http://www. herbwilliamsart.com/#) “Unmellow Yellow” by Nanette Lepore “Bittersweet” by Torn by Ronny Kobo “Clover Canyon” by Mountain Meadow “Midnight Blue” by Rebecca Taylor “Banana Mania” by Rebecca Minkoff “Banana Mania” by Rebecca Minkoff “Jungle Green” by Parker

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spired Looks for New York City by Kate Sierzputowski

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 41

Spring Cleaning and the “Rites of Phases As a Project Manager, (yes educators are project managers) you are most likely familiar with the five project phases (also known as the project life-cycle or “process groups”) : initiating, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling, and closing.

However, do you know the 47 PM “processes” that these five phases encompass?

How do you know you’ve moved from one project phases to the next?

In this article, we want to sharpen up your knowledge on the distinction between the project phases through the metaphor of “rites of passage.”

Just like the seasons, project phases follow a life cycle marked by certain activities (like spring cleaning) that indicate you’ve entered the next phase.

42 Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015

By knowing the “rites of passage” into each new project phases, you’ll be better equipped to keep track of which processes belong in each project phase, and, ultimately, better manage your projects.

From Initiating to Planning The first project phases, initiating, involves just two processes: developing the project charter and identifying stakeholders. You know you’ve moved to planning when you start working on anything more detailed about how the work will be done: collecting requirements, creating the work breakdown schedule (WBS), and defining the project scope, for example.

The rite of passage into planning, then, is marked by asking, “how?” and “what?” What work needs to get done? How will the work get done? What resources are needed to complete the project? While in “initiating” you tend to ask “who?,” you know you’ve moved to planning when you start asking “how” and “what” questions about planning details.

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Passage” Into the Five Project

By Michelle LaBrosse,CCPM, PMP®, PMI-ACP, and Megan Alpine, CCPM, Co-Author

From Planning to Executing The transition between planning and executing may seem obvious - the former is “talking,” the latter is “doing.” However, it’s not quite that simple; you’ll still be doing quite a bit of “talking” in the executing phase. The rite of passage into executing is that your “talk” turns its attention to the project team: acquiring, developing, and managing the project team. As a PM, you may not be directly involved with the team’s work, but your “doing” takes the form of keeping the team on-track and making sure there’s adequate and appropriate communication between the project team and other stakeholders.

team using agile methodology, for example, you may “close” many times throughout the lifespan of the project as you hand over small work packages to the customer. What marks “closing” is that your project team stops working on a particular deliverable and the customer accepts it - not necessarily when it happens.

Spring Cleaning as a Rite of Passage

Finally, the move to “closing” is marked by the rite of passage of successfully turning over the project deliverables to the customer. Closing doesn’t always happen all at once at the end of the project; if your

Know the “rites of passage” that distinguish the five project phases will help you adhere to PMBOK® Guide Project Management processes and keep your project team and stakeholders on the same page about the project life cycle. Even if you haven’t memorized the 47 PM processes, knowing these project phases and their rites of passage will help keep your management practices, and projects, on-track for successful completion. On every project, you go through these project phases at varying levels of conscious awareness and capability. The better you get at each phase, the better you get at delivering value doing your projects. Your projects will go more smoothly and make the experience better for all involved.

This is why it literally pays to treat some things you do as the seasons change like a project - for example, spring cleaning. It’s for this reason why we at Cheetah Learning created a course called the PM of Spring Cleaning - to help people better put into practice the five phases of a project on a common project many have already done at least once in their lives. And what we’ve heard from our students - a surprise of all surprises - they actually really enjoyed doing spring cleaning the Project Management way.

About the Author:

.

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, is an entrepreneurial powerhouse with a penchant for making success easy, fun, and fast. She is the founder of Cheetah Learning, the author of the Cheetah Success Series, and a prolific blogger whose mission is to bring Project Management to the masses.

Indicator personality profiling to help students master how to use their unique strengths for learn is recognized by PMI as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Project Management in the world.

From Executing to Monitoring & Controlling In a way, monitoring and controlling is just an extension of executing - more “doing.” You know you’ve transitioned from executing when the project begins to change (as it inevitably will). As a PM, your job is to make sure the project doesn’t get “derailed” onto a new track, away from the project scope and budget. Keeping the project on track will involve controlling costs, monitoring risks, and verifying scope - but also making changes to the scope and schedule when needed. This requires ongoing communication with project stakeholders to make sure everyone is on the same page about project changes large and small.

From Monitoring & Controlling to Closing

Cheetah Learning is a virtual company with 100 employees, contractors, and licensees worldwide. To date, more than 50,000 people have become “Cheetahs” using Cheetah Learning’s innovative Project Management and accelerated learning techniques. honored by the Project Management Institute (PMI®), Cheetah Learning was named Professional Development Provider of the Year at the 2008 PMI® Global Congress. A dynamic keynote speaker and industry thought leader, Michelle is recognized by PMI as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Project Management in the world.

Michelle also developed the Cheetah Certified Project Manager (CCPM) program based on Myers-Briggs Type

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 43

Chinese teachers bring the art o

Lianjie Lu, from Shanghai, teaches fractions to year 3 pupils at Fox primary school in Kensington, London.

Photograph: Frantzesco Kangaris for the Guardian

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‘Culture, not just curriculum’, determines east Asian school success

of maths to English schools Sally Weale

Thirty Shanghai teachers have been flown in by the Department for Education in the hope they can raise flagging standards in schools across England Lilianjie Lu stands in front of 21 seven and eight-year-olds in a London classroom, struggling slightly with her English but with a winning smile on her face, as she attempts to teach them all about fractions.

Lu has left her five-year-old daughter, her husband and her job as a primary school teacher in Shanghai to come to England to teach children maths – the Chinese way.

The classroom has been reconfigured to resemble a Shanghai classroom. The carpet has been taken up, desks which are normally clustered in friendly groups are in straight rows, and all eyes are on Lu and her touchscreen.

She is one of 30 Shanghai teachers currently working in primary schools across England, flown in by the Department for Education in the hope they can work their mathematical magic on a generation of children and raise flagging standards.

Shanghai is one of the the top-performing jurisdictions in the Pisa global education league tables, which suggest that by the age of 15, children in Shanghai are up to three years ahead of their English peers in maths.

Almost all Shanghai pupils reach a similarly high standard and there are few gaps in achievement (unlike in England where there is a wide range in attainment). Lu and her colleagues are here to show us how they achieve their extraordinary results.

The government has invested £11m in a two-year programme to boost England’s performance in maths, but many in the education world remain sceptical about attempts to copy the Shanghai model.

Fractions are apparently particularly challenging for English children, so Lu is devoting her three-week stay at Fox primary school in Kensington to halves, thirds, numerators and denominators.

It may be worth noting that the children at Fox are already pretty good at maths.Fox is one of the best performing primary schools in the country, but 25 other schools currently have their own Miss Lu, 22 schools were part of a similar programme last November, and the aim is that good practice will be shared with other schools.

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 45

 In Shanghai every child of the same age is on the same page of the same text book at the same time.

Photograph: Frantzesco Kangaris

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To that end, at the rear of the classroom sits a small group of observers – teachers from nearby schools – who watch and take notes. Next year the Shanghai exchange expands to secondary schools.

Lu begins by asking the children to read out the fractions on the screen. One child gives the answer – “a half” – then the rest of the children repeat.

Another child identifies a third, everyone repeats, a quarter, and so on.

At the end of this part of the lesson the children give themselves a clap – not a boisterous round of applause with whoops and cheers, but five precise claps in a set rhythm. Then the children read the fractions out all over again before Lu moves on to how to write fractions.

There is nothing random about how to write a fraction, it turns out. First you draw the line, then you write the denominator (below the line), and finally the numerator, above the line. In that order.

“Can you write the fractions now? Yes or no?” she asks the children. The children write them in their books then are called out individually to the front to write them on the board. Five more tidy claps.

The class is repetitive, going over and over similar territory, stretching the children slightly further as the lesson progresses, picking up on mistakes and making sure that everyone is keeping up.

This is the “Shanghai mastery approach”, a methodical curriculum, aimed at developing and embedding a fluency, deep knowledge and understanding of underlying mathematical concepts.

“English teachers would have moved on so much more quickly,” whispers Ben McMullen, deputy head at Fox school and senior lead in the local maths hub. “They dwell on it for what seems a long time so every single child understands exactly what’s going on. We move them on too quickly before they’ve properly understood the principle.”

Lu is now asking the children what a fraction is. “If the whole is divided in to three equal parts, each part is a third of the whole,” one child explains. The other children follow suit, repeating and adapting their answer to explain the fraction written on the board.

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 47

“There’s a lot of chanting and recitation which to our English ears seems a bit formulaic,” says McMullen, “but it’s a way of embedding that understanding.”

Last September McMullen was one of 71 English teachers to travel to Shanghai where they spent two weeks in local primary schools and he is still brimming with enthusiasm at the quality of the maths teaching he saw there.

To start with the lessons are much shorter – 35 minutes in Shanghai followed by 15 minutes unstructured play, half what McMullen usually delivers at Fox. “I saw better maths teaching in 35 minutes than I had ever done in an hour and ten minutes,” he says.

In Shanghai every child of the same age is on the same page of the same text book at the same time. Setting and streaming do not exist - there’s an expectation that every child will succeed.

Children have mastered their jiujiu (times tables) back to front and inside out by the time they are eight. Classrooms are bare and text books are basic, minimal, “not that appealing” to look at, admits McMullen, but of exceptionally high quality and thoroughly researched.

The classroom where we are sitting, in contrast, is filled with colourful, interesting work stuck all over the walls; one display shows the word of the day is “Shanghai”, the word of the week is “China”, an untidy row of violins lean up against the wall and children come and go to music lessons. Perhaps our children are suffering from sensory overload, ponders McMullen.

Some are sceptical about importing Shanghai teaching techniques to England. Photograph: Alamy When Lu is working at her usual school, Shanghai Zhaibei District Experimental Primary, she teaches just two lessons a day; she only teaches maths, the rest of the day is spent debriefing and discussing maths. An English primary teacher, in contrast, is a generalist, teaching all subjects, all of the time.

Likewise, the teacher training models for China and England could hardly be more different. Lu spent five years at university studying primary maths teaching; trainee teachers on programmes like School Direct will spend less than two weeks concentrating on maths.

Ruth Merttens, professor of primary education at the University of St Mark and St John, is one of those who is sceptical about importing Shanghai teaching techniques to England.

She questions how compatible Shanghai methods are with the diversity of children in English schools, which cater for children of many different nationalities and backgrounds, as opposed to the more homogeneous intake in Shanghai.

“I’m sure we can learn from the Shanghai teachers, some things will be appropriate, others will not. But one thing I would say is that there’s very little money in education at the moment. If I were spending money, that would not be where I would choose to spend it.

“In England we have a very diverse set of communities. Sitting in rows conforming to a one-size-fits-all education, that’s not 21st century Britain.

“In England we expect children to enjoy primary education, to feel they are in some sense in the driving seat for their own learning, or at least have a hand on the steering wheel.

“In Shanghai it’s about delivery – it’s a different model.

Culturally we are millions of miles apart.

“We’re not better, we’re different.”

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Imagine the Strange Inhabitants Liv Christopher Jobson

French illustrator Thomas Lamadieu continues to travel the world to photograph vertical views of the spaces between buildings which he uses as a canvas for his comical illustrations.

The gaps between roofs and gutters form the inspiration for different characters who inhabit the irregular patches of sky.

To find the unusual vantage points Lamadieu visited Spain, South Korea, Germany, France, Canada and the United States in the last year.

You can find more examples on his website. (http://tlamadieu.wix.com/ roots-art) www.thisiscolossal.com

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ving in the Sky Between Buildings

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New Zealand School of Dance C

15 – 23 May 2015 at New Zealand School of Dance... 7pm (no performance Mo

Known for technically accomplished dance performance, New Zealand School of Dance students’ choreographic talents are showcased in this annual performance season.

Production, lighting and costumes by students from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School add colour and drama to an inventive collection of new dance works by final year students.

Photographs by Stephen A’Court.

With impressive athleticism and agility these dancers present contemporary dance at its freshest and most creative.

New Zealand School of Dance students William Keohavong, Latisha Sparks and Felix Sampson photographed by Stephen A’Court.

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Choreographic Season 2015

onday)

Bookings and information www.nzschoolofdance.ac.nz Ticket prices: $23 Adult $17 Student/Senior/Groups 10+ $12 Child under 13

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 59

Most Countries Have Failed To Me Finds New Report “There are still 58 million children out of school globally and around 100 million children who do not complete primary education. Inequality in education has increased, with the poorest and most disadvantaged shouldering the heaviest burden,” Irina Bokova, Unesco’s directorgeneral, said in a foreword to the report.

“Overall, the poor quality of learning at primary level still has millions of children leaving school without basic skills.”

Most countries in the world have failed to achieve the “Education for All” (EFA) targets set by the United Nations in 2000, with only half the countries achieving universal primary school enrolment, according to a report released by Unesco on Thursday.

The report, which tracks progress made toward the six EFA goals, added that 15 years of monitoring had shown “sobering results.”

The EFA goals, established in the West African city of Dakar in 2000, include targets ranging from improving quality of and access to early childhood care and education to eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education. The EFA agreement also set a target of achieving a 50 percent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015 -- a target that was achieved by only 25 percent of the countries.

Only 25 percent of the countries achieved the target of reducing adult illiteracy to 50 percent by 2015. Unesco/UIS database The report also found that women continue to make up almost two-thirds of the illiterate adult population, including half of subSaharan African women who do not have even basic literacy skills.

“In sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest girls remain the most likely to never attend primary school. In Guinea and Niger in 2010, over 70 percent of the poorest girls had never attended primary school, compared with less than 20 percent of the richest boys,” the U.N. agency said in the report.

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eet UN’s ‘Education For All’ Goals, Avaneesh Pandey

According to the report, funding remains a major stumbling block to universal education.

Students take their at the primary Globally, between 2015 exam and 2030, anChunlei additional $22 school on the outskirts of China’s Chongqing billion is needed annually to ensure basic education municipality 29, 2007. Reuters/Stringer and bridge the currentMay financing gap.

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 61

Percentage of countries by level of gender parity index in primary, lower secondary and upper secondary education, 1999, 2005 and 2012. Unesco/ UIS database Moreover, insofar as achieving universal primary education is concerned, only 52 percent of countries met this goal, while 10 percent are close and the remaining 38 percent are very far from achieving it.

“Unless concerted action is taken and education receives the attention that it failed to get during the past 15 years, millions of children will continue to miss out and the transformative vision of the new Sustainable Development agenda will be jeopardized,” Aaron Benavot, director of the 2015 EFA Global Monitoring Report, said in a statement.

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“Many governments have increased spending, but few have prioritized education in national budgets, and most fall short of allocating the recommended 20 percent needed to bridge funding gaps,” the report said. “The picture is similar with donors, who, after an initial boost in aid budgets, have reduced aid to education since 2010 and not sufficiently prioritized those countries most in need.”

The report recommended that governments make education free for all children and ensure that teaching styles in schools be linked to the needs of the communities. “New education targets must be specific, relevant and measurable. Marginalized and disadvantaged groups, hardest to reach and still not enjoying their right to education, must be a priority,” Bokova said.

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The best part of leading

By Bill Treasurer

Leadership is hard work. It takes making accurate decisions based often on inaccurate or incomplete data.

It requires bringing about change and contending with the resistance that it prompts.

It requires caring about those you lead, but remaining objective enough not to get swayed by peoples’ sucking-up.

It takes having a thick-enough skin to weather the unending second-guessing and Monday-morning-quarterbacking of critics who assume that could do better than you.

Given how hard and often thankless the role of leader is, the question becomes, why do it? Why put yourself through all the hardship and criticism? The answer is found in the most satisfying result of a leader’s impact: more leadership.

For nearly two decades, I’ve designed, developed, and delivered leadership and succession planning programs for emergent and experienced leaders. One question I’ve asked thousands of leaders is this: At the end of your leadership career, what will have made the challenge of leadership all worthwhile? By far the most frequent answer goes something like this: “I will have built other leaders who themselves are building other leaders.” When done right, leadership begets more leadership.

Let me give you an example. I’ve been working with a Chicago-based construction company for nearly 10 years. I helped the company launch a leadershipsuccession program to help develop the bench strength of the company’s next generation of leaders.

In the decade since the program launched, many participants have moved up the ranks into senior leadership positions. I’ve literally watched people transform from just-out-of-college rookies to thoughtful business-minded leaders.

The best part of leading is bringing out the leader in others. Last week, I led a strategic planning offsite with my Chicago client. As each of the transformed leaders forecasted the strategic outlook for their respective divisions, many of us gray-haired folks in the room swelled with pride. We knew their starting point. We had watched them grow from awkward or falsely confident green beans to comfortable-in-theirskin leaders.

Always remember that leadership is a privilege. When you’re in a leadership role, your influence may affect the trajectories of people’s entire careers (and, often, their lives!). When you do it right, you create a legacy of other leaders who can bring their goodness into the

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world. Here are some tips for helping build a leadership legacy: Know thy leadership self: Give some thought to the leader you aim to become, and the mark you hope to leave on others.

List Your Leaders: List the leaders who have most affected you. What positive parts of their leadership do you carry with you in your thoughts and behaviors?

Seek feedback: Invite people to share their perspective on your leadership. Send people a simple e-mail asking them what it’s like to work with you, how they would describe your leadership style, and what leadership behaviors are most noticeable.

Show gratitude: Say “thank you” frequently and sincerely. Let people know that you don’t take the privilege of leading others for granted.

Leadership is an honor, so be honorable.

To lead is to apply the best of yourself in order to get others to apply the best of themselves. The dividend of great leadership is more great leadership.

Bill Treasurer is the chief encouragement officer of Giant Leap Consulting. In 2014, his newest book, “Leaders Open Doors,” became the top-selling leadership-training book on Amazon. He is also the author of “Courage Goes to Work,” an international bestselling book that introduces the concept of courage-building. He is also the author of“Courageous Leadership: A Program for Using Courage to Transform the Workplace,” an off-the-shelf training toolkit that organizations use to build workplace courage. His first book, “Right Risk,” provides strategies for smart risk-taking. Treasurer has worked with thousands of executives from organizations including NASA, Accenture, CNN, UBS Bank, Spanx, Hugo Boss, Saks Fifth Avenue, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Contact him at btreasurer@giantleapconsulting.com, or on Twitter at @btreasurer.

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Schools face shortage of teache

Schools are facing an unprecedented shortage of teachers in non-core subjects such as geography and religious education

Schools are facing an unprecedented shortage of teachers in non-core subjects such as geography, religious education and foreign languages with some schools receiving less than a handful of applications, a new survey revealed.

More than half of headteachers said they are finding it difficult recruiting to non-core subjects- which also include design and technology, business studies and computer science, a survey by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) showed.

Out of those surveyed, 65 per cent also said recruitment is “more difficult” than in recent years. And ASCL warned this situation is set to worsen as a result of a drop in the number of graduates caused by rising tuition fees.

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ers in non-key subjects

By Javier Espinoza

ASCL also blamed a rising number of secondary-age pupils – set to put pressures on the number of teachers needed - and an improvement in the economy, which will make it harder for schools to compete for talent.

One recruiter - a deputy headteacher in the Midlands - said their school was finding recruitment of teachers in both key and non-core subjects “increasingly difficult”.

As a result, his school has run recruitment campaigns as early in the spring term as they can. “But we have received a limited number of applications for some positions. In contrast, an advert for a PE role last year attracted over 30 applicants.”

Another headteacher in the East of England said their high-achieving, popular school was finding it increasingly difficult to recruit.

The teacher said: “[The] head of ICT/computing drew a field of two candidates out of four applicants. All in all it is very bleak and there is a distinct lack of choice.”

Speaking to the Telegraph, Brian Lightman, general secretary of ASCL, said: “We’ve heard of shortages of teachers in the core subjects (of English, maths and science) for many years but we are now hearing of real difficulties in recruiting teachers in non-core subjects. It’s definitely intensified as a problem.

“I have spoken to numerous headteachers who have had no applicants at all for non-core subjects. I recently spoke to one who was looking for a geography teacher and he just couldn’t get one single applicant.”

Mr Lightman also said traditionally schools with challenging pupils or in remote areas have historically struggle to attract talent but it is now those highperforming schools that are suffering too.

A rising number of students means more teachers will be needed

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Headteachers are also struggling to recruit for key subjects like maths and science

He said: “Teachers are very aware of the pressures that come with those high-performing schools and the workload that arises from that. Some people are put off by what they see as heavy-handed accountability and the long-hours culture.”

An assistant headteacher of a school rated as outstanding by Ofsted said their institution only received two applications for a full-time position advertised recently. This, the teacher said, was despite the school also having a high-performing department, strong A-level numbers and a stable staffing.

Separately, the survey also showed 86 per cent of respondents have said they are struggling to recruit to core subjects. ASCL surveyed 97 headteachers in England between January and February this year.

Figures from ASCL, which represents secondary school and college leaders, showed 44 per cent of respondents had vacancies in English, 52 per cent in maths and 50 per cent in science.

A headteacher of a high-performing school in South England said: “I have advertised for a head of maths twice and so far only had one applicant. This is a non-selective comprehensive school which has been significantly above average for maths consistently in the last five years. Why wouldn’t someone want to lead such a great team?”

Recruiting for leadership positions has also proven increasingly tricky. A headteacher in North Yorkshire said: “Recruitment to leadership positions is harder still with heads of maths positions being regularly re-advertised.”

To tackle this crisis ASCL is proposing a review of the teacher supply model, an expansion in the number of schools providing initial teacher training and the development of a core curriculum for training teachers plus a campaign to attract more people into teaching.

Last year, the education watchdog, Ofsted, warned over an impending teacher recruitment “crisis”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education

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In Afghanistan, many girls are forbidden to ride bicycles

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Many Afghan Girls Are Not Allo

So ‘Skateistan’ Empowers Them

In Afghanistan, many girls are forbidden to ride bicycles The Skateistan organization empowers girls through skateboarding 68 Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015

owed To Ride Bicycles,

m With Skateboarding Skateistan, an innovative NGO in Kabul founded to empower Afghan children (and especially young girls), teaches children to skateboard as a gateway to get them more involved in education.

In a tribute to these children’s struggles, UK-based photographer Jessica FulfordDobson created a photo series portraying the girls learning to skateboard at the NGO’s branch in Kabul (it has since spread to Cambodia and South Africa).

In many Afghan communities, it is customary to forbid women from riding bicycles.

Skateboarding, then, becomes an empowering activity that gives these girls a source of physical exercise, empowerment, and some plain and simple fun.

With thanks to boredpanda.com

Over 50% of their students are streetworking children and over 40% of them are girls Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 69

Skateboarding gives them a fun activity that empowers them and serves as a gateway to other engagements, like education 70 Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015

Jessica Fulford-Dobson’s photos capture the joy these girls feel while skateboarding… …and their new-found sense of empowerment Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 71

Skateistan was founded in 2007 by Australian skateboarder Oliver Percovich 72 Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015

Since then, it has spread to Cambodia and South Africa as well Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 73

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On September 8th, 2012, 4 members of Skateistan were killed in a suicide bombing at a NATO facility in Kabul

But even such tragedies haven’t stopped these children from enjoying the playtime that they deserve

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Roger’s Rant Let’s Fly a Way ‘Finally, a flying car for everybody? It’s the idiot-proof aerial commuter There may be plenty of idiots on the road, but is putting them in the skies taking it, quite literally, to the next dimension?

For Dr. Heinrich H. Bülthoff -- one of the leading researchers on the ‘MyCopter’ project -- it’s a serious question.

Making an idiot-proof flying car that anyone can pilot has involved years of painstaking research and may be the secret to the long-held dream of firing up the rotors, levitating and simply flying out of the bumper-to-bumper grind.

Now the European Union wants to make the dream a reality, researching the feasibility of small commuter air vehicles to ease the world’s traffic congestion.

“It’s been a dream of mine since I read it in science fiction books and in the movies as a kid, but science fiction is becoming the reality these days,” says Dr. Bülthoff, director of perception, cognition and action at the Max Planck Institute in Tübingen, Germany.’

By Peter Shadbolt, for CNN October 3, 2014 -- Updated 1154 GMT (1954 HKT) | Filed under: Innovations …………………………………………………………… …………………………….

Isn’t technology great? Such amazing innovations. Trouble is, humans take a bit longer to evolve- for some of us, we’re figuratively still back in the caves.

The above excerpt is from a CNN article I read online. It made me grin and the pain from a root canal procedure gone awry lessened to some extent. There have been similar, recent articles, all waxing lyrical (sorry, it’s Cliché Monday) how the imminent advent of flying cars will solve our traffic woes.

What does ‘idiot-proof’ mean? At a superficial level we are looking at something that can be operated effectively and safely; an efficient and reliable tool, appliance or vehicle. Soundsystems have redundant circuits in case somebody presses too many buttons at one time. Cars have anti-skid brakes to help prevent accidents, if a corner is taken too quickly. The RCD in our ‘power boxes’ cut electrical current if we drop a toaster in the bath. As we do.

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At another level, we need to consider more than just making technology foolproof. Designers, engineers, town-planners and law-makers need to consider your average idiot’s behaviour.

Or for that matter, your above-average idiot’s behaviour- just check out the Darwin Awards for some spectacular ways to become daisy fertiliser. Of course, idiotic behaviour is usually more mundane - all we need to do is take a drive for a while and observe.

The MyCopter project promises to bypass human ineptitude and idiocy: ‘an investigation into the human capability of flying a PAV will be conducted, resulting in a user-centred design of a suitable human-machine interface...’

Whoa! That last phrase sounds like the mission statement for some hi-tech charter school!

PAV- Personal Aerial Vehicles! These will be integrated into PATs: Personal Air Transport systems (not those other things!). Sounds great- a bit like a drone big enough to take bums on seats.

Vertical take-off and landing. No need for air traffic control. Just sit back and do virtually nothing. That’s it! No human input into flying, landing, parking...perhaps we can be permitted to open and close the door...

Back to present reality. Flying cars in the prototype stage are in another category altogether. Thinking long and hard for about a second, I reached the conclusion that these technological marvels should really be considered to be an aeroplane that can be driven, rather than a car which flies. Flier/drivers will still need to have pilot licences.

Existing prototypes need several hundred metres of sealed or grass runways to take off and land.. Cool, now where would we find such a stretch of real-estate? Oh yes, an airport.

Bother, that means, protocols, procedures, queues and communication with ATC. Lots of places an idiot can mess things up. Even if you own a batch at Pauanui with an airstrip

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on the back lawn, you would still need to follow the rules of an unattended airfield. You’d most likely need a radio licence, be able to navigate and not forget to fill the petrol tank.

Anyway, let’s assume that we have sufficient runways for the multitudes. Imagine the southern motorway into Auckland at 8.00 a.m. on a Monday. Traffic is at a standstill at Tip Top Corner. A thousand frustrated motorists decide to take to the skies. If they’re in the right lane, they pull over and and turn into convenient airstrips along the central divide. There’s a 75 knot southwester blowing-a friendly little crosswind.

There’s a 1,500’ stratus ceiling. Going above 400’ requires clearance from Auckland Tower. Several thousand drivers on the other motorways are taking to the skies...

Joe Commuter is still drunk from the BBQ the previous afternoon. Janet Secretary is planning on applying her makeup once she’s airborne. There’s a 777 on final for Mangere and five ATRs on hold. The rescue helicopter is transiting to the Bombay hills and a flock of black-backed gulls are heading downtown.

I think I’d stay on the motorway.

Now let’s consider the typical idiot and his behaviour on the road, Joe and Janet excepted.

I’ve used the masculine pronoun in this case because I don’t want feminists rioting or running nude through Auckland. Then again…

Speeding, tail-gating, unsafe overtaking, road-hogging, bad parking are all something we never do but we all see others engaged in dangerous and silly behaviour. Eighty percent of drivers rate themselves as above average, so let’s put the lower twenty percent in a flying car. Fluffy dice on the windshield, fake bullet holes on the ailerons, avgas in the tank- it’s all go for the aviahoon. Boyfliers’ meet at Ardmore? Doughnuts around the Sky Tower anyone? Groundloop burnouts at Ohakea?

Still what a great chance for revenuegathering. Altitude cameras could catch those

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errant pilots straying more than a foot above legal limits-’No excuses!’ Fluctuating air pressure will ensure this happens a lot.

What about those people who persist in throwing bottles, cans, KFC packets out of their cars?

All manna (of stuff) from heaven would rain down on us.

A potential positive of having flying cars is that some current idiotic behaviour would be difficult or not a problem. Excessive speed wouldn’t be too much of an issue, except at landing and that would probably be a oncer. I imagine ‘surfing’ on top of a flying car would be rather tricky, especially if there were rotors above. Tailgating, with waketurbulence disturbing the airflow, would be vomit-inducing. Boom boxes pumping out the latest misogynistic hiphop ravings would only disturb the odd seagull.

Occasionally a car-load of hoons drives past my place, with several of them hanging out of the windows and yahooing. Bird-strike, or even fly-strike would not be pleasant for these gentlemen at 1,000 feet and 90 knots and would undoubtedly be a game-changer for survivors.

Of course, not everybody is an idiot and there will be cloudfuls or is that clouds-full of responsible drivers/flyers (driers?) up there.

Realistically, the first generation of flying cars will not do anything to address traffic congestion. If the Mycopters concept is valid, idiot-proof transport may well be a possibility sometime. However, as I am a tad cynical, if a technology allows any ‘human-machine interface’ no matter how many safety features it may have, there will surely be creative people out there who will figure out a way to be an idiot.

Roger Good Teacher Magazine Term 2 2015 77

“The best teachers don’t give you the answers...

They just point the way ...

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and let you make your own choices.”