I recently posted this article to our community, on a beautiful piece of creativity completed by Anne Howison of our staff team. One of my 'reckons;' is that you want staff to be happy to indulge their own creativity if you expect them to support and develop creativity amongst our learners. This is a deliberate and intentional leadership strategy that I pursue in our kura.
Anne Howison, our Learning Support Coordinator, is a quilter. She designs and makes quilts. As a part of her professional learning (specifically improving her understanding of the significance of Matariki) Anne decided to research the meanings of the stars. Rather than write a paper that captured her learning, she decided to capture the meaning in a quilt.
This is the final product, a beautiful quilt that shows creative excellence in both the design and the physical creation.
Each of the stars has for example been created from fabric designs that capture the meaning of that specific star.
Anne has gifted the quilt to Te Huruhuru Ao o Horomaka Hornby High School, and it now hangs high on the wall in Te Pae Rewa, our library and careers space.
What a fabulous way to demonstrate and share your learning, what a fabulous example of teachers using our 'learn create share' kaupapa, what a fabulous gift for our kura in the week of this our first ever Matariki holiday.
Thank you Anne .. ka mau te wehi #creativeexcellence
I'm angry. Well, maybe not angry. How about cross? Like ... a bit cross? Yeah, I'm just a bit 'cross'.
You see, I've just finished reading Elwyn Richardson's book 'In the early world'.
So, why am I cross? Well, I've been in this education lark since 1979. I trained at the old Christchurch Teachers' College in 1978. And... I HAD ... NEVER ... EVER ... HEARD ... ABOUT ... ELWYN RICHARDSON until just a few years ago. Why the **** not?
As an educator with 40 years' experience, how could I get to this point, approaching the twilight of my career, and only now have discovered this amazing, innovative, influential educator? I suspect that many aspects of my entire career might have been very different had I been introduced to his philosophy and mahi in 1978. Instead I was taught how to create a tape-slide show, and spent 15 hours on a Jazz Appreciation module, in my one year teacher training course. And economics was emotionless 'blokes' stuff, neither need nor place for creativity, that'd be a bit too close to actually being human.
Of Richardson, the Dictionary of NZ Biography has this to say
Dubbed an educational ‘saboteur’ by poet James K. Baxter, Elwyn Richardson was an educator who helped change the practice of teaching and learning in New Zealand schools in the second half of the twentieth century.1 He is best known for his work at Ōruaiti School in rural Northland, where from 1949 to 1961 he undertook an experiment in progressive education with a particular focus on arts and crafts. His influential and internationally celebrated book In the early world (1964) chronicled the Ōruaiti experiment and provided a road map for future educators.
(Source: https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/6r8/richardson-elwyn-stuart last accessed 17 June 2022) .
And there is this delightful film of his mahi:
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v2IeWIr2A8, last accessed 17 June 2022)
The DNZB says "who helped change the practice of teaching and learning in New Zealand schools in the second half of the twentieth century". I don't think he did. That is not a criticism of him, but of the system. I don't see this around me, in either primary or secondary schools. I have never seen this around me, in either primary or secondary schools.
And then I remembered this link that Dorothy Burt sent me. You'll see that Dorothy also recommends the Richardson short film. I watched it when Dorothy sent it through. Clearly this stuff is not new. Far from it. But we seem to have a short memory for the work, the kaupapa, that harnesses the power of creativity to support engagement and learning.
And when we overlay on top of this the mahi of Prof Peter O'Connor and the CAST team from the University of Auckland, work that is bringing together the evidence of the impact of creativity and the arts on our wellbeing ... gah. I'm still more than a wee bit cross!!!
Richardson's mahi seems to have been massively significant. I need to learn more about how this connects with the late 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's, work of Beeby and Gordon, and the arts advisors in schools. The work of such young artists and educators as Ralph Hotere. Halcyon days? Certainly days when maybe, just maybe, as a society we valued creativity more than we do today.
Our thirst for economic growth has fuelled our nearly 40 year love affair with individualism, with neo-liberalism and the free market. We seem to have forgotten the value, andthe power of community, of collective action, and of creativity. We seem to have become fixated on the need for all education to have some sort of demonstrable economic outcome, something that seems to be separating us from our humanity, and our purpose, as human beings. To use a phrase that friend Bosco Peters would often use in sermons while Chaplain at Christ's College, we need to remember that we are 'human beings', not 'human doings'. This has lead us to think that the only worthwhile pursuits in education are those connected with science, technology, and mathematics. There is absolutely nothing wrong with those things. The problem is that this seems to have spawned the view that nothing else matters.
That's why it's doubly important that as a kura we embrace our collective caring, the strengthening of our relational base with our rangatahi and each other, our celebration of our cultural and individual difference, and our vision to be 'he puna auaha a centre of creative excellence'. It's why our Manaiakalani kaupapa is doubly important with its 'Learn Create Share' pedagogy, a pedagogy from which I take the clear message that creativity underpins everything. We can't change the world, but we can change the world for our learners and ourselves.
Yes, I'm a bit cross.. with myself, and with our system.
Several times in the past few weeks I've been asked how I find the time to maintain a 'professional blog', how I find the time to write. The question, and its repetition in such a short time, had me thinking. I realised that it's a question that can be answered on several levels.
At the surface level, yes it's a matter of time, but no it's not. Let me paraphrase a story from the late twentieth century management and leadership writer Tom Peters, who wrote that famous book 'In search of Excellence'.
Peters relates how he was giving a seminar to a group of senior executives, and had been talking about what he termed 'management by walking around', a highly relational way ro engage team members, get closer to what they are thinking, feeling, and saying, etc. In a coffee break, one of the senior executives cornered Peters and said (I stress, I am paraphrasing the story here) "Tom, I don't know how you find the time to wander around. I'm too busy writing reports, completing plans, and doing all the paper work.' Peters replied 'I don't know how you find the time to write all those reports, complete plans, and do all that paper work. I'm too busy wandering around".
It's a question of making deliberate decisions about how best to spend our time, of 'knowing what to give a **** about', if I may reference the Mark Manson book, of communicating what matters. I am of course relatively privileged. I have no children at home, and I have an exceptionally tolerant partner in Lorraine, albeit that she does at times ask who that stranger in her bed might be.
I prioritise the communication of what I stand for. I want our team to be in no doubt about what I think is important. I am also intent on communicating our vision and our journey to make sure that our community knows what we do, and why we do it. I want the community perception of our kura to be positive, I want them to know that they can have faith in our kura to give their young people what they need and want.
I reckon that this issue of clarity is an essential part of leadership. If you look at examples of great leadership, you see 'the cause;' communicated with clarity. As Shakespeare wrote in 'Henry V':
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, I am not covetous for gold, Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; It yearns me not if men my garments wear; ......
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour As one man more methinks would share from me For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more! Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,.......
That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart; his passport shall be made, And crowns for convoy put into his purse; We would not die in that man's company .......
This day shall gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now-a-bed Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
Think about Hone Heke and the flagpole. His actions left no doubt for either Ngapuhi, or the colonists, about what he stood for.
Effective teams require common purpose, and clarity about that purpose. Haas and Mortenson (Harvard Business Review, 2016) wrote:
What matters most to collaboration is not the personalities, attitudes, or behavioral styles of team members. Instead, what teams need to thrive are certain “enabling conditions.” In our own studies, we’ve found that three of Hackman’s conditions—a compelling direction, a strong structure, and a supportive context—continue to be particularly critical to team success. In fact, today those three requirements demand more attention than ever.
With my blog posts I want to ensure that I communicate what I see as our 'compelling direction' as a kura. This is why I talk constantly (to the point most probably of sounding like a nagging' Principal') about creativity, about Manaiakalani and Learn Create Share, and about blogging.
I want no-one to be in any doubt whatsoever about what I stand for. I guess that this post in particular might be seen as my own little piece of metacognition, my own thinking about my thinking.
Reference
"The Secrets of Great Teamwork", Martine Haas and Mark Mortensen, Harvard Business Review,June 2016
Our staff run a 'cheese club'. Yep, you read that correctly, a 'cheese club'. Its origins lie several years back (pre Covid, at any rate). On a weekly basis, staff are rostered to provide cheese for the 'members' to share and enjoy. The 'meetings', or 'tastings' are themed. My previous one was themed blue, we provided blue cheeses, and my colleague at the time (Mōrehu) sang the blues while we tasted.
The themes have been wide and varied, and often they are 'b**y spectacular', always they are interesting, fascinating, intriguing, or simply damned good eating. Take a look at this one by Steph and Dan from our science department inn 2021.
Last week Nick and I were on together as 'hosts', with a theme determined by a random draw from a jar, our subject departments. Nick teaches Japanese, and chose to bring a Japanese cheese cake, but also some Italian Arancini balls. They went down really well!!!!
My subject department when in the classroom was 'economics', so what on earth could that look like? I decided that I'd illustrate what I think is the underlying philosophy of neo-liberalism, of the free market, using cheese.
I created 4 plates, all on identically sized physical plates. That is significant.. the idea is that a free market assumption is that we all have equal opportunity in society, hence the equal sized plates!!
The first had a small number of cubes of just a few cheeses, one of the cheeses was 'pretty average', if I am honest. This was labelled 'Teachers without MUs'.
The second had similar cheeses, but slightly greater quantities, and a couple of pieces of a rather nice French camembert, for those quick enough to grab them. This was labelled 'Teachers with MUs'.
The third plate had a slightly larger quantity of cheese again, and included more of the better quality cheeses (but also some of that 'dubious' quality stuff). This one was labelled 'SLT'.
The fourth plate was pretty full, included most of that great quality camembert, and a nice blue. This one was labelled 'Board of Trustees'.
Finally there was a fifth late, with pieces of rich fruit cake. This was labelled 'Marie Antoinette's contribution to the economics of distribution'. 'Let them eat cake', indeed.
I then read two original poems, one called 'Dirty Dairy', written especially for the cheese club. It was inspired by a poem ''a thousand kisses deep', by Leonard Chen (from his 'Live in London' album')
The cheese club is fantastic. It is not exclusive, anyone prepared to be on the roster can participate, and it's a great outlet for staff creativity. They have an annual cheese club birhtday trip away in one of the term breaks, visiting cheese makes somewhere. They have an Instagram page, which is followed bvy cheesemakers large and small.. pretty awesome, eh!!
One thing I loved last week was the almost immediate staff 'rebellion' as staff shifted plates between the labels so that they could access the better selections of cheese. It reminded me of that famous Star Trek scenario in which Captain Kirk rewrites the rules of a test in order to be able to 'win' the scenario.
It's that spirit of creativity, that spirit of rebellion that, I think, is essential to a successful and creative school. We have to be prepared to rewrite the rules, to think outside that proverbial square, if our learners are to be best served.
Staff let their imaginations run riot, they take risks, they make themselves vulnerable by putting themselves out there.
I noticed that 'playfulness ' is also one of the dimensions identified in the Creative Schools Index. Encouraging playfulness amongst staff has to be good, doesn't it?
I won't deny that it's a bit stressful when your time comes, but the support, the acclamation, that comes from colleagues 'week after week' is huge. The sense of fun and fellowship, of manaaki, of whanaungatanga, are huge.
I have on several occasions told the staff who created this idea that I hope they understand the incredibly powerful and positive impact their mahi has in terms of staff morale and staff culture. We thrive on the rites and rituals that we sustain as an organisation.
'Learn Create Share' is alive and well in the heads and hearts of our staff. 'He puna auaha, a centre of creative excellence'? Absolutely!!! If staff don't feel able to take risks, to indulge their own creativity, then there will be no hope for our students. Our staff most definitely are... I love 'em!! My sense of hope for our akonga is boundless in the light of what I see here week after week after week!!!!
