Bluey is a staple TV show in our house and the latest episode on repeat is Pass the Parcel, an episode that has already caused a bit of controversy with parents. For the uninitiated, this episode is centred on a series of birthday parties where the game Pass the Parcel is played. At the first party, each child who landed the parcel opened each layer to a small present. When it is Lucky’s birthday, his dad insists that only the final winner should receive a prize. As the game is played at Lucky’s birthday, children commence crying at the lack of presents on their layer and Lucky’s Dad is given evil looks from the other parents. During the following parties, when the parcel comes out, it is declared that “Lucky’s Dad’s rules” are being followed, with no prizes in the layers between. Throughout the episode, the children and parents become used to the idea of no prizes and Bingo actually requests Lucky’s Dad’s Rules for her party. By this stage of the 7 minute episode, looks towards Lucky’s Dad are very different. Despite his reasoning for no prizes (“We’re building a nation of squibs!”), Lucky’s Dad is an innovator. He is the first. Someone must be first and sometimes being first at something is the hardest. As Mary Jackson in Hidden Figures exclaims, “I have no choice but to be the first”. Being first means overcoming obstacles. Being first means doing something no-one has ever done before. In education, someone needs to be first. Someone needed to be first to have a computer in their classroom. Someone needed to be first to have an interactive display. Someone needed to be first to use mobile technology. All of these firsts had little to no training, learnt on the job, and had to work things out for themselves. They didn’t say, “I haven’t had PD on that!” They didn’t say, “I have no time for that!” They didn’t say, “What curriculum links does this meet?” They just played, experimented and showed the results afterwards. Moonshot thinking is a clear example of how you do not need all the answers before you start something. Sometimes, part of the journey is searching for the answers, learning a new skill or building from scratch what you need to achieve your goal. However, people are scared of being first. They are scared of making mistakes. They are worried about pushback from leadership. They are concerned about appearing less knowledgeable than their students. Lucky’s Dad wasn’t scared until the evil looks started, then he scrambled to backtrack on his thinking by offering $5 notes and Lucky’s gifts as compensation to the upset children. Lucky’s Dad’s mistake here was not sticking to his guns. Being first means holding your head high and learning from whatever obstacles come your way. If failure is an obstacle, what did you learn from it? At a conference many years ago, I learnt that the word FAIL is in fact an acronym for First Attempt in Learning. We was to develop the resilience in our students to be risk takers, so why is it so hard for leadership teams to accept teachers who want to try new things. Or if they say yes to new things, teachers must first go through the likes of a Got Talent audition waiting for that Golden Buzzer before they get approval to be risk takers themselves. And if something fails the first time, the teacher is shamed and the idea scrapped, rather than workshop possible solutions to what can be considered a prototype. Isn’t that what we do with our students? We help them improve the first draft. We encourage them to test and modify their prototypes. Why is it so hard for teachers?
Progress needs innovation. Innovation needs risk-takers. Risk-takers are often the first, the ones who put themselves out there, who excel at problem solving. Why, like Lucky’s Dad, are risk-taking teachers shamed and put down? That said, there are some fabulous leaders who support innovation in their schools. These leaders provide structures that allow teachers to be researchers (just a fancy name for risk-takers) because they see potential and want it to grow. These leaders are diamonds. They are the needles in haystacks. They are the leaders of the future. They are Mary Jackson’s judge, who recognised that someone needs to be first, needs to be the risk-taker. Excellence breeds excellence, and if the majority of current leaders are not supporting change, who is nurturing the leaders of the future? Who is supporting those teachers that recognise a change needs to happen, but then leave the profession so disillusioned because their ability to grow is stunted? Who is allowing beginning teachers to put into practice their newly formed pedagogical ideas from 4 years of study, rather than telling them they must teach exactly like their more experienced colleagues? Why do I ask these questions? I was that educator, who engaged with an iPad trial and was told that it will never improve student outcomes, but now BYODD systems are in place across many schools. I was that educator who questioned why I needed to physically print a program, that was stored centrally on a server, every time I made a programming update, and was told that digital programs were not compliant. But now, digital programs, that can be adjusted in real time, are now the norm. I was that educator who used flexible seating, listening to student voice and taught students how to make responsible learning choices. But I was told that parents didn’t like the fact that their child wasn’t allocated seating, so leadership removed all flexible seating and squashed more tables that the spaced allowed into a small room to accommodate all the students. Now, flexible learning environments are a sign of sound pedagogical practice, responsive to student needs. Like Lucky’s Dad, innovation was met with shame and contempt. I look back at all of the ‘firsts’ of my career to reflect on how I have managed to overcome various leadership teams that have put a stop to change and risk-taking. I have persevered to the point in my career where I am at a crossroads. I still hope to “Be the change I want to see in the world” (Ghandi). But I do it in the shadows, I do it slowly. I think, I ponder, I read. I have a moonshot, and I know I will get there one day.
1 Comment
Catherine
21/3/2023 07:35:50 pm
100%. It is so hard to be 'the first'. But if you can back it out with sound reasoning, go with your gut, eh.
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Alfina JacksonAlfina is a primary teacher with over 10 years experience, most of which has been in infants classrooms. She is passionate about meaningful technology integration and embedding a culture of creation in her classroom. Archives
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