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Blog: Finding Balance
When I was returning to work at the beginning of Term 2 after being on maternity leave for 8 months I had many a wise person tell me that I would need to find that spot, the perfect balance between my home life, with my husband, son and dog and my work life, with my class and professional responsibilities.
You need a balance in life between dealing with what is going on inside and not being so absorbed in yourself that it takes over…
-Nigella Lawson
Coming now to the end of the year I am wondering what exactly is ‘balance’? Do I have it? And how can I get more of it? It also got me thinking about how my friends with young children who also, have recently returned to work find balance and if their idea of balance is the same or similar to mine…
After talking, ‘Facebooking’, texting and emailing friends, and reading articles entitled ‘The Importance of Maintaining Balance’ and ‘5 tips for a Well Balanced Life’, I have come to the conclusion that for myself and those that I spoke to the principles behind finding balance are very similar if not the same.
- Quality not Quantity!
It is all about how you spend your time with your children rather than the amount of time spent with them. Playing, reading, rough and tumble, going for a walk, finding a new playground to explore and creating memories with and for your little one. Nothing makes me happier than watching my son develop and grow. Having special time each day where nothing else is important but him and whatever happens to be interesting to him at the time. At the moment it is all about books and sitting on our laps reading. Ensuring I make time that is just for him helps me to find balance in my life.
- ME time!
It is important to look after yourself as well as those you love. Take some time out each day to do something that you enjoy and find relaxing. Take the dog for a walk, have a bubble bath or find a quiet corner to read.
It is only recently that I have come to appreciate just how important it is to take time out for myself. My ‘me’ time has come to include getting my hair and make-up done in the morning before leaving the house and taking an exercise class that I love twice a week. Including these things in my week is helping me to achieve and maintain balance.
- Knowing your Priorities…
Balance doesn’t mean doing everything you can. Decide what is important to you and fit those things in first.
One of my friends said to me, “The house work will always be there. It can wait until later.” She is right. Quality time with my family comes first when I am at home and if there are toys scattered around the floor and washing to be folded, it can all be done once our son is asleep.
I try to do as much school work as I can while at school and in the time that I am there my class and the children in it are my highest priority. For me separating my home and work life helps me to feel more balanced.
The final thing that really stood out for me when talking to other full time working mums was that they all thought it was ok if at times we lost our balance and not to be too hard on ourselves when this inevitably happens. It is those times when we do our most learning, when we learn what our boundaries are and how far we are capable of pushing them. Keep thinking positively and get back on track as quickly as possible. Realise that something’s happen and they are out of our control. Do what you need to do to achieve balance. Write to-do lists, plan your time on a calendar so everyone knows when and where you and they will be at what times, make sure to include time for yourself, your family and your friends.
At this stage in my life I am happy with the balance I have achieved. I feel that I am giving the best of myself in everything I am doing. I take time for myself each and every week and enjoy that hugely. I play and read with my son every day and my favourite time of day is right before bedtime when we sit quietly together, have a story and wind down. My husband and I always sit and have dinner together no matter what time it is… that is our time to unload, talk about our day, talk about what is coming up and just enjoy each other’s company. I enjoy coming into school and getting ready for my day with my class. I enjoy how hard they all work, their sense of humour and their ready smiles. I enjoy watching them achieve goals and set new ones.
So… do I have balance in my life? Yes, for all of the reasons above and more!
Blog: National Pride
We often watch movies or news stories about people in other countries and their national pride. Although Kiwis are a proud people, I don’t think we are quite at the same point as Americans with their Independence Day celebrations, or even the Aussies with their Australia Day. Is there something we can do with our children to develop this pride?
Recently, my husband and I have been hosting German exchange students, and so we find ourselves showing off our country. And it becomes more obvious how much we want people to enjoy New Zealand, to appreciate all the things that we appreciate. But not only that, how special New Zealand really is. I think we have started to see our surrounds through a visitor’s eyes and see things in a whole new light. How lucky we are to live in a beautiful country, with such places as the black sands of Muriwai beach, the geysers of Rotorua and the expansive golden beaches of the Coromandel Peninsula. And that’s just the landscape, not taking into account the (generally) friendly people, relaxed way of life and Peanut Slabs.
With the Rugby World Cup we have been talking a lot in class about New Zealand and the All Blacks. The children are surprisingly knowledgeable about these topics – naming players, cities, and keeping up to date with the results of the games. If you came to our RWC opening ceremony, or even watched the video, I’m sure you can see the excitement that had taken over Matipo on that day. What better way to encourage our children to be proud of their country? I think all of New Zealand enjoyed a brief time in the spotlight where people enjoyed supporting their team, watching them win and proclaimed the All Black victory as “Not bad, not bad”.
I think we are becoming an increasingly proud nation, which becomes much more apparent as people go for their OEs. Who hasn’t sent a Mr Vintage t-shirt or Pineapple Lumps to a friend or family member living overseas? I know that I certainly rely on such Kiwi inspiration when sending gifts to my brothers who live abroad.
So, are we really not a proud nation? Or is it that we are just not very vocal about it?
Principals Office Blog: Election
2 months ago
By Wayne Bainbridge
A blog is a personal statement or opinion. Mine is about the election which for the first time in my adult voting life, I had very little interest in…almost to the point of not voting. The cup of tea saga and over reaction,the deals between National and Act and Peter Dunne leave a bad taste in your mouth and a feeling of a tainted democratic process.
That Mr Key and National have done well over the last 3 years is without doubt. Key is very good and he relates well to us all. His photo paying the pizza delivery person in shorts, bare feet and a polo on election night epitomizes his ordinary guy next door image. Tony Ryall has been a very good Health minister and Steven Joyce has been a very impressive Transport and Tertiary education minister. He gets things done
Labour have been an embarrassment to themselves and their history. For too long they didn’t realize they lost the last election. Too many policies were a tired return to the old socialist rhetoric of the 50′s and 60′s. The economic rational of raising the super age and making Kiwisaver compulsory were endorsed by every economic commentator in the country but it wasn’t sold well enough and for a long enough time. Goff surprised by running a very good campaign. Bravely, Labour
campaigned on policy not personalities but Goff was sabotaged from within.
Why didn’t he have the costings of their policies at the Christchurch Press debate…because Finance spokesman David Cunliffe either withheld them or didn’t have them ready
So, the Greens get 13 seats and NZ First 8 seats but neither could win a single electorate seat. A number of sitting MPs were dumped by the voters, sacked in fact, but parachute back into parliament on the list…the losers list!
Now Labour will try to resurrect themselves but are doomed to failure. Their party list rewarded the incompetent. The affiliated unions pay just 50 cents a member to control the constitution. The same old tired faces litter the top table. The leadership battle will further divide the party and reward the vain. What is needed is a clear out of the old and incompetent, the gender/sexual orientation representation and the union hacks.
David Lange became leader after just 3 years in parliament. He was a circuit breaker and Labour desperately needs another one. Phil Twyford/Jacinda Ardern would be a great new leadership combination, both telegenic, young, intelligent and an obvious break from the past and a metaphor for the future.
Likely to happen?
Not in a million years!
Australia continues to look better and better.
Blog: Arts and Creativity
A View From A Classroom Blog
Our wonderful Mrs Fotheringham brings us the latest ‘view’. It is a reflection of her personal journey through education as well as a highly insightful piece on the importance of creativity in the classroom. You only have to walk into Room 12 to see that she is truly living this philosophy to benefit the children in her care.
“All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once one grows up,” Pablo Picasso.
I was a shy child throughout primary school because I grew up not wanting to be wrong. Therefore I tried really hard in numeracy and literacy so I always had the right answers. But the subjects I really loved were the arts because creativity was valued and there was no right or wrong outcome.
At college I chose subjects where creativity was valued and in my final year I was the Arts Captain and was fortunate to receive a scholarship for tertiary education. My teachers were surprised to find out I had not pursued an education in arts but choose a business degree instead. Being the only child in my family to go to university I was told, “Don’t do arts. You can’t make a living being an artist”. The only sensible choice seemed to be a business degree because you can make a lot of money and you are guaranteed a job. NOT! Businesses actually seem to be more interested in creative thinkers rather than academic achievers with degrees.
Now I am a teacher and get to see, support and value kids’ various talents. I am always amazed at what my kids can do. If you give them the opportunity and support to be creative they will show you what they are capable of. They get to succeed in all areas of learning by expressing their creativity rather than always remembering the right answer.
The arts can easily be linked into all learning areas. Literacy can be taught through dance where children can build a dance based on new vocabulary. Children can relate to characters they are reading about through drama. They learn new maths knowledge through music and express ideas about inquiry through visual arts. Matipo Primary does a great job in supporting these creative talents.
No one knows what the world will look like in 5 years time, let alone 6 months in this economy. But as teachers it’s our job to educate our kids so they can prosper in 20 years time! So it gets you thinking, what are the most important things to teach? What things are going to benefit these kids the most? If our kids talents are in arts, who are we to teach them out of creativity when we don’t know what will be valued in the future?
Blog: Waking Up
A View From A Classroom
This week’s blog is brought to you from the highly creative Mr Tony Nemaia. Who said real blokes don’t write poetry? Tony is one of beginning teachers here at Matipo. He has, I believe, followed Marion’s advice from our last blog and stepped out of his comfort zone to bring you this wonderful poem. A chocolate fish goes to the first person to tell us how Tony’s school day has undergone a transformation over the course of the year.
waking up
the Alarm rings
6am
padlock cold, wet and awkward
coffee, 1 sugar and milk
photocopy, plan, organise
“morning mr nemaia”
the Alarm rings
6am
driveway lights bright, puddles plenty
coffee, 1 sugar and milk
marking, photocopying, thinking
“ morning mr nemaia”
the Alarm rings
6am
runners, walkers and dogs go by
coffee, 1 sugar and milk
printing, marking, reflecting
“morning mr nemaia”
‘the Bell rings’
“mr nemaia does this mean this?”
“mr nemaia but if this is this then is that this?”
“mr nemaia,
… mr nemaia,
… mr nemaia”.
MR NEMAIA
Awake
The alarm rings
6am
Unlock the gate
Drink the coffee
Think, plan, think, plan, think, think, think.
MR NEMAIA.
“Good Morning Room 11”.
Blog: What is your comfort zone? And do you really have to step outside it?
Marion Nicolson, the teacher in Room 5, has written a super blog all about a subject that might make some of us cringe with the very thought of doing it. Let us know how you do it, if you dare!
It’s one of those phrases that’s used a lot. I’m sure most of you are familiar with it. Wikipedia describes your comfort zone as “a behavioural state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviours to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.”
We each have our own comfort zone, our own behavioural state which is anxiety neutral. It’s that space where you coast along, you feel happy, you’re content, you’re doing your thing, and you are anxiety neutral.
And then someone comes along and suggests that you step out of this zone, that you challenge yourself, that you do something different. In short, they want you to increase your anxiety level so that you are no longer anxiety neutral. Why would you want to do that?!
Maybe you don’t want to. Maybe you are happy in your anxiety neutral state, thank you very much. My question to you is – is that really living or is it just existing?
When you do step out of your comfort zone what actually happens? If being in your comfort zone means that you are in an anxiety neutral state, stepping outside of that implies that you raise those anxiety levels. Surely increasing your anxiety sounds like something that you should avoid. Could that increase my blood pressure? Could that make me ill? Surely that’s not the right thing to do? However, doing that can actually have a positive consequence. When our anxiety levels are raised it can cause an enhanced level of focus and concentration. We achieve more by pushing ourselves. Of course, the danger is that if we push ourselves too much the anxiety levels and stress rise too much and so it has a detrimental effect. But pushing ourselves just the right amount can have amazing consequences. If people never pushed themselves just think of the theories, inventions, cures, performances, decisions, discoveries that would never be made. The list could be endless.
Of course, not everyone will want to go outside their comfort zone. It can be hard work. It’s pretty scary.
It can be done passively – going to the theatre to see Shakespeare when it’s not really your thing (done to keep your partner happy!), watching a movie that you think you’ll have no interest in (because someone you know wants to go but has no one to go with) and other such events.
You can also be an active participant in stepping outside your comfort zone when you have little choice in the matter – chairing a meeting at work because a promotion means that you have to, organising a conference as part of your work, speaking in front of colleagues, writing letters to people regarding their employment, confronting people whose work is not up to standard. These could be seen as the necessary evils of our jobs. We have no choice if we wish to still be employed.
Your children are put in that kind of position, usually on a daily basis. We challenge children every day to go one step further, to reach the next goal, to take the next learning step. They have no choice. We push them, cajole them, guide them, teach them. Whichever way you would like to phrase it, we push them outside of their comfort zones. Every day. Maybe that’s just part of their and our job.
Of course we could choose to step outside our comfort zones. Just because we can. Just because we feel that living means challenging ourselves. Just because it’s a way of showing that you are more capable that people give you credit for. Just so that we can simply experience what it’s like to be outside our comfort zones. Just so we can then identify with, and understand, those who are pushed outside of theirs.
What is your comfort zone? Step outside of it. Go on, you know you want to.
Blog: Save me Austin Powers, save me! I seem to have lost my mojo!
Ahh, if it were only that simple to get you mojo back. One quick helpless cry to the super spy Austin Powers, a quick time travel excursion together, battle a few dastardly villains with terrible outfits (and accents!) and ‘wallah’ mojo restored back to where it should be, like it was never gone. All the while looking super cool and having Madonna or Beyonce singing your soundtrack………
However, real life doesn’t seem to quite fit in with the script. We all lose our ‘mojo’ every so often through the daily stresses of life, but most of us are able to bounce back, or at the very least just get on with things until our normal mojo-ness returns. But what happens when you truly and utterly find yourself ‘mojo-less’ for more than a few days or weeks? What happens when your mojo goes on what seems like an eternal holiday?
Mojo disappearance can be brought on by many factors; chronic illness (of oneself or someone close to you), long term work stress, grief, natural disasters to name but a few. The characteristics of being without mojo go beyond the usual tiredness and feeling low of feeling run down and exhibit themselves as a complete inability to function as one would expect a productive member of society to do. Thinking slows down, being able to give family, work, self or community equal time, love or energy is nigh on impossible. Maybe you can’t work, do housework, play with your children or enjoy the activities you once did. Most importantly a loss of your identity occurs as everything you have (probably) taken for granted and defined you is taken away.
Many people do have an amazing resilience to cope with huge life-changes. I call them the mojo masters. They never lose sight of the bigger picture, no matter what life throws at them. However others are not so fortunate. No matter how groovy their mojo was before suddenly it is whipped away and they are left struggling to comprehend their new world without this magic, invisible but life giving awesomeness.
We live in a society that does not allow every person to truly focus on finding their lost mojo. We have mortgages to pay, children to look after, spouses to relationship with, colleagues to support, deadlines to meet, paperwork to fill in and in the case of teachers a huge responsibility to deliver the best education for the children in our care. The most obvious cure for re-energising one’s mojo is, of course, Time. Simply being able to give oneself the necessary time to heal the mind, the body and the mojo. However when you have the demands of life to cope with how is it really possible to give yourself the time needed to restore? These constraints inevitably lead to longer ‘no mojo’ zones.
It is possible to escape form this mojo malady. It has to be. Obviously this is a very personal view, as the author has been without her mojo for quite some time. However she has recently felt glimmers of the ‘foxxy’ mojo juice starting to return…….When the mojo returns in its full capacity she is going to try and do everything in her ‘Powers’ to hang on to it.
To my parents, my Principal, staff members who have allowed me to cry and vent and despair at my lousy condition and then gave me hugs or a reassuring word, friends who listened to me, the healer Kathryn Hudson and Facebook. I thank you all. I thank the children of Room 18 who give me so much pure mojo-ness every day in the classroom and their wonderful parents who have been so kind. Mostly I thank my own children who have loved me unconditionally and my long-suffering husband who has (mostly) put up with a highly dysfunctional partner for far too long.
And to all my fellow mojo-free comrades, there is always hope. No matter how desperate things seem, there will be a way through to becoming the person that you once were (or even a better version!).
My apologies to Mike Myers and any die-hard Austin Powers fans for the terrible use of puns.
Blog: Innovation
By Jon Webster
If you hear the following words in your house, be very very afraid. “I want to be an inventor when I grow up!” We’ve all heard that one. Inventors are the guys that change the world and make a billion dollars in the process, right? A noble and, frankly, lucrative ambition for any Matipo student.
But I don’t think so.
I hate to burst your bubble, but inventors are the guys who desperately cling to the dream that their hair-brain nutso machine in the basement will change the world. And sure, just occasionally it will, but most likely, the billionaire world-changers aren’t inventors…they’re innovators. Since most people confuse the two, or assume they’re interchangeable, a short history lesson is in order. Pay attention, I may be testing you later…
In the late nineteenth century, two geniuses were pushing the boundaries of electricity and what you could usefully do with it. One was an inventor – Nikola Tesla – who’d arrived in the USA from Serbia, and was quite literally shocking the scientific community with his incredible devices and inventions. His ideas were revolutionary, and in hindsight, way ahead of their time. He also spoke eight languages fluently, suffered from OCD, had a terrible phobia about germs, and was so revolted by jewellery, he’d throw up at the sight of pearls. I’m not making this up, honestly. He also developed Alternating Current, which should have made him a fortune. But he died owing huge debts.
The other genius you are more likely to have heard of. His name was Thomas Edison, Tesla’s bitter rival, but unlike the Serb, Edison was also an innovator as well as an inventor. Edison’s inventions were as new and shiny as Tesla’s, but he turned those inventions into ideas that the world accepted and really really wanted. And would pay for! There’s a reason those Edison Screw light bulbs they sell in Mitre 10 are named after him. His light bulb design was so clever and innovative, it is still around over 100 years later. You may have dimly heard of the record player and the movie camera. Yup, they’re Edison’s too, along with a bewildering array of other innovations…
So the crucial difference here, is that Edison created innovations, ideas that caught on, that changed the world, and that were commercially successful. Tesla created inventions – brilliant, undoubtedly, but it took someone else to profit from his genius.
So what’s the point? Well the argument here is that teaching students to be ‘inventive’ is going to result in brilliant ideas…and that’s about all. On the other hand, teaching students to be ‘innovative’ is going to result in brilliant ideas that will add value, change things for the better…maybe even change the world. It’s why ‘innovation’ is one of the Key Competencies in the latest National Curriculum. I’d suggest that encouraging innovation in our students will help create a future where NZ sells its ideas to the world, and at a healthy profit.
One more thing. I play football with a guy called Sean – well occasionally. When he’s not missing a complete sitter from six yards away, Sean is quite a busy chap. He’s the co-founder of Lanzatech – you may have seen him on the news last week. He’s the guy who’s worked out how to turn waste gases from steel mills, into ethanol fuel. Which is both clever, good for the planet…and very very lucrative. His story is here – http://tinyurl.com/3hzl3ro You want an example of the power of innovation, and why we should be teaching it? Look no further…
Blog: Learning Opportunities
By Azba Rasheed
Kia ora whanau! Welcome to my very first blog. I promise to keep it short and sweet!
This is a chance for me to tell you all about myself…yep, this should be interesting.
It all began 21 years ago, a cry that could be heard from miles away. A beautiful, precious child was born to two proud parents. How will the world look at me? How would I see the world? Every parent dreams for their child to simply be happy, whatever happiness may mean to them. They want their child to engage in many rich opportunities and life experiences, to be safe and to be the best they can be. This too, can be said about teachers and their students. We want children to achieve and strive for excellence that will prepare them for a promising future.
Each day I step into a classroom made up of unique, gorgeous children with a sense of wonder and curiosity filled in their eyes, then bang! Out of nowhere comes Miss Rasheed singing and dancing like she doesn’t care (but you won’t catch me doing this!). Laughter fills the room with a few brave kids joining in. Laughter truly is the best medicine.
Where am I going with this? I am so lucky to be in a profession where no day is the same. I really enjoy (believe it or not) each day with the kids. I make a conscious effort to remember how I would like each child to leave school at the end of the day. I still remember my school years vividly. I can’t tell you exactly what I learnt but I can tell you the teachers that made me feel good about myself, the ones that truly cared about me and my learning. I know what it’s like ‘learning’. How challenging it can be yet exciting, discovering things we never knew. I truly appreciate and value how hard it must be for kids to take on board so much learning each day. They are incredible learners, patient and confident. I love learning with the kids. We explore and discover things together. They tell me how ‘cool’ it is when Miss Rasheed ‘joins in with our learning’.
How often do we make mistakes? In my class we like to call them ‘learning opportunities’. It’s a chance for us to seize this opportunity to create new understanding and learning experiences. It’s very humbling hearing children say ‘hey Miss Rasheed I got this wrong but I can see where I went wrong’. The point that I’m trying to make is mistakes lead to discoveries. Encourage children that without mistakes how would we know what to work on?
On a final note, I want children to love learning, to have fun and appreciate the journey ahead and I’m happy to be a small part of that journey.
Looking closer into a ‘Generation Z’ learner in the classroom today
Take a few moments and think about classes you liked as a child and then answer the following questions:
What was a “good” lesson for you?
What made you enjoy the lesson?
What made you uninterested?
What were the qualities of your best teacher?
Now consider that you are answering these questions from the perspective of a child today. I trust that many of today’s children would mention a technology that wasn’t available to you.
Welcome to the digital age where the natives are known as ‘Generation Z’. Children today (aged 14 and younger) are growing up as the first full generation that has never known a world without computers, the Internet, cell phones or social networking. With the way trends are heading, one might assume that close to 100 percent of Generation Z will be connected to social media, when these youngsters complete their formal educations. Generation Z certainly possess a range of technical skills already. I notice the competence children have acquired as a normal part of growing up in today’s world, they are often given an unusual status in their own homes, advising parents on the operation of the latest items of technology and even influencing family purchases of such items.
I have both the exciting and crucially important responsibility of teaching Generation Z. I must create learning opportunities built around quality relationships, quality teaching, and creative ways of learning and teaching – all assisted by the tools of the digital age. My role as teacher includes being a personal tutor, a mentor, and a fellow learner with my class as we explore the opportunities provided by the new technologies.
If the schooling we provide today is to be relevant to our Generation Z children, it must take full account of the opportunities and challenges that come with the digital age. Their world is very different to the one in which their parents and teachers were schooled. For a start, today’s children live and learn in a world of massive information-overload with Google at their fingertips. Rather than more information, they need to be educated in how to manage and make sense of it, in how to filter it intelligently and bring different pieces together in meaningful ways. I am happy to be at Matipo where we teach children how to sort through this mass information through the inquiry process.
A more important consideration may be not what is being taught to Generation Z, but just who is teaching these digital natives? Just last week I was looking at feedback given to a child that said “What does a PSP shop sell”. I could only laugh and know that if my nana or even my mum had read this piece of writing they would have wondered the same thing.
I have a 14-year-old brother who has grown up with teachers that have not been able to reach him. He is one of the main reasons that I became a teacher. I watched him struggle through the education system. I felt such pain seeing him feeling incompetent as he couldn’t do things that I was able to take for granted like reading and writing. He was only recognized as dyslexic when he entered into high school. I love that he is now able to exceed in the school system using the advancing technologies available to him. He also utilizes the new social technologies, such as iPods and mobile phones, MySpace and Facebook. I watch him use these to strengthen his friendships and his relationships that are both real and virtual. I am his sister classified as ‘Generation Y’. Our parents, of course are the ‘Baby Boomers’. I feel closer to understanding his learning and that of Generation Z having also grown up in the age of the computer. We have both taken on the opportunities provided by technology which has created the environment for our learning and development.
The future is lifelong learning for all – at any age, at any time and in any situation. This is the current challenge facing the world and the challenge I am looking forward to undertaking!
I, Georgia Falvey, am a Generation Y teacher who looks forward to learning alongside Generation Z.
