For the last three days of Term 1, we ran our annual Year Eleven Study Conference. The theme of this year was 'Movin' on Up' - an M People variation on the usual theme 'Stepping Up', with the connotations of students taking more responsibility for their learning as they move into the senior years of school study. Although the focus was on academics, we integrated our three core programs (academic, co-curricular, student wellbeing) in the conference, with a session run by our Heads of House on positive thinking, and a concluding self-defence activity to drive home a bit of punch to the event.
My introduction talk was entitled 'Movin' on Up' and included a 'Six Step Plan' for achieving this. Now, I am not a motivational speaker (the last day of the conference included Glen Gerreyn's Oxygen Factory presentation
http://oxygenfactory.com.au/), but it was fun to talk to Year Eleven on this theme. Without going into all the details, my last point was to encourage students to be creative in their responses to both class and assessment activities, and for students to be willing to 'have a go' and not be embarrassed to show their thinking and stretch themselves and take risks in their learning. A number of the individual subject presentations included student input, where Year 12 students shared their insights to the grade below; it's important that the right messages come from a variety of sources. Whether it be a teacher, the principal or director, students, parents, motivational speakers - something will get through, somewhere. And it's not just about 'academic success' or 'goal setting' but (finally) a sort of self-actualisation. This is the end of my opening speech, and I hope it sounds just a little idealistic, as it ought!
Think about school as a place where you can take at least
calculated risks. Think about some of the acts from yesterday’s creative arts
carnival, people with various hidden talents, bravely on display. Wouldn’t it
be great to be in a classroom environment like that, where students were not
afraid to stretch themselves and be creative in their thinking, their speaking
and writing?
The philosopher Reuben Abel in ‘Man is the Measure’ writes
about the innate connection between creativity and the person.
“While alive, the
process of [becoming] is never complete; the potentialities are never
exhausted. The person is no more
certain of his outcome than any who learns, who makes choices, who doubts, who
acts and strives, who grows, who is guided by morality, who has an inner
standpoint, who is creative. When Socrates said,
Know thyself, he did not mean Discover thyself, but Create thyself.”
In continuing my current goal of building connections with my students, I had my second student meeting today at lunch time. Xavier brought along a piece of creative writing he had completed in Year Ten; he had received full marks on the task but limited feedback (his words). He was never the less able to articulate clearly what he had enjoyed about writing the piece - in terms of the content, structure and language choices he had made. We looked together at things he could improve further in the next piece of creative writing he attempts - particularly in the area of research and further refinement to promote authenticity, avoid anachronisms, and specificity. The meeting helped me to get to know Xavier a little more and understand something of his ability to reflect on his writing, and to take advice (not an easy thing for anyone to master). 