Friday 26 February 2016

Perception versus Reality

"You can be your own best friend or your own worst enemy.  Choose wisely."

This quote pretty much sums up this week - I had my first official observation by Anne Sinclair.  I have the dichotomy of finding being observed both daunting and incredibly beneficial.  As I was preparing my planning for the time that I was being observed, I had a lot of negative self talk in my head about how I had just picked up three new reading groups and I had not had a chance to gauge where my lesson would meet the needs of the learners.  A few years ago this would have thrown me but reflecting on it, I knew that any feedback that I was to receive would only benefit not only myself but both my learners and my colleagues in the hub.

Anne gave me a very thorough review of the session and I have some goals to work towards now however the majority of the feedback from both herself and my mentor was positive and actionable.



I am going to have some great days and I am going to have some rough days, such is life and I am not only privy to this - we all are.  This notion is something that I need to be actively mindful of as I work with my learners to overcome similar problems and develop critical thinking skills.

This morning, our cohort was fortunate to have Pat Snedden, the executive chair of the Manaiakalani Education Trust - this was the first time meeting Pat and while he spoke to us for 30 minutes, I could have listened to him for the remainder of the day.  The way in which he communicated was very engaging and some of his points really hit home with me.

We all are humble by nature and to have words thrown out about our cohort like having "grit", "determination", "courage and "resilience" was very humbling - he reminded me why I was in this programme and challenged me to bring my background into my practice to generate aspiration in my learners.  This has challenged me to think about my current identity in my team and how I can aspire to be the best teacher I can be.  The final aspect that hit a note with me was the notion of "servant leadership" - this fits in with my pedagogy as it begins with the natural feeling that one has serve first, then making the conscious choice to aspire to lead.  Again, this is very timely as our cohort become active members of our community by engaging with our learners and their families.



2 comments:

  1. We are very fortunate to have a team of very high calibre people (including our group of new teachers and their mentors) and I am pleased that you have recognised what Anne brings to the programme in her role and Pat who shows us what awesome looks like.

    You are getting a unique experience having Anne's input into your teaching practice, so soak up these two years. Our Alumni are missing it in their third year!
    Dorothy

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am very grateful for all the support we have had so far - we are in such a great space for learning and development!

    Speaking to Steph this week, she mentioned how she was jealous that we had Anne's input for the next two years so I can see where they're coming from :)

    ReplyDelete

Your thoughts and feedback are appreciated.