Editor
I love NZPF conferences. There are always stirring speakers to ignite and excite hearts and minds. This year there were several (see p.18 of this issue for the full story). We had the rags-to-riches Sir Ray Avery who captivated his audience as he told his life story from living under London bridges as a homeless, dyslexic, poor-sighted, hearing-impaired youth to becoming a successful pharmaceutical scientist, social entrepreneur and philanthropist who is making a momentous difference to those struggling to survive in the developing world. We had academics to bring us the latest research in education such as Viviane Robinson, Jeremy Kedian, James Nottingham and others. And of course, let’s not forget the greatly anticipated Sir Graham Henry who told us about leadership from the perspective of coaching the All Blacks whilst giving us some personal insights into arguably the most revered elite sports team in the country. Yes, the programme of speakers had plenty to offer and so did the social programme. What I enjoy most of all about conferences however, is meeting and hanging out with principals. It’s so easy. You can’t be a stranger amongst principals – they are ‘wired’ to be inclusive. Within a nanosecond you are introduced to their social group and inside of a minute they have found a connection with you. In my early days with NZPF I thought this was happy coincidence. Three years later I know it can’t be. It’s a finely tuned skill that all principals seem to have. They are experts at relationship building. Conference gives them the opportunity to discuss all the new ideas the speakers present and they do so with huge enthusiasm. They huddle in groups at lunch breaks and talk about how these new ideas might help the children in their schools. They critique these ideas, and out of their conversations and reflections come ways to improve their schools. It’s great if you are a new principal because you can draw on the experience of the old hands. Perfect! Of all the professional groups, principals are the ones every other profession should be looking up to for leadership. We are told constantly by experts that to build better business we need to connect with our clients, communicate with them in meaningful ways, build collaborative teams in our organisations, talk to each other, tell the stories. In health, professionals are told to understand the whole person, not just look at the presenting symptoms in isolation, to research in context and consider social and economic factors alongside presenting health issues and so on. It’s all about building relationships and understandings in authentic contexts. That’s what principals do superbly well. Sir Ray Avery would take that a step further and say that he was successful in business because he took a unique approach and built his teams as families. He said that family members love each other, care about each other, support each other and are
loyal to each other. He said that’s the key to being a successful business. Build your team as a family. Ray Avery may consider this approach unique and perhaps in the business world it is, but in schools it is quite common to find a family approach to learning and teaching and the profession attracts personalities that naturally lean towards a collaborative, sharing approach. That means teaching professionals don’t naturally want to compete with their colleagues or win at the expense of others. They adopt the Avery quoted axiom that ‘no one is better than all of us’. So it is no wonder that despite not being showered with myriad funds and resources to carry out their important work, New Zealand’s schools punch way above their metaphorical weight, as key note speaker James Nottingham observed. In fact, Nottingham would place the achievement of New Zealand’s education system beyond that of the highly regarded Finland on a number of critical indices, amongst them creativity and entrepreneurship. Funnily enough, it was the extraordinary achievements in creativity and entrepreneurship that Avery also singled out as the factors that made New Zealand unique and a great place to be. Success can of course generate its own problems. When you are very successful it can be difficult to show your critics that you are continuing to improve. A very recent study by literacy academics Professor James Chapman and William Tunmer shows that in literacy achievement we have been flat lining for some years. When you are so far ahead, it can be difficult to show continual significant gains. It’s a bit like asking Usain Bolt to sprint the 100 metres in zero time! Of course, the profession does not discard criticism and all over the country principals will be pouring over the Chapman & Tunmer findings in literacy with a view to getting that flat line moving upwards again. Like Chapman and Tunmer they will be particularly drawn to the poorer literacy findings for Māori and Pacific Island children and will be seeking ways to make gains for these children. They will use the research evidence to provide a starting point but without doubt the conversations around the country will stray into much broader contexts, well beyond literacy, as they seek the right solution for the children in their schools. Without doubt there will be conversations about the health of relationships between professionals and Māori and Pacific Island children as arguments are advanced and they will find solutions that will be the best they can be. That’s what teaching professionals do. In the words of Sir Ray Avery and James Nottingham we are far too understated and don’t celebrate our magnificent achievements enough. So principals, you have permission to celebrate!