I have been teaching my 10 year old son for the last 2 years. It has had its moments – both good and not so good but mostly we have achieved equilibrium. At home he calls me Mum and at some point on our journey to school he switches to my teacher name and, provided the day goes well, we both manage to see each other in our respective capacities until 3pm. When he first started school I was his Principal. Every time Mrs Francis would walk around the corner, followed by twelve variously skipping and dawdling five year olds, he would see me, his smile would falter and then he would run over and desper ately cling to my leg. The time that his new entrant teacher and I shared, cajoling and sometimes forcibly detaching him from my ankles, resulted in a firm friendship and, if I say so myself, we did a great job of building his confidence and independence. So much so, that later in the year I found myself writing a letter to myself: I am sorry to inform you that today your son was the leader in an incident at the pools where he and a group of his friends (all aged five) picked up a classmate’s undies, took them into the shower and took turns to urinate on them. When asked why, he laughed and said, “Because it was funny!” All the boys concerned have apologised to their friend, however I feel it is important that you talk to him about the need to be kind to our friends and think about our actions. At the time I was mortified and had a long conversation with his Dad about whether his behaviour was the result of bad parenting and likely to result in serious long term deviance. He laughed and jokingly suggested we send him to a British public school where that kind of behaviour is encouraged. Five years on I can laugh . . . At the Principal’s Conference in Melbourne I met a fellow small school Principal and while we were going through the ritual of emptying the myriad of fliers and free gifts out of our (spectacularly ugly!) conference bags we got on to the subject of teaching our own children. She had taught both of hers at various times and whilst one had settled into the experience the other had found school much less to her liking – to the point where her Principal/Mother had been forced to stand her down. She reflected that the stand down had been as much about her own behaviour in backing her daughter into a corner. I can most definitely identify with her – whilst I seem perfectly able to react calmly with forethought should someone else’s child make a cheeky comment – when my own son does it I pounce in the manner of a starving lioness, my son is unable to restrain himself from further comment and suddenly we are having a mother/ son moment under the fascinated gaze of the rest of my class. There have been high spots too – when we began designing
and building our CO2 dragsters last term he announced to his Dad that it had been the best day at school ever, and then there was the day I was able to celebrate with him when he got a distinction in ICAS English. However, for the last term I have been considering whether I can continue teaching him in the light of impending puberty (his) and the need to preserve sanity (mine); “I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.” — Haim G. Ginott Looking ahead to next year when I become sole charge and my son would not only be the class alpha male but also the oldest child in the school, I have made the difficult decision to consider enrolling him at the local intermediate school. Given that Year 7/8 pupils are my age group of choice this is doubly tough. However, it is a very good school with a unique set up where children are grouped into five interest learning centres Haora (Health/ PE), Papatuanuku (Confidence Building in our Environment), Motuhaketanga (Independence & Self Managing), Nga Toi (The Arts) and Taumata (Academic Strength). Teachers then set about teaching the core curriculum in a way which suits their own and students’ learning style through content which sparks their interest. Although part of me guiltily looks forward to the day when I call the roll and his name isn’t on it – like those parents who can’t bring themselves to leave the new entrant classroom on the first day of school – I fear that I will feel an overwhelming need to seek out his teacher and then sit him/her down for a thorough appraisal – no let’s be honest this would be at the very least an interview and at worst a Guantanamo Bay style grilling! Will I become that parent – the one teachers sidle away from at school social occasions? When his teacher starts a sentence with, “You’ll never guess what she said to me yesterday . . .” everyone will know it’s me she’s talking about and when parent/teacher meetings are timetabled the DP will promise to hover outside the door to tactfully get rid of me should I overstay my welcome . . . Whilst I am pretty sure I will be able to let go, should you see me hanging around outside the intermediate school gates after 9am or photocopying helpful curriculum materials for his teacher, please buy me a double shot mocha and lead me gently away.
Hawker Brownlow EDUCATION
10th Annual Thinking & Learning
INNOVATE! EDUCATE! INSPIRE!
Conference Friday 17th May Monday 20th May The Heath, Caulfield Racecourse,
Caulfield, Melbourne.
“The only Conference that meets ALL your Teaching & Learning needs!” Assessment Teaching Practice Leadership Coaching Curriculum Planning Differentiated Instruction Professional Learning Communities Innovation Brain-Based Learning
2013 4 DAY CONFERENCE
The Art & Science of Teaching
03 8558 2444
Register online today www.hbe.com.au