Prompted by an exceedingly clever fellow in Dr Jason Fox, I allocated 2016 to one word. Picking one word (rather than making lame resolutions or setting unlikley “new year, new me” goals) is a great way to set the scene less for what you’ll stand for, but more for HOW you’ll stand.
Jason’s word for 2016 was “Pirate”, determined as he was to be more swashbuckling, jolly, adventurous and cavalier. Mine was far less sexy – I was “Blob”. But “Blob” mattered to me and it meant something.
Those of you of a similar vintage will remember the 1960s horror movie, The Blob, and this was my inspiration. To move more slowly and purposefully, to be undistracted by my surroundings and even others; to not randomly chase shiny new opportunities, but to just consume them if they stray into my path. The Blob has a very clear purpose you see.
My word for 2017 is … wait for it … Helium!
Helium to me is an ever-uplifting natural force. I’m determined through Real Schools to elevate teacher practice and status in an inflated and expansive way this year. It’s a serious intention!
But as much as this, I’m going to remind myself that we sound truly ridiculous after a breath of helium from a balloon. It’s an important reminder not to take myself tooseriously!
So what’s your HOW word? And don’t fall for the usual buzzwords like “focus”, “resilient”, “growth” and “consistent” that everyone has definitions for such that you stand for nothing and everything simultaneously.
Get creative – that’s what January is for. It’s only one word!
Free WEBINAR – The Stress Free School
Teacher performance is at the core of every school’s and system’s improvement agenda. And when we look at alarming statistics telling us that 30-50% of our teachers are leaving the profession within 5 years of commencing their careers – it’s clearly time that we looked at why?
- Student Behaviour
- Workload
- Issues with Parents
But more important than just knowing these issues (after all – you can know them just by reading this summary!) this webinar is all about ROI – Return On Investment. We want you to have at your disposable the simple and practical tactics you can deploy in each of these spaces that provide the best “bang for your buck” in terms of time, effort and resource.
This webinar is about School Culture – and creating one in 2017 that gives your staff, your students, your community and your programs the chance to flourish.
The Stress Free School is NOT a whimsical and idealistic pipedream. The investment of one hour of your time this January is all you need do to make inroads on this appealing reality. As Gough Whitlam said “It’s time”.
This Real Schools Webinar is aimed at School Leaders, Administrators and Teachers of all phases of learning.