Resume Etiquette, Resume’ Etiquette

When was the last time you had a look at your resume? It’s been a fair few years for me. The exercise of reflecting on your skill set can really ‘spotlight’ what you didn’t realise, you do very effectively (and don’t do?)

Applying for roles is humbling, insightful and time-consuming. Humbling; because you question the degree of your knowledge/skills, Insightful; because there is something truly enlightening about writing down your ideas about pedagogy, teaching, management and leadership. Time consuming, because, even in an internet-centric society , very application deserves your steady, concentrated response.

Whilst I have enjoyed most of this reflective process, I do have a minor complaint about ‘modern employer etiquette’. I do not understand why it is not common policy for employers to send a letter/email saying ”Thanks but…” In my own recent experience, less than half!

In one instance I filled all 17 pages of the official application form (YES – 17 pages!), attached my cover letter, resume and responded with a five page “Selection Criteria” … After that, don’t we DESERVE a response? My wife says, “You shouldn’t be so harsh, it’s so long they are probably still reading it”.

Education Blog

OK, OK – I should have seen it coming but I didn’t.

The WA Teachers’ Lounge Site (www.wateacherslounge.wordpress.com) is doing very well! If you are following this (Whitehead Wonderings) site for our educational updates, please subscribe to the WA Teachers’ Lounge website (above) OR “LIKE” our Facebook Site at: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/WA-Teachers-Lounge/154210691257798

See you soon!  No point having two sites that ‘do’ the same thing. I have added a FEED to the right hand side so you watch from there if you like.

Paul W

Symposium, the Voice of Youth

Inspired by the Summit 2020, we last year launched a ‘Youth Symposium’ for our Year 11 English class. This has been a fantastic, purpose driven task that really helped to develop the leadership of our Year 11s as they prepared for provisional leadership in their final years at the college.

Last year, students focused on CHANGING OUR SCHOOL with symposium proposals that included: school lockers, a student study centre at the college, development of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, a ‘School Band’ and ‘Music’ program and laptops in school.

The Principal, Deputy Principal, Business Manager and a range of other classes (and teachers) were invited to attend the final Symposium presentation after a full rehearsal. Students commented that they were committed to their project presentation because they knew ’that the people who were attending had the influence and money to make the projects happen’. Just what we had hoped! 

We have just launched a similar brief with our current (2010) Year 11′s and thought I would keep an online record of our progress. The task will be maintained as a PAGE on this website and will be updated weekly for the purpose of outlining some of the projects and the kind of support that has been offered to students in developing their symposium topic.

I would LOVE to hear if others have tried this and what success they have experienced. You can see our progress on my ‘other’ blog if it is something you are keen to follow-  HERE IS A LINK TO SYMPOSIUM PAGE.

Homework for Dad on Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day! I came across this brief article from ‘Men’s Health’ that had been posted to me on one of my on-line auto-subscriptions of all things educational! The article is short and punchy and deals with the best way to support your children in the homework arena.

I am always impressed with the parents who are able to deliver consistent routines, times and locations as a means of stable on-going study habit and I suspect these habits are developed very early. I’m certainly not a perfect parent in this arena so was interested in this general list of suggestions. Would love to hear your successful additions?

http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/mens-health/article/-/7298506/win-the-homework-wars/

A Matter of Merit

My daughter doesn’t know it but apparently she will be receiving a merit award tomorrow at the assembly. My lovely wife commented that teachers make sure that every student in the class gets at least one each year.

That wasn’t my experience at school! I sat through nearly 500 assemblies at school and I never received a merit award, a congratulatory sticker, a trophy or a word of public acknowledgement. I even remember buying my year three teacher a present (I think it was soap) two days before an assembly to ensure I was “on the radar”; unfortunately, it didn’t work … I hope I didn’t spend much on the soap.

I was involved in a few sports, I cleaned out the pigeon holes, attended after-school recitals, was part of the drama team, debate team, chess team, I stacked chairs, did my homework and helped the canteen ladies carry heavy boxes … BUT………NOTHING!

Those who know me will muse that I am more than compensating for this lack of foundational attention. I could launch into a diatribe about how mediocrity is celebrated and awarded but I don’t want to do that in the context of MY GIRL getting her merit award tomorrow for (clearly) exceptional excellence.

I’m only sad that the young people of today will miss out on the opportunity to be bitter and resentful about their schooling the way that I am.

The OTHER Balance of Power – Australian Youth!

I love hearing of ‘firsts’, especially from our young people. Lately we have heard a few! Jessica Watson and Wyatt Roy are the latest to hit our screens and it is exciting to truly celebrate their accomplishments.

Over the last decade, youth success has been hijacked by (what I call) ”celebritism”; making celebrity out of random opportunity rather than accomplishment. I hate to think that there had been a void of prior talent but I was constantly frustrated at the examples presented to our kids as ‘successful’ by popular culture. “Big Brother” contestants who extend their 15 minutes of fame to years of fruitless folly or the Paris Hilton set who inherited their fame and generated on-going publicity by seeing how low they could set the bar.

As teachers, we often hear from students who are seeking to achieve at the “lowest possible PASS point”. When teaching a class I recoil when I hear students ask “Have I written enough?”, “Do we have to read the book, can’t we just watch the movie?” or “What do we have to do this for?”

But, I take motivation seriously. I want my students to WANT to read, to WANT to do THEIR work, to aim BEYOND a mere PASS. Of course, my lessons have to be engaging and captivating and motivating – which of course THEY ALWAYS ARE! But I also want to tap into this newer, richer, current (perhaps temporary?) fame that young Australians are generating.

We need to talk up THIS kind of success as a PRODUCT of big thinking and big dreams BUT ALSO of Big cost, Big risk, Big discipline, Big routines, Big skills, Big help and Big perseverance! I want Wyatt and Jessica to ”speak” to my classes – so that my classes PRODUCE Wyatts and Jessicas.

E-Portfolios – OR Why I Wish I Was A Student Again!

I have a great interest in this area and have been examining a wide range of online facilities that students are able to utilise. Mahara.org certainly seems to have the best scope for our needs (from the ones I have looked at – Moodle ready). I like the idea of a student being able to carry their accomplishments, results and samples with them across their learning years / lives. It ‘feels’ more like going to school to ‘write your life book’.

We talk of the notion of ‘life-long learning’ and this is a true opportunity to capture it all’. I can see many benefits;

• Strong sense of ‘audience’/ ‘readership’ through online publication (secured distribution)
• Record of ‘progress’
• Organisational maintenance of portfolio
• Students look for opportunities to capture their achievement
• Ongoing access to assessment items that can influence new learning
• Functional – students should be able to use their e-portfolio as a project that ‘moves with them’ both from year to year, but also, school to school.
• Mum’s LOVE it!

A particularly useful resource for teachers who may want to investigate this further has been produced at  http://wiki.rscwmsystems.org.uk/index.php/Eportfolios if you have no intention of visiting the site – no worries – here’s a video!

Speaker Bank

Perth Teachers looking for a guest speaker for your class or school? Want to run a FREE incursion? Need information on a possible EXCURSION? SPEAKER BANK is designed for SPEAKERS and ORGANISATIONS to post their information in ONE spot.

As the site grows we will transfer data to the blog and assign according to categories (eg. Free visiting speakers, Paid organisations, Speakers for Camps, Service Groups, etc.)

Find these NEW resources at:

 WEBSITE: http://speakerbank.wordpress.com

 FACEBOOK GROUP: http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/#!/pages/WA-Speaker-Bank/149693098392287

23 Things

Totally love this post by Chris Bletcher – 23 Things.

As teachers we like things ‘packaged’ and delivered in bite sizes – it is encouraging to think that others have faced the dilemma of upskilling staff in IT and new technologies and I think this package is a winner. Our Digital Natives await our readiness.

Love your work, Chris! http://chrisbetcher.com/2008/05/a-letter-to-teachers-about-learning/

The Art of Debate

Today was the school Debate Final. I like the way students are able to bring ‘surprising’ points into their argument. I had previewed all of the student’s talks but a few choice moments still managed to slip in as they artistically delivered their passionate tirades. We had fun with our topics.

The debate ’qualifying heat’ topic was “Tim Tams Rock“. The kids raised some impressive arguments. One student emailed Arnotts 4-5 times to find out what percentage of the product was sourced from West African, non-fair trade cocoa beans. IMPRESSIVE! We must have an investigative journalist on our hands because the company eventually conceded that they currently sourced 5% of their cocoa from West African, non-fair trade sources but were working to address this issue.

Our final debate revolved around the topic, “Laughter is the Best Medicine“, one team promoted vegetables, exercise and more intimate activities over ‘laughter’ as the more beneficial to one’s health. The other had sourced a recent ABC Radio National program that talked about men using ‘humour’ and the ability to make their female counter-parts ‘laugh’ as a great ‘source of appeal to the opposite sex’ but cautioned that it was a poor compensation for the original ‘primitive man hunter’ who was able to impress through their bravery and ability to deliver meat for dinner.

The lesson for me over the past couple of days (Mock Trial yesterday and Debate performances) has been to keep EXPECTING more from my students.

Many of our curriculum standards have been reduced to a new low but they can’t be the benchmark for OUR expectations. I recently read of a scientific experiment where two Science classes conducted an identical experiment with lab mice. One class of students were given a MOUSE MAZE and a MOUSE each. The teachers told the class that the mice were slightly mentally deficient or more crudely ‘Lab Stupid Rats’ – they were instructed to ’try to get the mice to move through the maze as quickly as they can even though they are stupid.’

Image via Wikipedia

The second class were given lab mice and were told that these mice were “super intelligent and could out perform any other mouse” in terms of their ability to work through the maze. Their job was to try to measure their fastest speed. The mice were fed the same food, given the same contact time with students, worked with the identical maze (size and pattern). The outcome: The “super intelligent mice” performed 350% faster than the “lab stupid” mice in subsequent testing. Of course there were no ‘stupid’ or ‘smart’ mice – they were all the same. The only factor that changed was the student’s EXPECTATION of their performance. How much MORE SO for our students?

World Teacher’s Day – 29th October, 2010

Thanks WACOT – Two whole months for students to prepare to CELEBRATE US!

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS: http://wateacherslounge.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/world-teachers-day-29-oct-2010/

Mock Trial – To Kill A Mockingbird

Today my Year 11 English class presented a mock trial of Tom Robinson from “To Kill A Mockingbird” (Harper Lee). It was not designed to be a ‘dramatic’ production but rather an investigation of the text we had been studying. I had only allowed a double period for preparation, one rehearsal and then they worked toward a “LIVE” presentation to a couple of other classes. Their showcase demonstrated depth and a solid ownership of their characters, especially given the short amount of time they had to preppare. 

It took about 45 minutes to complete with court proceedings. bailiff, Judge Taylor, Prosecution (and assistant), Defence (our beloved Atticus and assistant) and testimony from Link Deas, Heck Tate, Robert Ewell, Mayella Ewell and Thomas Robinson (the accused). On reflection, students always rise to a sense of PERFORMANCE and AUDIENCE and having the visiting classes and additional staff attend was a great bonus. 

We decided to have two juries for this case; a 1930′s Jury (who of course found Robinson guilty) and a 2010 Jury of Year 8 students who found him not guilty. I think the real value of these activities is the discussion afterwards. Students tended to demonise the attitudes of 1930′s/1960′s Americans but a discussion of indigenous attitudes or ‘boat people’ certainly raises some interesting comparisons – just a little scratch below the surface so to speak.

 I haven’t experimented with a Mock Trial before but would definitely do so again. Would strongly consider something similar for a camp activity – the students were  committed to their roles and have displayed a strong sense of ownership of the text in their discussions.  If anyone wants the Mock Trial Pack I generated – please just ask, I am happy to know it may be a duplicated activity.

Teacher’s TV

Have a good look at this one. This site goes LIVE on the 1st September, 2010. It is resourced worldwide with plenty of professional videos that have been categorised by topic/subject, etc. Well worth a good look around. The resources provisions are also excellent with plenty of “HOW TO”… and spots for newer teachers.  GO TO: www.teacher.tv and don’t forget to add it to your favourites.  Tell us what you think at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/WA-Teachers-Lounge/154210691257798  but at least wait until after the launch!

Healthy Body Image

This video has now had over 11,000,000 hits. Compulsory viewing for all girls and BOYS!

I don’t know if any of you have read any of KAZ COOKE’s work – but she writes some awesome, funny, relevant texts on this issue.  You can find Kaz’s awesome site at http://www.completelygorgeous.com.au/home.html. I am looking forward to her new book “Women’s Stuff” which is due for release by Penguin Books later this year.

Dangerous Trojan Warning

I have caught a dangerous new bug! Blogging! For those of you who have been watching my FACEBOOK page – I am so sorry!

WORDPRESS and FACEBOOK GROUPS have provided me with an outlet for two projects I have longed to see thrive in Perth.  

It’s always risky to put ideas ‘out there’ in case others don’t share your enthusiasm or interest (and let’s be frank – some people may just not like ME). But, I’ve decided to follow my convictions and (with a limited knowledge of the technical side or ‘best structure’ for an online approach) - ”give it a good shot’.

Although the blogging TROJAN has fully taken hold, I have determined that these two projects will be the limit of my online focus. The NSTR has already been widely circulated so I promise not to mention it again… for now

The second project is the ‘WA Teacher’s Lounge’.  In my own educational experience, I was primarily mentored, inspired, encouraged and influenced by the staff within the community in which I worked. Obviously, this is a perfectly ‘normal’ arrangement. But… I have also noticed the ’Ah-Ha’ factor of having attended a Professional Development Day and having ’rubbed shoulders’ with our educational elders are some of the most inspirational moments a teacher can have – even if the PD itself was of little value.

It is these moments over coffee and a bland biscuit that we can discuss ideas, approaches, beliefs, strategies that encourage us to consider ‘other’ alternative systems or resources that we have not previously been exposed to. 

Visiting other schools to ‘observe best practise’ or questioning like-subject professionals is often only the domain of the school’s  core leadership team which can lead to teachers having access to a limited range of system and procedural resources. This lack of connection is not only the ‘fault’ of schools. Professional Teacher Journal and Subscription readerships are noticeably down; we can only hope that educators (both new and old) take their vocation seriously enough to be accessing online developmental information. The sad truth is that many (the majority?) do not.

I muse with a colleague often that, “Clearly my agenda is showing”. Believe me, I am under no illusion that the ‘WA Teacher’s Lounge’ will offer any kind of landmark in reshaping our mentorship of Perth educators, clearly it a small drop in the ‘participation’ bucket. But, it’s the many small contributions that start a trickle. I hope that it will generate a few relationships, contacts and meaningful conversation but my greater hope is that it may contribute to the greater pool of educational mentorship.

The WA Teacher’s Lounge – Teacher group to connect and talk about current educational trends, topics, concerns, groups, tactics, strategies, management, political decisions and technologies. Grab a seat and share your ideas! Tell us about other links, projects and events that involve connecting WA educators.

GROUP SITE: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=152204244792561 

WEBSITE: http://wateacherslounge.wordpress.com

Open Letter

 

Image by Caro Wallis via Flickr

An Open Letter response to the West Australian article entitled: “Teachers banned from giving kids sweet treats”.

I confess. As a high school educator – I’m the “Candyman”. I believe that an ‘occasional’ treat holds value when it is … ‘occasional’ and unexpected. Increasingly, my teaching world is defined by what “I CAN’T DO” i.e I can’t pat a student on the back to congratulate their effort, I can’t keep them back after class to say “I liked your attitude today”, I can’t refer to them in any kind of “semi-affectionate” manner, I can’t drive them in my car to an excursion, I can’t screen PG movies, I can’t have class “end-of-term-parties” and now … I can’t reward them with a lolly!

Perhaps some teachers are using “Minties” and “Fantails” as a form of slow assassination; however, the evidence is pretty slim. It seems some sectors are hell-bent on radical change for change’s sake and they won’t let up until we ban desserts at the Year 12 Ball and biscuits from our School Camp shopping lists. With teachers facing a wave of pressure from an ever-shifting-curriculum and scrutiny from media over some educator’s inability to spell “recommend” – it would be nice to think that our profession might be thrown a “jaffa” from a grateful government!

Northern Suburbs Teacher Resources (Facebook Group)

When I took an appointment as Head of an English Department some years ago, I faced a situation where there were very few resources, a minimum budget, and felt I had nowhere to turn. I phoned several schools to ask if they had any old sets of novels they did not utilise anymore so that we would have books to start the year with (unfortunately the school’s booklists had gone out to parents with nothing on them for the following year from the English Department!).

I have always been thankful to the Head of Department of St Mark’s who filled my car with book sets that they no longer needed. They held us over for a couple of years as we built our department’s resources.

Soon after, I started a small resource group (Yahoo Groups) in the hope of sharing book sets on an inter-school basis, it certainly served its purpose at the time.

In considering my own response to IT being a vehicle for something a little bigger in my community, I thought I would attempt to broaden my initial project.

Northern Suburbs Teacher Resource Facebook Group is a response to the sad closure of the Midland Resource Centre which many teachers (especially Primary) paid hommage to as a vital resource bank for all sorts of odds and ends.

The idea of the ‘group’ is to link teachers to resources. Perhaps you know someone in the printing industry who has some circle-cardboard shapes, jars of buttons, carpet squares? If they are happy to give them away for free. Post it here. Someone will want them and be happy to collect.

Obviously, this is currently a Perth-based ‘notice board’ for resources in the Northern-ish Suburbs (those who live or work in the North). Teacher’s in the Southern Suburbs might want to start their own page? Let me know so we can link our pages! I have sent invites to most teachers I know but if you are interested…

 CLICK ON: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=151788124838509

Fun Brain

OK – no long reflections tonight. It has been sport carnival day and I got a little too much sun! Found this little beauty though… http://www.funbrain.com  (K-8).