Reinventing Education

EP 67 :Starting the Day & Uniforms in Mainstream Schools

Buses, taxis and walking trains! A deep dive today into how the mainstream values of opportunity play out at the start of the school day. 

Following this, we tackle that most controversial of issues.. what shall we wear? The mainstream opportunity centred school is torn between the freedom of fashion and the efficiency of uniforms. Join us!

Get in touch with us at reinventingeducationpodcast@gmail.com

EP 66 : Before and Afterschool Care and The Morning Journey in Mainstream Schools

Today we dig deep into the minutiae of the mainstream school to see just how deeply those values of opportunity, independence and efficiency run.

How does the mainstream school system support parents that work beyond the school day? Should childcare in these cases be the responsibility of schools and local government to support and subsidise or should friends, family and the local community take care of it?

Get in touch with us as reinventingeducationpodcast@gmail.com and let's continue to discussion!

EP 65 Malcolm Giles Integral Teacher Training

Malcolm Giles works with those training to become teachers. As a professor, he provides them with an integral & holistic approach to better understand the nature of the profession they are entering. We explore his best practices, engaging exercises, and frames for thinking. 

Ep 64 Efficient and Effective Staff Meetings In Mainstream Schools

Without staff meetings a mainstream school cannot:

-debate the merits of ideas & proposals together

-collaborate in teams to reach school goals

-share roles to ensure effective & efficient use of time

In this episode, we dive deep into the culture, protocols and activities found in mainstream staff meetings and tease apart the pros and cons of this approach. 

EP 63: Planning & Collaborating on Effective & Efficient Lessons, Units & Activities In The Mainstream School

How do we help students effectively and efficiently demonstrate their learning at school? How do I as a teacher engineer the best possible unit to maximize the use of our time together to achieve our curricular goals?

These could be questions at the core of the hearts and minds of teachers in mainstream schools. Today we dig deep into the indicators you'd see when planning that help you identify that you are likely teaching in a mainstream school.  

Ep 62 : Professional Development & Teacher Evaluation in Mainstream Schools

Mainstream schools support teacher growth through continuous training or "professional development". Today we look at how this professional development, with its transparent and achievable goals, lines up with the core mainstream value of "opportunity".

Also...

We all agree that we want “good teachers”, but it's tough to reach a consensus about just what constitutes a good teacher ,and even tougher to measure it. Teacher Evaluation can come in many forms and when done effectively can contribute to individual growth and a supportive school culture. In the second half of the show, we look at how mainstream schools go about this evaluation and the "babies and bathwaters" of the mainstream opportunity value approach.

In the show we reference the following articles :
5 Ways To Make Teacher Professional Development Effective by Maria Kampen (Prodigy) and Teacher Evaluation: An Issue Overview by Stephen Sawchuk (Education Week)

 

EP 61 : Staff Ethos & Structure in a Mainstream School

This week, we look into the culture and beliefs of the staff in a mainstream school.

We ask, what matters to teachers in mainstream schools in terms of their relationships? And how can we build strong, positive cultures that balance transparency, logic and support without being in constant flux or getting tied up in the cold data of bureaucracy?

We also dive into the evolution of the staffing hierarchy, from the single teacher in the one room school house to the mainstream mega-schools with its hundreds of specific roles.

And finally, we discuss how we can employ our limited budges to build a pastoral & teaching staff that best serves the wide needs of students.

Listen in and tell us you thoughts on twitter and at reinventingeducationpodcast@gmail.com

 

EP 60 : Leadership in a Mainstream School

In today's episode, we talk about the pushes and pulls that shape the role of a principal or head teacher in a mainstream school, including; the challenges of managing a large and diverse staff, bearing ultimate responsibility for student growth and being the conduit between government agencies and the community.

We also discuss how the job of principal grew from coordinating a few teachers in the one room schoolhouse to the complex managerial role that it is today.

We hope that you enjoy the conversation. Feel free to reach out to us on Twitter or at reinventingeducationpodcast@gmail.com

 

EP 59 : Dr Brad Kershner : The Importance of Relationships in Education

Today we have a second chat with Dr Brad Kershner that builds on the strands from our first conversation back in episode 55.

We dig deeper into the ways that we can create a developmentally minded school in both culture and practice. We also talk about the kinds of relationships that we want to nurture and ask how we can best embody our broad and complex human values in a world where education is often reduced to workplace preparation.

Brad is a school leader and educational theorist. He is currently the head of the Early School at Carolina Friends School in Durham North Carolina. He has an MA in the philosophy of religions and a PhD in education. 

Brad's book "Understanding Educational Complexity" is available for pre order now and will be published in December. You can pre-order here!

Before listening today, if you have not already checked out episode 50 of Reinventing Education, we suggest heading over there first to get an overview of many of the ideas that we talk about in today’s episode.

It might also be helpful to listen to that first discussion with Brad a few weeks back in episode 55.

We hope that what you hear is engaging, relevant and enjoyable. Feel free to contact us with questions and feedback at reinventingeducationpodcast@gmail.com or on Twitter.

EP 58 : Are Mainstream School Buildings Designed Only To Save Money?

In today's episode, we look at how evolving designs of school buildings have gone hand in hand with changes in education.

We discuss why the traditional one room schoolhouse gave way to the mainstream cellular model and consider the extent that this better serves students and teachers.

And, of course, we get to the thorny issue of whether schools are just designed to save money, even where education sufferers.