Are we preparing kids for the future or for 1950? Are we preparing kids for the future or 1950? I think it’s a valid question considering most school layouts, school days and classrooms look the same as they did 70 years ago. In the past 20 years technology has quickly driven society forward in nearly every way - communication, travel, financial, and leisure looks different than it did in the year 2000, and almost unrecognisable from 1950. Despite this, our school year, schoo

Independence: The final goal or a step in the right direction? I often stand in front of school audiences and pose the question: What’s the point of this whole school thing? I typically get a variety of answers ranging from the brilliant to the occasional dreadful how-did-that-person-get-a-job-in-a-school type response! Things like: "So kids can one day get a job." "For kids to learn to follow instructions." "To help kids can grow up and be healthy and happy." "To help kids l

The Sprint: all about me? Think for a moment about the 100m sprint event at the Olympics. For years, each runner has trained day and night to qualify for this 10-second race, qualifying at a local, regional and then national level. Thousands upon thousands of hours have been exhausted to stand on the Olympic stage for this over-in-a-flash event. At the start of the race, each runner takes their time stepping up to their blocks, going through various warm-up exercises, stress-

Proving Yourself versus Improving Yourself My acting career never got off the ground (quite literally!). When I was 16, I starred in a high school musical performance of West Side Story (photo above from the 1961 film). In it, I played the character “Riff” - the singing, dancing, 1950s Upper West Side finger-snapping gang leader of The Jets. Unfortunately, dancing was (and is) not a particular strength. In the opening night performance, I slipped up in the big dance scene and

Fortunately, things have changed​ I hated school. You can ask my parents, my kindergarten teacher, the school secretary and anyone who knew me. I used to cling to my parents' each day at the school gates while the office lady pried my raging arms off my dad's legs. I refused to go inside the building, i didn't understand the point of going, and found no satisfaction from being there. I used to think Horace Mann messed us all over with his so-called "public education reforms"

The cat left a present in the sandbox...again. Do you remember playing in the sandbox as a kid. Do you remember what happened when the neighbourhood cat got in the sand? I do, and I shudder to think about it... I would often find myself playing with toys only to find some cat had mistaken it for its own personal litter-box, leaving behind... you know what I’m talking about! Fortunately, that is all I have to say about playing with cat poo in the sandbox, but if I can get you

Let’s look at overlearning. Let’s look at overlearning. Let’s look at OVERLEARNING! (Yes, that was intentional) Think back to when you learnt to ride a bicycle (or another amazingly wonderful childhood feat). When learning to ride a bike did you have instant success, or did you have to first learn to pedal and steer on a tricycle or foot cycle for a couple years? Did you instantly ride off into the sunset with perfect two-wheel steering control, or were you a little wobbly at

Let’s take a look at the next principle of SLOOM! teaching: Little and Often “Little and Often” means to teach in small time frames... often! Rocket science it is not! If you’ve spent any amount of time in a school, you know that teacher and support staff time constraints can make it difficult to deliver interventions to students. As a teacher, I know that shorter (10-15 minute) sessions require me to be clear and concise with the skills I am teaching. When it comes to teachi

Developing confidence in our kids Have you ever experienced failure in something? Perhaps it was a test or assignment in school? Have you ever worked with a child (your own, or in school) only to see them struggle to succeed or even flat out fail? It can be incredibly frustrating, can’t it? Feelings of helplessness, self-doubt, and self-condemnation try and creep in and it can take awhile to recover. Imagine what it’s like as a teenager with reading difficulties who has strug

The Christmas Holiday has the potential to be the most wonderful time of the year for food, family, faith and friends. The time together can also provide terrific opportunities for parents and carers to connect with their children by enjoying a variety of leisurely learning experiences with them. As teachers, parents and carers of children with learning and additional needs, it’s always important to remind ourselves that children’s’ curiosity is often most developed through h