A busy few weeks ....

Phew! It's been a busy few weeks what with one thing and another, busier than I've been for awhile.  A few concerts with my choir, the London Welsh Male Voice Choir in different parts of the country and working on a couple of wood carvings that others have asked me to do - take a look at my latest creations on my carving galleries!  I'm particularly pleased with my relief carving of a Welsh Dragon - Y Ddraig Goch (Red Dragon in Welsh) - mounted on an oak board.  It's one of the best things I've ever carved although I did frighten myself  quite badly by slicing through my thumb with a very sharp chisel whilst carving it.  Accidents do happen and there was rather a lot of blood, not enough to take me to hospital but it served as a good reminder for me to wear my carving gloves in future to protect my fingers and hands!  Other carvers beware!
The carving though reflects my increasing passion for Wales and all things Welsh and like the daffodils of a previous post, generates that ever present sense of hiraeth!  I'm not sure yet whether I want to sell it

I'm also pleased with a bowl and spoon hand carved from a single piece of oak.  I've called it "Who's been eating my porridge?" because it reminds me of the story of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears.  Now all I need is 2 more bowls and 2 more spoons for Mummy Bear and Baby Bear.  Spike says "what about one for me?"

For those of you who know him, you will be pleased to know that he is never very far from my side.  He sends his love and best wishes to you all!  Time for a break, I think ...

Forever Spring ...

I love carving daffodils.  For me, they serve as a continual reminder of the beginning of Spring and a time to begin anew!  As the national flower of Wales, they also remind me of those dearest to me and generate that sense of hiraeth (longing) for Wales and home.

My daffodils are generally carved in Limewood and can stand alone or be set in small rosebud vases.  The nature of the carving makes them unique and no two are the same!

More carvings on my website if you're interested

Spoons ...

Spoons have a long history as basic eating utensils. I get a great deal of satisfaction out of creating spoons for others to use and appreciate.

My latest work!

Love Spoon for a fisherman in Lime. 

Zoom in for a view of the fly in the net and the line on the reel.  More examples of my work on my website

The webpage of woodcarver David Ware

My latest woodcarvings

New home for our caravan

Arrived today at the new home for our caravan at Llwyn yr Helm, Brith Dir, near Dolgellau in the North Wales mountains. Beautiful setting in the heart of Wales. Tiring journey and sorting out of various bits and pieces in and around van but well worth it. Photos to follow on my photo blog. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Manipulating Digital Images

It’s taken me awhile to post this item on my blog for reasons which I hope will become apparent to readers.

On Friday morning, 30 September 2011 on Daybreak, the early morning ITV news magazine, I listened to a news item about the influence of digital images on young people.  The news item reported the emphasis being placed by Government on the need to educate children in schools about the uses made of air brushing and other digital tools to enhance and manipulate images of celebrities.  The report showed a teacher discussing with a class of young children, “before and after” images of Brittany Spears in a bikini.   I was immediately struck by two thoughts:

Firstly - it’s about time!  Have those in power only just realised the impact of this kind of thing on the learning of children and, lets be honest, many adults too?  Its not new and, no doubt, has been going on since the advent of print media.  In and of itself, manipulating and changing images is not a problem.  There are, for example, lots of perfectly valid reasons for changing images; and we all want photographs to show us at our best don’t we?  Brittany Spears is no exception!  What matters though, is whether viewers are aware that images can be changed, and know of the use to which the changed images are being put.  This is particularly important when the purpose is to influence opinion, attitude or behaviour, hide the truth or misrepresent people or events.  Maybe its time for images such as those that appear in the glossy magazines to come with warning labels, just like we do with food!

Secondly - I felt justified in the programme of teaching I began more than 5 years ago with pupils in a special school to deal with issues of reliability and validity when using the Internet and other media.  I used before and after images of celebrities to develop pupils awareness and understanding of ways in which they can be manipulated or mislead and their skills in using computer software to change images in a variety of ways.  I felt this was especially important given the increasing importance of multimedia computers and other digital devices in pupils present and future lives.  The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the work and I was congratulated by a number of teachers within my own and other schools for the innovative work I was doing.  Brilliant? Well … not entirely!  As teachers, we can never assume that others will place the same value on our work as we do.  Despite my success with this work, I was threatened by my employers with disciplinary action for using inappropriate images with pupils.  The two images specified in the threat were those I reproduce here.  Both had appeared on the Internet and in well known magazines at the time and one was similar to those images of Brittany Spears used in the news item on Daybreak. 
 

The threat was eventually withdrawn but not before I experienced significant stress and anxiety about my future and status as a teacher.  It was this that was a significant factor in my decision in 2010 to resign from the job I loved doing and the kids I loved teaching. 

Readers will understand that the news item on Daybreak brought back many unhappy memories of that time.  I worry for the poor teacher in the news item on Daybreak and others developing similar kinds of programmes with pupils and hope they have better informed managers.

Check out Avaaz.org

I've just joined an amazing organization called "Avaaz", which means "voice" in many languages. Check it out here:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/?sbc

Cymru am byth!

Hope everyone has a very happy St David's Day. Celebrate along with Welsh people everywhere - wear a daffodil, perhaps eat a leek and give a thought to the red dragon of Wales. Cymru am byth!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Passion Based Learning

Marc Prensky on Passion-based Learning - Ewan McIntosh | Digital Media & Learning

Well worth a read and a listen! Adds yet more weight to the ideas in Ken Robinson's book "The Element" - finding the passion that drives an individual to learn!

Technology: significant benefits but …

A friend of mine was recently bemoaning the large numbers of people who appear to have lost the art of conversation and being with people because they spend much of their time accessing various electronic devices such as music and video players, mobile phones, portable gaming consoles and the like.  To be honest, I had to agree and added the difficulties that I’d experienced with interrupting people concentrating on surfing the Internet, playing the latest console game, listening to music or talking on the mobile phone.

 

The technology is clearly bringing significant benefits for many people but only the other day, I was reminded of the negative impact of the technology on learners in schools.  I asked a group of older students to carry out some research as part of an assignment for a course they were following.  Two things happened. 

1. When we discussed possible sources of information, the first thing mentioned was – no prizes for guessing – the Internet.  The Internet has justifiably gained ground as a important source of information.  However, a significant number of the group failed to identify books as a source of information and most failed to identify other people – some even refused to acknowledge books and other people as reliable and valid sources of information!  There is clearly something wrong with what we are doing with ICT in schools if pupils regard the Internet as the only source of information and see it as a source that doesn’t have to be questioned.
2. The second thing was perhaps more worrying.  I asked them to organise themselves so that each person took responsibility for researching an aspect of the task which they could then feed back to the rest of the group in whatever form the group decided was appropriate.  Many of them were reluctant to do this, could not see the point of this way of working and simply wanted to get back to their computers to use the Internet and “get on with the work”.  Few wanted to visit the school library to do research and even fewer were prepared to take responsibility for questioning the people identified as a source of information.

The Internet and other forms of technology are set to become ever more important and quite right too.  However, if one of our responsibilities as teachers is to prepare learners for life after school, then it follows that we have a duty to know the technology, its benefits, limitations and drawbacks and help pupils use it appropriately, safely and securely. How we do this is subject to debate but failing to do so is inappropriate, ignores significant opportunities for learning and many would claim, dangerous.

Long live learning! Long live technology!

Respect in the Classroom

Respect is an issue of great concern for many teachers in schools and rightly so.  We all get angry about the disrespect and rudeness shown by some pupils.  In my experience, inappropriate behaviour and the response from kids when we attempt to deal with it is a major source of frustration and stress and can be associated with teacher illness and possible absence.  Interestingly, though many pupils also complain of being rudely and unfairly treated by teachers and often point to this as a cause of their rudeness.    

 

Young learners these days do not automatically give teachers respect.  I don’t think that they ever did.  Neither does the job itself automatically command respect.  I believe that respect is something that has to be earned.  If we want to be respected, we must be prepared to walk the talk and model the kinds of behaviours that define respect in schools.  In this way we can help young, inexperienced learners understand what it means to be polite and how to deal more appropriately with the difficult situations they may find themselves in.  

 

Whenever I find myself in difficult situations with pupils, I try to remind myself of two things:

1. There are no bad kids.  There are simply difficult situations and circumstances that kids find themselves in.  Given the nature of some of the difficulties that some pupils have to deal with, it is not surprising that they use any opportunity to lash out and express their anger and frustration.  The important thing to remember, I think, is that the behaviour is not necessarily directed at us, it is often their response to whatever has happened to them – we just happen to be there!
2. Rules and expectations are difficult to adhere to and we can all be guilty of breaking them, especially when they are set by others - nobody’s perfect!  I remember my own experiences as a young learner at school and the times that I broke the rules.  I’m better now at keeping to them and meeting the expectations of others but – and I’ll be honest here - I still break some rules and perhaps more often than I’d really care to admit (sometimes I even find myself breaking my own rules)!  In circumstances like these, I would hope that others would deal with me honestly, politely and with some sensitivity and encourage me to accept responsibility for my actions in non-threatening ways.  As teachers, we surely can’t apply different standards to the ones we would want to be applied for ourselves!

These things help me to make decisions about what to say, how to say it and how to behave.  In the heat of the moment though, I often get things wrong.  When I do, I make sure I forgive myself, apologise and find ways of learning from what’s happened so I can do better next time.  Learning is, after all, about being human!

Long live learners!  Long live learning!

Social Networks in Schools

I was reminded this week of the importance of celebrating the talents and efforts made by young people in schools in order to improve their self-esteem and their view of themselves as learners.  During an ICT lesson, I had spoken with a student about his interest in art – he sees himself as an artist and told me that he spends most of his time drawing and painting.  The following lesson, he brought in some examples of his work.  I was so impressed with his dedication and art that I asked his permission to take a picture with my mobile phone of one of his drawings so I could post it with some comments to a number of social networking sites (http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidwarephoto/5181205067/).  He was thrilled and delighted!  The feeling of pride he gained from this simple act appears to have renewed his interest in learning and re-ignited his belief in himself and that he has something to offer.  (Who knows what this could lead to?  Read the story of Matt Groening told by Sir Ken Robinson in his book The Element, Penguin 2009)

We all know, don’t we, that success is all-important in building learner motivation and their capacity to learn?  In my experience with young people with learning difficulties, however, failure and the fear of failure is not only debilitating, it results in anxieties about learning and can lead to additional problems associated with behaviour and attitude.  The result is a cycle of failure which is hard to break!

The student above may not be the best artist in the world (at the moment), but it is his way of making a contribution and communicating – it is the thing that drives him, it is his passion! 

There are at least two things that I take from this: 

1. the interests of learners are crucial to learning.  Finding out what drives learners and building it into teaching plans is perhaps the most important key to unlocking the potential inside every leaner to be the best they can be.  Ignoring what interests them does them a significant disservice which will affect them for the rest of their lives. 
2. as teachers, we have a responsibility to use whatever means at our disposal to motivate and encourage young learners no matter what their interests and talents are (all learners?).  In this way, we can build on their passion for learning and communicating and prepare them for the future complexities of life, a life which is likely to become increasingly dominated by technology.

Let’s be honest, social networking facilities are already being used extensively by young people to serve their need to communicate but they’re not always used in the most positive way.  We need, therefore, to teach young learners appropriate ways to use the technology and to use it responsibly.  We also need to work with them on effective and safe strategies to ensure that they are protected when using them.  Banning the use of such technologies in schools is not only short-sighted and removes significant tools for enhancing learning, it is also inappropriate and, many would claim, dangerous.

Long live learners!  Long live the technology!

The Curriculum for ICT in Schools

There is significant evidence to suggest that learning is a search for meaning.  If this is so, then the ICT curriculum in schools needs to be built around those things that students are interested in.  Whilst there is clearly a case for helping students – or any learner for that matter - appreciate aspects outside of their experience, my anecdotal experience suggests that this is more likely to come about through activities, tasks and approaches which begin with those things that are of immediate interest to them.  There are a number of arguments, I think, that support this view of ICT in schools, i.e. the need to:

• help pupils become responsible users of the technology, including appropriate use and keeping themselves safe
• find ways to encourage pupils in, and excite them about, their learning
• provide increased scope for creativity and imagination
• implement what we now know about the learning process through recent developments like active learning, accelerated learning and the like. 

 So what influences learners in schools?  My experience with young people with learning difficulties and special educational needs (SEN) may be somewhat limited but suggests that young people – perhaps all of us - are strongly influenced by the media in all its forms, newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, images, music, video, games and so on.  This influence can be manipulative and result in all kinds of difficulties that individuals have to contend with.  Add to this, the needs of learners to communicate, share and make a contribution, their longing for success and to feel valued, their desire to learn and achieve, their search for happiness (whatever that might mean) and a life free from fear, anxiety and worry and the task for teachers is much more complex than the traditional focus on delivering someone elses’ view of the ICT curriculum suggests.  I admit that these additional aspects are not always apparent in the daily life of schools, but they are there nonetheless if we just take the time to look. 

Building a curriculum around the interests of young people means talking to them and finding out about them, their interests and aspirations and adapting tasks and activities, material and resources to suit their needs.  For teachers, learning should not start with the technology but with developing a relationship which is supportive of individual learning and development.  In this way we can match the technology to the learner and avoid the pitfalls of “one size fits all” and creating barriers which limit the ability of learners to follow their interests and achieve the meaning they are searching for in their lives.  If we do it this way, we can provide for young people the kinds of learning experiences which for many will have a positive impact on the rest of their lives. 

In future blogs, I intend to develop this theme and look at ways in which we might secure the interest and commitment of learners and motivate and excite them about their own learning!  To those who are interested, I invite you to let me have your thoughts, ideas and comments to help me with my own learning in this increasingly important area of school life.

Long live learners!  Long live the technology!

RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

Now this is interesting - Daniel Pink on what motivates us! Thought provoking!  Just what does this mean for the way we organise schools for kids and teachers!

Sir Ken Robinson - Changing Paradigms

Still a good teacher!

Time to move on, they said, time for a change ... though in words far more dark and threatening!  But what it did represent was the end of a long and painful period of my life, probably the worst time I've experienced in a long, and many would say successful, teaching career.  I’m not sure that I’ll ever come to terms with the way I was treated, especially the damage done to my relationships with my teaching colleagues and pupils and the secrecy surrounding my case and its eventual outcome.  It’s been a very negative time, but I’ve learned a lot from what’s happened and some positive things have come out of it.  In many ways I’ve had to begin my career all over again, but already I’ve had experiences that tell me I’m still a good teacher and able to develop positive relationships with young people in schools and teachers who share similar ideas to my own about teaching and learning.

So what have I learned that might help others who find themselves in a difficult position as a teacher (or any job for that matter)?  Here's just a few things to think about, I'm sure there are others out there somewhere!

1. Don’t expect senior management to support you when you try to do the right thing by other staff and pupils!  Being a good teacher and manager responsible for significant successes is just not good enough it seems!

2. Keep clear records, for example:

• a time-line of events, including dates of emails and other documentation sent and received and all contact made
• copies of all relevant letters, emails and reports. Store them digitally and as printed documents since digital records can easily be lost
• detailed records of things done and said. Where possible, summarise conversations and let others involved have a copy

3. Finally, involve your professional association as early as possible!

Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution! | Video on TED.com

Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution! | Video on TED.com

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com