Skip to main content

Words


There is no doubting the power of words. They shape our thinking and our conversations, often revealing more than their simple literal meaning, especially when joined together, forming more complicated concepts. Combine those words with our actions and they become even more revealing, especially when the words we use do not match our actions. What do we believe when there is a mismatch between our words and our actions? For me it is our actions that reveal our true self. However, our words, our conversations, and the discourse around these, which inform, shape and colour our actions and our thinking. We do not act in a mindless vacuum. How we think and act is shaped, positively or negatively by words, and how we interpret them and the concepts they create.

The world of words tells us much about our actions, decisions and focus. With this in mind, I have been thinking a bit about the words that exist and are given primacy within our schools and education system, and what these reveal about those systems, as well as our own focus. 

I have created two pictorial representations, using WordArt, of the types of words that currently dominate our actions and our work in education, and have done so for some time now. In my opinion, one representation portrays a much more negative picture of our professional activity and focus than the other. 

I could write lots about each word in each representation, and indeed have during the course of this Blog, and elsewhere. You may have your own words to add to either, and you may think some words have been put in the wrong representation. Some are actually in both, and may be perceived as positive or negative according to your understanding and experience of them. Indeed, you may feel that all of these words are necessary as part of the complexity of any education system, that requires checks and balances so that it is not too skewed one way or another. My own contention would be that one of these representations is a lot more desirable for our focus than the other, and the words, and concepts, therein are much more likely to lead to the development of an education system able to address many of the issues that we understand to exist, giving all learners the best opportunity to thrive and grow as lifelong learners.

Some words, and agendas attached to them, have come to dominate the discourse in many schools and systems, I would argue that this is to their detriment. The prominence given to these words, they dominate so much thinking and practice, has led some to lose sight of all that we are trying to achieve, and how we might do that. Education and learning are complex activities, but ones where people sit at their core. People should be central in our thinking and our actions, not systems, structures and devices designed to manage what is often unmanageable.

I read an article today put on Twitter by Rachel Lofthouse, 'The empty brain' by Robert Epstein @aeon.co, about how it is a nonsense to view the brain like a computer. Epstein argues convincingly that our brains do not operate like computers in that they aren't controlled or programmed by algorithms, they don't store words, memories and information like computers do, for retrieval later. For this to happen each individual cell would need to have these capabilities. In truth, we still understand very little about how our brains do work, but what we are coming to recognise is that every single brain is unique to the individual, and as we seek to understand more we will have to focus more and more on individuals and their particular ways of thinking and being, in relation to their particular context and experiences! That may take a while.

I think that schools and education systems are similar. Every one is unique and different. To my mind this has to be so, because every school, classroom and system is made real by different individuals, with their individual ways of thinking and being. Trying to devise a model or a system that will work in all circumstances is possibly a fruitless waste of our time or energies. In a later tweet today, Rachel suggested that the way forward may lie in '..the need for a little phronesis. Wisdom in and through thoughtful practice' when she responded to a query about dealing with conflicting pieces of 'evidence' and research. I think we discard such suggestions too easily when we still feel we can 'manage' and 'control' complex systems. The best we can seek to do would seem to be to better understand them and their particular characteristics, then seek to grow and develop them organically from within.

If we were to adopt such an approach, then perhaps our focus would return to where it should always be, the learners and the people around them who are trying to support their personal development and growth.

My two pictorial representations are below. I am sure everyone could construct their own. They would all be different in some way, as will your perceptions of this piece.







Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Six Qualities of Educational Leadership

I wrote a post a few weeks ago (The six tasks of leadership 12/12/15) following an article about Sir Tim Brighouse, who had identified what he thought were the six key tasks for school leaders. My own list was a bit different to Tim's but it also set me thinking about what might be the qualities you would look for in high performing school leaders. I give you my six as a stimulus for discussion and perhaps your own consideration of what qualities we should look for in school leaders. The first is authenticity. I believe all school leaders need to be authentic and to really walk the walk of their talk. There can be nothing so dispiriting for school community members than being led by a leader who says one thing but does another. Remember to say what you mean and mean what you say. I think the highest performing leaders possess emotional awareness. They know themselves well and they know the people they lead well too. They understand the importance of relationships and how to ta

Evaluation: a process, not an event

Throughout my time as a school leader, and since, I have wrestled with the challenge of evaluation, in terms of measuring the impact of change, in a way which is meaningful and useful . Early in my career, such evaluation was very much viewed as an event, or events, that happened towards the end of a project, or piece of work, usually occurring towards the end of a school year. This was often a time filled with lots of scrabbling around looking for 'evidence' that could be put into some sort of report aimed at different different audiences. It felt stressful, concocted at times and often disconnected from the whole change agenda. Evaluation was a thing to be endured at the end of something else, with its main purpose consisting of proving you had been doing something to different people. Some of these would take what you gave them, and put that into their own 'evaluation report' for a cluster of schools, a local authority, or even a national system. A major issue with

Some thoughts for new student teachers

  Having gained a host of new followers on Twitter, who are either completing PGDE, or other student teacher qualifications, got me thinking about the advice, thoughts, comments I would give to those embarking on their own professional learning journey.   It is heart-warming to see, and hear, the enthusiasm of new entrants into the profession. They are passionate about their career path, and are constantly enthusing about the high quality input they are receiving from lecturers, professors of education and practitioners. My first piece of advice would to use those feelings as a touchstone, to go back to and revisit, throughout your career, but especially when you are facing challenges. Teaching is one of the most satisfying and rewarding professions to be involved in, but throughout your career you will encounter a myriad of challenges, and during these times it is often worth your while reminding yourself of why you came into the profession, and re-consider your early enthusiasms.   W