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THE ELEVEN LAWS OF NAPLAND

As negotiated between the great Learning Oracle, and the tribes of Napland

Once upon a very recent time, on a faraway planet known as Edutopia, there existed an island state called Napland. This magical place was inhabited by a race of people called the Naplanders, who were obsessed with standards, targets and goals. Once each year, the younger Naplanders (known as the Offspring) completed a national examination that evaluated their performance.

This came to be known as…. the NAPLAN TEST.

This almighty TEST determined whether the aforementioned Offspring had acquired the rules and dictums of their civilization’s communication systems. And also whether their schools would get a bucketload of money to support them in acquiring those rules and dictums in the following years.

When it came to these TESTS, three of the Naplander tribes featured strongly (although many others, such as the Parenticus, and the Media Circus, had a part to play as well). These three tribes were:

1. The Napland Educatus, who are most often found teaching in environments (commonly known as schools) that feature high levels of tension, stress, very long hours, and quite a few successes. The Educatus openly welcomed the development of high standards in the Offspring (they always had), but questioned the manner in which the TEST was used to measure / analyse/ sort / sift the Offspring, as well as to rank their schools.

2. The Napland Politicus, who are generally found wherever the Media Circus congregate (or sometimes the other way around). The Politicus hold the pursestrings, and thus, the rights, to insist upon the TEST. It would appear that their hearts are in the right place, given the money they had already spent on school buildings in the past year.

3. The Napland Offspring, who are meant to be the focus in the whole saga. Funnily enough, while they have the greatest numbers of any tribe, and while everyone says that they matter the most, they invariably have the least say in the whole process.

Sadly, the Educatus and the Politicus can not always agree on the manner in which the TEST results are to be displayed to the rest of Napland. Some in the Parenticus and the Media Circus have become obsessed with simplistic test scores in these online displays, to the utter frustration of the Educatus, who know that many deeper criteria determine a great Napland school.

And so, into this Naplandic Impasse, there recently came by chance an all-wise Learning Oracle. This great Oracle represented the collective wisdom of all of the tribes of Napland; a wisdom that sometimes seemed to disappear out the window when it came to Decision Time on any major initiative.

Upon consulting with the Oracle, all Naplandic tribes agreed to give their full support to a special set of Laws. These Laws, according to the Oracle, would ensure the sustainability and general worth of the ongoing TEST.

Since that time, these Laws Of Napland have been passed down on a stone tablet, talked about over many a coffee, and inscribed in 140-character tweets on twitter.

And so, to the Laws:

The 1^st LAW. The TEST is here to stay, so get used to it.

It’s just how politics works. Don’t bother to resist it; work with it instead. That way, you might get to have some influence in adjusting the near-future directions of the system. It doesn’t mean that you meekly accept everything that will be decided. Rather, that you get involved, and offer your opinion. So, blog / twitter / Facebook, and engage in proactive dialogue about the worth and future direction of the TEST.

The 2nd LAW. Collation of evidence is an invaluable process. Use it to support the Offspring.

Sometimes, raw data is used to poor effect (eg to politically compare schools and systems). However, that same data can be hugely instructive when it comes to supporting individual children’s learning. Don’t let your political attitudes colour the worth of this data. Educatus must consistently analyse the individual and collective data from the TEST, and then respond with explicit teaching that targets each child. Professional dialogue between the Educatus is the most effective way of implementing these targeted practices.

The 3^rd LAW. Don’t teacher-proof the system.

Sadly, other education systems around the world are based upon the assumption that teachers can’t be trusted, and that the system has to be teacher-proofed. This is a professional embarrassment to all parties concerned. The Educatus are the ones who make it all work. And the vast majority of them are impressive at what they do. Give them the resources and support to create quality learning in the classroom, and you’ll see better results on all tests over the next few years.

The 4^th LAW. Teach for the longer term, not just for the test.

Yes, schools might be under pressure to ‘perform’ in the eyes of the Parenticus and the Media Circus, but this must never distract from the focus on long-term learning. The research is indisputable everywhere in Edutopia. If you teach to the test, you may get marginally better results on the test itself in the short-term, but the long-term results will plateau. Pay respect to the need for sustainable long-term improvement in all fields, and it will rub off in the TEST results anyway.

The 5^th LAW. Collaboration works more effectively than competition.

It’s about time that the competition cliché (ie that we have to compete with each other in order to improve our standards) died a quick death. We’re not talking about the Olympics here. Not all of life has to be a bitter competition. Do you compete in your family? Your local church? Your neighbourhood? Outstanding human performances result from a deep personal inspiration to be exceptional. It’s a drive from within, not an externally motivated obsession, that leads to world-best practice.

When it comes to the TEST itself, websites full of comparative data are based on the fragile premise that the competition will somehow challenge schools to do more. So what’s that indicating? That they’re not presently doing as well as possible? This is another professional embarrassment on the part of all concerned. The Educatus want the best for their students, full stop. They’re already doing whatever they can to help students to reach those high standards. Setting up artificial competition between schools doesn’t inspire them to do more. Replace the fear factor with the peer factor.

The 6^th LAW. Focus on the heart as well as the mind.

We learn everything off by heart. For the brain to be engaged, an emotional connection must be made with the learning. Literacy rates might rise during strict instruction, but rates of reading for pleasure can sometimes fall. Remember that we’re meant to be developing a love of learning in our Offspring, and not just creating a set of numbers that have the Media Circus lauding education systems for advancing by some miniscule measurement over a two-year period. Build the Inspiration Factor, the heart, into every lesson every day for the Offspring. And this is why we need the best, the brightest and the most inspiring of adults to be the Educatus. Because they model that inspiration.

The 7^th LAW. It’s not EITHER / OR. It’s BOTH / AND.

Too often, we feel compelled to choose between work and play, or inquiry and memorization, or phonics and whole language. Yet, powerful choices often pay respect to both sides of the process, and align them to the benefit of all. Pity the poor school or system that decrees that they must choose between endless prep for the TEST; OR a comprehensive development of creativity, initiative and love of learning in the Offspring. It’s not an Either / Or. It must be a Both / And. If you’re professional enough, you can generate a strong degree of initiative and creativity, while still respecting the need for explicit TEST skills development.

The 8^th LAW. To measure the quality of a school, look for deeper authentic criteria.

You might measure your bank account, or the length of your index finger, with a clearly defined number. Schools are not that simple. And it’s not good enough to dismiss this perspective by saying that this is just our starting point with the online recording of data, and that later on, we’ll improve it further. It’s just the wrong approach, right from the start. TEST data is only a small part of the big picture. We must take into account other authentic data such as: whether the kids want to be there; whether the school contributes to the social fabric of the local community; whether parents will stick up for the school at a Saturday night party. The world is consumed by the endless simplification of issues that are invariably much more complex. This simplification fails to pay respect to the depth and substance that contributes to a sensational school.

The 9^th LAW. Focus on Second Decade skillsets.

It’s a whole new world out there, and while the 3Rs will always be critical, there are other very important skills that are worth learning. Skills such as: cybercitizenship (being able to participate effectively in an online environment); emotional intelligence (being able to self-regulate one’s emotional state when working with others); and philanthropic endeavour (being able to contribute to a better community with your personal and team actions). In this Second Decade, these skills will be vital if we want our Offspring to make a worthwhile contribution to our societies. Beware any system that reverts to simplistic 19^th Century skills only.

The 10^th LAW. When using the data from the TEST, make a decision that is based upon our own country’s culture, and not some other culture.

While we can learn from other high-achieving systems and countries, we always must be careful about duplicating what they do. There are some countries that are barely democracies, and others that have a lifetime obsession with single scores. That’s their choice. Do we want to make those same choices about our lifestyle? We might end up carbon-copying the eating habits, the movies and the language of other countries. It doesn’t mean that we also have to take what they do with school data, and simply transpose it to here. We’re just different. Think about our egalitarian nature, and the community spirit that drives our best endeavours, Then make use of those strengths to create sensational schooling systems.

The 11^th Law. It’s not about the great god Economy. It’s about our children and their love of learning.

The TEST must never be solely about preparing young people for a life of economic subservience. A world that is dominated by wealth and power has nearly destroyed us. Track deeper, and realize that TESTS such as this are simply an effective way of helping students to improve in some very worthwhile learning skills. Believe it nor not, there are even more important issues at state: We want our Offspring to be safe, to feel valued, to love their learning, and especially, to believe that their world up ahead will be one in which it is worth living. And that will be determined by the choices we make with them today. Let’s get going.

For those who weren’t lucky enough to be at this Forum, here are some links and bits of info:

DAY ONE:

* Canadian Michael Furdyk (pictured) was deeply impressive. He’s a Gen Y, and has accomplished more than many others who are significantly more advanced in years. Why is it that certain gifted individuals manage to achieve in this way?? More on Michael here at http://www.furdyk.com/ For me, his most impressive work has been with Taking IT Global. Possibly the most advanced social justice site on the planet. At http://www.tigweb.org/

* For a scientist (and specifically a nanotechnologist) Dr Kristin Alford explored some alluring and insightful concepts. One was that of the Presencing Institute, and Otto Scharmer’s U-Theory concept. If you’re easily inspired by near-future human possibilities, it’s worth having a look at http://www.presencing.com/

* Greg Gebhart is an excellent speaker. First met him at the U-Learn conference in Christchurch in 08. He was third up on Day 1 of this B’bane session, and is the lead consultant with the Aussie Govt’s CyberSafe program.  Have a look at http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/ Greg placed some of his conference material at http://www.itvision.net.au/isq.htm Lots of great resources.

DAY TWO.

* Aucklander Graham Hart was a magic example of someone who lives in the creative spirit. His contribution to the Lonely Dog concept just captivated the audience. Ponder this for a moment. With his colleagues, he has developed a book worth $60,000. And they’ve sold 70 of them! I lingered through the example that he had brought with him; and I must admit, it was a deeply impressive work of art!

* Next up was the principal of Crescent Girls School in Singapore. Eugenia Lim is quite obviously a high achiever, and has contributed a significant degree to her country’s advancement in recent times. I worked in Singapore last November, and was fascinated by the country’s perspective on creativity. Very logical-sequential, and yet highly effective.

* Sydney-sider Nigel Collin was your classic end-of-conference high energy keynoter. I actually referred to him as Mr Berocca. Download some of his articles, and you’ll see that he has some upfront ideas about creative practice. The short video that was developed by his young son was priceless, and demonstrated that creative capacity can begin at a very early stage.

If you’re into student-centred learning, you’re going to love this. I picked this up from Morgan Daly at http://twitter.com/urbangrind Indian teacher Kiran Bir Sethi decided to develop a school that focused on the expression ‘I Can’. This goes for 9 mins, and it’s worth every second. Watch for the world’s first child-friendly Zebra crossing.

Trying to sort through the media scrum in their reporting of this disaster is always problematic, yet it’s pretty obvious that the magnitude of this event is as momentous as any that has occurred in the past fifty years on Earth.

And so, we each have a choice. We can express our sympathies at the next coffee club meeting, and roll our eyes at the misery being faced by so many of our fellow citizens (and they are our fellow citizens. They’re just in another country. Which happens to be on the same planet).

Or, we can each really do something about this.

So here’s at least one thing you can do. If you’re reading this, then you’re probably involved in education. If you are, then get involved in the School Aid appeal. School Aid have teamed up with Plan Australia and Save the Children to launch a co-ordinated appeal to all school students. A guaranteed 90% of all funds raised will be directly spent on the kids who are still alive in Haiti. If you encourage your students to raise funds for this cause, it will essentially be a case of Kids Helping Kids. And that’s just the sort of world we all want to see being created up ahead.

When a disaster of this magnitude occurs, it’s obvious that the world must unite for the one cause, and provide the support that is so necessary. If you’re socially just, you’ll appreciate the worth of this sentiment.

Get your students involved. It’s good for them; and it’s good for the planet. At the very least, it might go a small way towards helping lots of kids who desperately need it right now.

I remember reading some research indicating that the school office would be sent the most number of ‘troublemakers’ from classrooms in the 2nd last week of any term. And even moreso in the 2nd last week of the year.

Why not the last week, I thought to myself? And yet it probably makes a lot of sense. Somehow, when the end is nigh in that final week, we tend to summon up our last reserves of resilience, and cope with everything as well as possible. As well, kids will remember the last few things that were said and done, and so, we’d obviously prefer those memories to be more positive.

This following narrative has application at any time of the year; and yet I suspect that it applies even more directly to this specific time. Goes like this:

A teacher was once talking with her class, and told them about the two monsters that were always fighting inside their heads.

“So what are the two monsters?” asked one student.

“Well, one of them always looks for the best in your life, and encourages you to think about what is going well in the world around you.”

“And the other?”

“ Ah, well, that’s the monster that always looks for the worst in your life, and hassles you to think about what is going badly in the world around you.”

One student asked: “So which one wins?”

And the teacher responded: ‘The one that you feed.”

If you’re into outright spectacle, not much beats the grandeur of their conference dinner. Here up above is my rather ethereal IPhone snap of the Enya impersonator (and a very impressive one) who provided some of the entertainment.

As part of my ULearn contribution, I’m now going to offer to you The Ten Laws Of ULearn-ing (well… from my perspective, anyway). While you’re welcome to adapt these to your own conference / session / talkfest anywhere in the world, I have specifically drawn these up for the magic that is ULearn.

So here we go with the Ten Laws:

1. The Law Of Frivolity. You’re a teacher. You have to know how to play (or, I sure hope you do). And ULearn gives you endless frivolous opportunities. The conference dinner (see above), the entertaining sessions, the one-off conversations with interesting people.  Call it whatever you like. Fun. Zest. Excitement. Play.  It’s all there; and it makes for a fantastic three days.

2. The Law Of Insight. Insight has to come before information. The knowledge that you can gather at ULearn is quality stuff. Yet what’s even more important is that you are challenged to develop deeper insights about that info. It’s when you say to yourself: “…..Aha…so that’s how it could work for me.” It’s the insights that will enhance and reform your practice. You get lots at ULearn. I had several powerful ones this year.

3. The Law Of Chronology. You save time by attending ULearn. Wha..? How the heck can you save time when you’ve actually given up 3 days of your holidays to be there? Well, that’s the rub. Where else would you find all of this knowledge (and insights) packed into just 3 days? It would take you months to compile it all by yourself.

4. The Law Of Andragogy. Yeah…OK. It’s a big word. Live with it. It refers to adult learning (as compared to pedagogy ie child learning). It’s critical that you do lots of it. And it’s what you do when you attend a top conference. You Learn (….U Learn?!). But I’m talking about having a lust for that learning. And I mean a lust. If you don’t, then you’re a hypocrite if you’re hanging in on teaching. You have to model that learning desire to kids everywhere. And ULearn is packed with lustful learners (Hmmm… maybe I need to express that some other way!!)

5. The Law Of Community. If you could scroll through all of the attendees, you’d find people who could give you the answers to any professional question you’d ever need to ask. So just ask around, and create a learning community. It might end up just being a 5-min learning community; or a lifetime one.  It’s the new time management. Find someone else who’s already done it, and pick their brains. It saves you having to search for it yourself. You can create these immediate learning communities at breakfast; in the lift; on the dance floor; on a bus ride. ULearn is packed with people who want to share. Get 2gether with them.

6. The Law Of Twitter. Or whatever other online networking environment that takes your fancy during and after ULearn. The point is, it just makes life easier when you network online. Oh yes it does. If you’re still lamenting about and longing for the good ol’ days when everyone just talked to each other in real life, then you may need to get over it. Just take the plunge, and you’ll see how easy it is to source ideas when you need them. It’s what we call Collective Intelligence; and it’s very important that you align with that global intellect.

7. The Law Of The Young. ULearn strongly involves students all through the conference, and because they are the focus of our work, we must pay deep respect to their needs and their future. As well as being super-helpful to the attendees, these young people are a constant reminder of what teaching is all about. And that is: To create inspiring learning experiences for them!

8. The Law Of Consumption. I don’t care what anyone says. If a conference serves up stale sandwiches with spray-on chicken, it’s missed the opportunity to be sensational. The ULearn food is first class. As is the mind food; and the soul food.

9. The Law Of Adulation. For the organisers, that is. Core Education do a brilliant job with this conference. I assure you that the hours stretch endlessly into the distance when they’re getting it altogether. Just bow deferentially the next time you walk past one of them. And it’s the same for anyone who devotes so much professional energy and time to co-ordinating these events. They deserve adulation, because their efforts support quality professional learning for you.

10. The Law Of Returns. Savour your return upon the following year. Expectation is good for the heart and soul. Just looking forward to something is magic in itself. It has deep spirit to it. As you savour that next ULearn experience, keep thinking: which speaker will inspire me to lifechanging action? Which genius will I meet on the bus? What’s the strangest outfit that someone will wear to the dinner? Looking ahead also challenges you to ponder: What will I accomplish between now and then? Now there’s a thought! What will you create between now and then?!!!

Let me build up to this.

Ever heard of ‘best practice’? Who hasn’t? It tends to go along with ‘raising the bar’. Whatever that means. Probably refers to the fact that you’re working so damn hard that you need to drink even more to cope with it all.

World-best practice? There’s nothing inherently wrong with this concept. If you want to develop practice that is of astonishingly high quality, then this is a good thing. It’s just that the term gets bandied around so much these days, and it’s then difficult to know what it really means.

Some advances on ‘best’? Have you ever heard of Next Practice? Best is now, Next is whatever will be the best up ahead. Has been championed by the Innovation Unit in the UK, although first proposed by C K Prahalad, author of The New Age Of Innovation. Here’s a succinct comparison:

Derek Wenmoth over in NZ has mentioned this in an earlier blog as well. A good summation on Next Practice here from Derek.

Just for the heck of it…. I’d like to propose a further advance on Best and Next. Let’s refer to it as Zest Practice. Why Zest? For starters, it rhymes with best and next. It also indicates that it will focus on spice and energy… which is surely what education needs to be about.

Zest also has intimations of Zen. Given the relentless pace that too many people experience in their lives, they’ll all need a touch of deep spirit and revitalisation if they’re going to thrive through the next five years.

Some key points about Zest Practice??

* It would compel people to turn up. They would want to be there, because they would experience inspiration through the experience. Zest Practice would become a lodestone, a magnet, for inspiring practice.

* It would be provocative to the established order. Until it became the accepted way of doing things, Zest Practice would be considered as too risky by the mainstream.

* It would be based upon deep inquiry. A challenge would exist, and the process of resolving that challenge would necessitate an ongoing model of exploration and inquiry.

* Zest Practice would require a co-evolving learning environment. Learning 2gether, participants would adapt according to the flow of learning that occurred throughout the experience

* Zest Practice would lose sight of the shore. It would be uncomfortable and unsettling, because it would not yet be a practiced part of your everyday routines.

* Zest Practice would require, and indeed, would encourage, a deeper regenerative energy. Too many of our present global structures (including most educational bodies) consume energy, and exhaust their participants. A Zestful approach would regenerate your energy because of your inspiration for accomplishing the experience.

Three questions for you:

Q. Where do you presently engage in Zest Practice?

Q. Where could you engage in Zest Practice?

Q. Where will you engage in Zest Practice?

Perhaps it’s a matter of context. If nothing else nearby is a stand-out, then perhaps they are. At least, according to them.

I recently visited a Year 9 to 13 public school called Unlimited. Can be found in Christchurch NZ. Really worth a closer look. This is their foyer in the picture. Would have to admit, at least from my perspective, they’re innovative. Especially for a secondary environment. Cruise the site, and you’ll see what I mean.

I’m facilitating a session on ‘Innovative Teachers’ at the U-Learn conference in ChCh (that’s Christchurch, just in case you were wondering) in a couple of weeks, and so I’ve been doing some thinking on what to offer. Does this mean that I’ll have to make the session innovative in itself?? A bit hypocritical if it isn’t, I suppose. whew.

So for now, I’m sorting through a few examples of what might constitute ‘innovation’.

Is this innovative (Take One)?

The 2009 Open Architecture Challenge for Classrooms. Some fantastic designs here. However, I sometimes wonder just how much the pedagogy alters as a result of the new building. Basically, it too often doesn’t… unless the teachers adjust their paradigms. Which is what troubles some of us in Aussie with our BER (Building Education Revolution). Megabucks spent on new halls and classrooms (which, of course, is fantastic in itself), yet there’s no guarantee that the learning itself will be accentuated.

Is this innovative (Take Two)?

What about Plastic Logic?? There are now a number of e-Readers on the market. They’re sure going to mess up the textbook industry!! Here’s a 90-sec take on their use.

Is this innovative (Take Three)?

Had the pleasure of walking through a Leonardo da Vinci ‘machines exhibition’ on the weekend in Brisbane. Whatever innovative means, this guy was IT. How did he develop this stuff 500 years ago? Perhaps one of his most famous inventions was the aerial screw. The precursor to the helicopter. In his designs, Leonardo determined that it would be powered in one of two ways:

1. By four men who would push levers as they ran around the base; or

2. By means of a rope that was quickly unravelled from around the axle.

By those means, it never would have flown. However, with a stronger means of propulsion, it indeed would have taken off.

And finally (for now), is this innovative (Take Four)?!!

Is it ever! Google Wave will become one of the most powerful means of personal communication on the planet by mid-2010. Just imagine email mixed with FaceBook mixed with Flickr mixed with Google Translate.

Ponder this. You could be writing a message to 10 different people around the planet. As you write, they can read your text live. Not only that, those 10 people could be from 8 different countries. No issue if they speak and read and write in a different language. Google Translate will instantly translate it for them. And when they reply in their language, it will immediately be translated back into English for you.

More at http://wave.google.com/ The video goes for 80 mins. However, you can get a fair sense of it in the 1st 8 mins or so. As you watch, ponder what you’ll be able to do with this!