Hope

In, perhaps, my darkest hours many years back, I remember that I joint Nature Society and began attending birdwatching sessions organized by them. It was calming to hear the birds singing at the dawn of a day and flying gracefully and freely in the sky. It was refreshing to be amongst enthusiasts; fascinated by the beauty of the birds and the pursuit to ensure that birds continue to have a place on this world that we share. 


Amongst nature, I seem so small and my problems almost insignificant. Nature always has a healing effect. Birds always give us hope. Maybe we can find some answers in this poem by Emily Dickinson:

Hope     

Hope is the thing with feathers 

That perches in the soul, 

And sings the tune--without the words, 

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard; 

And sore must be the storm 

That could abash the little bird 

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land, 

And on the strangest sea; 

Yet, never, in extremity, 

It asked a crumb of me.

Perhaps, for those in need, in trouble, in pain; what is needed is hope. May be for those of us who can, we need to plant hope, create hope, grow hope; for those who need them. Do it silently, for hope will sing. You need no credit for having done something good. 

Fear can hope you prisoner, but Hope will set you free --- From the movie "Shawshank Redemption"

Chris

Learning from Reflection

In the first lesson, together with Dr. Kelvin Tan, we co-constructed the meaning of reflection. Each one of us was asked to use a word to describe what reflection meant to us. It seemed quite easy but when I actually tried to, I found myself caged in my limited vocabulary. But as the list of words multiplied, we discovered that each one of us came up with a unique word. There were no repeats. Of course, even though Dr Tan mentioned that we could choose words that were already on the board, we felt it necessary to be different from the rest. That’s human nature. The list included the following: Lighthouse, Exploration (Mine), Insights, Soul, Introspection, Mirror, Me, Think, Self-awareness, Perception, Inward, Discovery, Analyze and Elusive (Dr Tan’s). I was thinking about this activity and thought that it was like a mass reflection attempt on reflection. May be one way to aid in reflection is to list out all the possible meanings of what you are going to reflect on and then make use of the list to prompt deeper reflection.

We were then asked to discuss the following questions. What impedes reflection? What enhances reflection? What is a good reflection? What is a poor reflection? Answers were elicited from us and the converse of each answer was also thought of. For example, mere recount was listed as a poor reflection. So the converse which constituted good reflection has to be beyond “mere recount”. This gave us a heightened awareness of what constitutes good or bad reflection. No straight answers were provided but I thought there were hints. Language seemed to be one tool we could use to help us to reflect. Each time we came up with a phrase, Dr Tan would try to use language to find the converse of it. We use adjectives to qualify our statements. We constructed a seemingly comprehensive understanding of reflection. It was metacognition. As a big group it was as if we were doing a collective reflection on reflection with Dr Tan facilitating it.

When we talked about the things that enhances reflection, a list of three in order of difficulty were displayed; Metaphors, Parables and Anecdotes. Then I read palmer's leading from within. In it, Palmer gave an annecdotal parable to illustrate the point that "when you can't get out of it, get into it." I think a parable should be more difficult to write than an anecdote. May be the order should be Metaphors, Anecdotes and Parables. May be it does not matter what the order is.

What is a good reflection? Can there ever be a definite answer? A good Science experiment based on sound principles can be repeated by another to obtain the same results. Will a perceived good reflection by one be able to elicit similar response from others? Are there principles that govern or help us to distinguish the good from the bad? There seem to be certain broad criteria that allows us to do that.

I am very much interested in the effect multiple contexts have on reflection. Is a reflection enhanced or compromised by the existence of multiple audiences that the reflector write for? Writing always serve a purpose. Reflection writing seems to serve the purpose of refining our thoughts. There is at least one presupposed audience in any reflection. Myself. How would it be different when we reflect for ourselves and when we reflect with other audiences in mind? What is the balance between a reflection that is politically correct or naively truthful? Is it possible to reflect for the public without compromising the true value of reflection? I believe it is possible. But I am still searching for a better answer. May be what I need is a better question.

Chris

Powerful beyond Imagination

In a speech in 1990, Parker J. Palmer spoke of the importance for leaders to lead from within. According to him, we co-create the world that we live in by projecting our spirit of hope or despair. He spoke of the need for leaders to project their light instead of their shadows.

I am a firm believer that everything we do affect others. I am acutely aware of the interconnectedness of everything in this world. I believe that we always have a choice over the kind of world we want to live in. Ghandi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” If you want the world to be a caring place, be a caring person. If you want a gracious society, you must be a gracious person first. We are not powerless. Every little thing we do can influence others.

Leaders, especially, are powerful because they have the power to create conditions of light or shadows under which others must dwell in. One of these shadows that I can relate to is the perception that life is a battleground. This perception has led to a commitment to competition. In education, we see this perception reflected in the classroom where children try to outdo each other to be the top student. We see this perception reflected in the staff room where teachers compete to be ranked higher than their colleagues. We see this perception reflected in the cluster where schools compete to win the most number of awards. If we allow the shadow to prevail, these may well be what we will see. But we are powerful beyond imagination and can prevent these from actually happening.

As a leader, I have the power to project the converse, the light that the universe is working together for good. I can create a classroom where cooperation is emphasized and put in structures to encourage the consensual, cooperative and communal way. This light could be amplified to shine in other areas where human interaction takes place. It could become so bright that it would ignite the light within everyone of us.

Chris

The Skills of a good Coach

“Every child can learn and would want to learn.” That is my school’s philosophy. “Everyone can learn and need to learn.” This is my faith in our species’ survival instinct. Learning is a need, a basic need. It is a desire of the human race to make sense, to understand, to comprehend. This basic need drives us to learn and we are intrinsically motivated to do so. From the moment we enter this world, we begin to satisfy this need. We are curious about everything that happens around us. I am here writing and reflecting not just because I choose to learn but also because I need to learn, I want to learn. I believe that I can learn anything I choose to, including being a good coach.

In my life thus far, good teachers have always played important roles at turning points of my life. When I was in secondary two, I had a Mathematics teacher, Mr Toh Ah Tee. He was a traditional teacher whose method of teaching was, by today’s standard, archaic. He used only one pedagogy, chalk-and-talk. Because of his strict insistence on a systematic way to solve Mathematical problems and a belief in his students’ ability to solve them, I began to understand and excel in Mathematics. .I also become a very good problem solver in other areas of my life. He was a traditional coach and not a GROW ME coach. Even then, he was able to bring out my intrinsic motivation to learn through his passion for the subject and the sincerity in his teaching.

In Junior College, a Caucasian GP teacher, whose name I have forgotten, provided a conducive environment for dialogues to take place. He was always challenging us with thought provoking questions. I was still very much a problem solver but through him, I learnt how to ask questions and not just offer solutions. Today, I am still very much a problem solver but I like to ask questions. This problem solver role reminds me of the main character in the book “Change your questions, change your life” by Marilee Adams. He prided himself as the problem solver and it was precisely this role that was getting him into trouble. As a coach we can help to change people’s life by prompting them with learner questions such as What do you want? What happened? What’s useful here? What can you learn? What are you responsible for? What’s possible? What are your choices? To be a good coach, we should avoid judger questions such as Why are you such a failure? Why are you so stupid? What’s wrong with you?

My daughter enjoys talking to the toys on her rocker. Each time we fix the toys on for her to play, she would engage the toys in long conversation (incomprehensible to us of course). We don’t get the same kind of attention and response when we speak to her. The toys can’t talk. May be that’s why she is able to say more. The toys “listen” and give my daughter her full attention when she speaks. May be my daughter is trying to teach me to talk less and listen more, a key skill of a coach. A coach needs to listen with his heart and mind. He must suspend judgement so that the learner has the opportunity to articulate his or her ideas. A sculpture outside the UOB building aptly summarised it. The sculpture, Homage to Newton by Salvador Dali showed Newton with an apple falling from his right hand. He has an open torso with a suspended heart and an open head. A coach should listen with an open heart and an open mind, like Newton.

A good coach also needs to respect the learner’s ability to learn. He should not carry the learner’s monkeys. Learners are totally capable of carrying their own monkeys. The coach must genuinely respect the learner as an individual and through his body language conveys that respect for others. Feedback, especially negative feedback is not always easy to give but when it is given with respect and both the coach and the learner have been investing in the quality of their relationship, feedback becomes a sincere evaluation.

Chris

Whistling the Fish Philospohy

Have you ever whistle while you work? If you know how to whistle, try it sometime at work. You don’t have to do it in front of your students. You can always do that in the comfort of your cubicle while you deal with the many piles of work waiting for you to clear. You will find that whistling is a great way to relieve tension. It is almost as if the tension built up is blown out of your body as you whistle. As you whistle while you work, you may find yourself actually enjoying some of the mundane things you have to do. Don’t let the strange eyes of those around you stop you from doing that. You have a right to whistle (as long as it doesn’t sound irritating) and a right to enjoy your work.

I learnt that you may not always have a choice over the work given to you but you can always choose your response to it. I learnt this from two different sources. One was from a video about the success of Seattle’s Pike Place Fish market. The other came from Steven Covey. I think the effect is most powerful if you read the original three sentences from Steven Covey’s The 8th Habit:
Between stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response.
In those choices lie our growth and happiness.

The stimulus could be the dreary work assigned to you. You can choose to respond to that dreary work by allowing yourself to dread it or you can decide to choose a more positive response and whistle while you enjoy work. In the words of “Fish!”: We can choose the attitude we bring to our work. So, according to the fish philosophy, the first ingredient to an energy-filled workplace is to Choose Your Attitude. When I choose a positive attitude towards work, I am choosing an upbeat tune to whistle while I work. When I choose a positive attitude towards work, I am choosing to enjoy my work.

According to the fishmongers, the second ingredient of an energy-filled workplace is to PLAY! The fishmongers of Seattle’s Pike Place Fish market play by throwing fish , by making jokes at each other and the customers, by calling out orders and repeating the calls in a fun way. Last Sunday, in Top Shop at Suntec City, I witnessed the second ingredient. The two cashiers serving me pretended to be the hosts of a game show. As I paid for my goods and received a scratch card (It was the holiday season.), the cashier suddenly spun the sunglasses rack and made some sound effects “tart, tart, tart”, almost as if he was spinning the “wheel of fortune.” Then they announced my prize (which was just a $10 voucher) in unison and took turns to comment on how good the prize was and clapped. My wife and I could not help but smiled as we left the shop. It was an enjoyable shopping experience. They had made our day. That is the third ingredient, Make Their Day. It is not too difficult to replicate that same element of fun in the school. It is much easier to do in the classroom than to do it in the staff room but it can be done. As long as there is intent, it can be accomplished. I remembered someone once left a small model of a dinosaur near the entrance of the staff room which ignited creative energies within the staff room. Teachers started to add ornaments to the dinosaur. The dinosaur even carried different signboards with different signs from time to time. Each time we entered the staff room, we were surprised by the transformation of the dinosaur. It provided a necessary relief from the demands of our work. Later, someone commanded it to be removed.

The last ingredient is “Be Present”, which means to show consideration for another person. To be present is to give undivided attention to the person concerned. I must try to be present especially when I am with my family. I remembered many occasions when my wife was talking to me and I was distracted by television programmes. I wasn’t being present and therefore missed many parts of what she said. And when she looked at me for my reply I would go “huh?”. I wasn’t present even though I was there.

I haven’t whistle for a long time. It’s time to whistle the fish philosophy and bring more joy to myself and everyone near me.

Chris

The journey of GROW ME.

When I first became a supervisor and had supervisees under my charge, I was ill-equipped to coach them. In my desperation, I referred to a book I was reading. The book was “The 8th habit” by Steven Covey. I adopted a framework from the book to start my first target setting sessions with my supervisees. I believe (I still do) that, as a coach, I should be inspiring them to find their voice, that unique, personal significance that will intrinsically drive them to do their best.

When a person is doing something she is passionate about, something she has a talent for, something that satisfies a need in an organization (the bigger organization is society itself) and that something is morally right, she has found her voice. When a person has found her voice or calling, she has found meaning in life. Motivation becomes intrinsic. Work becomes play and play becomes work. That is the ideal situation. I believe teaching is a calling. When people ask me why I “switched” from a seemingly glamourous job in the media to a seemingly unglamourous job as a teacher, I always tell them about the need for a job with regular working hours that a job in the media could not offer. That was the partial truth. I was initially quite reluctant to admit that I was also in large part drawn into the teaching fraternity by the vision of TSLN, Thinking Schools, Learning Nation.

The day I saw these four words was the day I had a glimpse of a vision I could not forget. Something within pulled. Something within called. I have always enjoyed learning (anything). I am a believer that learning is a journey with no end. Learning and helping others to learn is a duty of every human being to ensure the survival of a civilization. A civilization that ceases to learn is a dying one.

Many teachers I know share (not always as clearly) similar visions. Many teachers I know also find their voice in teaching. They are driven by a passion to teach. But they, including myself still struggle to perform, to excel. Personally, I feel that GROW ME is a plea by each individual to help them improve their performance. GROW ME is also a simple enough process to understand and help them achieve that. Let me attempt to use a metaphor to explain and consolidate the concept of GROW ME.
It is like travelling to a destination. Goals and Realities come hand in hand. First you must know where you are travelling from and where your destination is? It is only when you know where you are then can you navigate to where you want to go. The destination should not be too far, unless you are flying by plane for if it is too long, you may become distracted and lose your focus. As a coach, even when your learners set lofty goal/s, it is possible to guide them into setting short term milestones goals to help them eventually achieve the lofty goal/s. Sometimes when we are in a hurry, it is very easy to lose our focus amongst the hustle bustle of every day living. The coach plays an important role to help teachers become focussed by assisting them in the setting of realistic and challenging goals. The learner must decide for himself the goals. He must have the discipline of personal mastery to bridge the gap between his vision and his current realities.

Options and Will come hand in hand too. The next step for the traveller is to find out more about the routes available. Should he take an MRT or a bus or a Cab or should he drive? The traveller must explore all possible routes available for him to reach the destination. Then he must decide on the route and mode of transport to his destination. The learner should look and find out more about options available. Then he must make a well-informed choice and have the discipline to come up with a plan and follow through with it to achieve his goal.

If the traveller decides to travel via MRT, he may look out of the window from time to time or he may check at each station to ensure that he is on the right track. That is monitoring. A coach helps the learner to monitor his progress through reviewing the steps of GROW ME again based on the agreed upon goals and targets set.

At the end of the journey, the traveler finally reached his destination and reward himself with a good meal for achieving the goal of reaching his destination ahead of time. At the end of the timeframe of the target set, the coach asks the learner questions to help him evaluate. These questions could include: Have I achieved my goals and targets? If so, what can I do now? What are my new targets?

With GROW ME, I can help others to be globe trotters.

Chris

P.S. GROW ME is a model to guide coaches and learners through the coaching process.

G=Goal: Setting of targets

R=Reality: Analysis of current situation

O=Options: Consideration of the possible actions

W=What's next or Will: Determination of the action plan

M=Monitoring: Checking of the progress

E=Evaluation: Review of learning and performance

For a more thorough understanding of GROW ME model please read:

Ng, P.T. (2005). GROW ME! Coaching for Schools. Singapore: Prentice Hall

Teacher as Leader - implications for teacher development

Teaching is my second career. My first was in the media. I was an associate producer (AP) in the Channel 8 Variety Division of the then Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS). One major difference between these two careers was accountability. As an AP, I was accountable to the producer, the production coordinator and the executive producer of each programme. My customers were the viewers whom I was not directly accountable to. As a teacher, I am directly accountable to my pupils who are also my most immediate customers. As a teacher, I am responsible for the growth of thirty to forty young minds in my class. Usually, they have no matured standard in which to evaluate me. In a way, I am accountable to myself. I alone can decide the amount of planning, preparation and the array of activities I could orchestrate to engage my pupils in the classroom. I am a leader in the classroom.

In every classroom, a teacher is a leader. She decides on the pedagogy to develop her pupils learning. She sets goals in collaboration with the pupils. She communicates expectations to pupils and provides the rules and procedures to ensure the smooth flow of activities in the classroom. She has to react and adjusts her approach to changing conditions in the classroom. Gone are the days when teachers merely follow scripts to conduct lessons! The modern teacher has to be a leader. The skills and dispositions required for teaching now are also required for leadership.

The modern teacher’s roles go beyond the classroom. She is actively involved in curriculum building and assessment strategies. She has to use evidence and data in decision making. She is also a co-supervisor to her peers. Her supervisor is her collaborator in helping her to improve her performance. She creates new knowledge about teaching and learning. She works in a community of fellow teacher leaders. She may have to mobilize people around a common purpose.

The training models of teacher development could no longer be the primary model for teacher development. The training models still has its place to address deficit in teachers’ knowledge or to improve teachers’ skills in an area.

However, to enable teachers to teach for understanding, to develop student thinking and to promote generative knowledge (knowledge that can be used to create new knowledge), the professional development models of teacher development may be more effective. Professional Development approaches emphasize inquiry, problem solving and action research. In this model, teachers are provided with a rich environment of teaching materials, media, books and other learning objects, and are encouraged to interact with these resources and other teachers to enhance their learning.

In their roles as teacher leaders, teachers must be responsible for their own improvement. While both training and professional development models both help teachers to improve their practice, the renewal models of teacher development empower teachers to improve themselves. The emphasis in renewal models is on building a caring community by encouraging teachers to reflect and to engage in conversations with a community of learners.

In DDM, all three models of teacher development are used although more attention seems to be given to the professional development and renewal models. I would even boldly say that the renewal models seem to be more deliberately use than the other two. That’s why we are writing reflections. In Blangah Rise Primary, we are trying to giving a little more emphasis to the renewal models of teacher development. The introduction of PD time within curriculum is an attempt to build a caring community of learners that engage in conversations to support each other. Reflection writing is an attempt to encourage teachers to reflect (although writing reflection does not always mean you are reflecting). These attempts recognize teachers as leaders. As a leader, you must constantly reflect and work with your peers (fellow teachers) for the benefit of your customers (students).

Chris