Pete (@mr_van_w) tries to view NAPLAN from the perspective of parents. They went to a school so they are experts after all.

John (@jfcatto) discusses how important it is for teachers to display their values and love of learning through actions and what the prioritise rather than empty rhetoric a piles of busy work. 

'Not without a fight': The radical plan to overhaul NAPLAN - Jordan Baker

https://www.smh.com.au/education/not-without-a-fight-parents-reject-plan-to-revamp-naplan-20190320-p515ve.html

Schools as Places of Joy: We Are Responsible For the Cultures That We Create - Mike Crowley (@crowley_mike)

https://crowleym.com/2018/11/18/schools-as-places-of-joy-we-are-responsible-for-the-cultures-that-we-create/

This week Pete (@mr_van_w) delves into why we should take no notice of the demonisation of technology in the media and the flawed/misreported Science that leads to it.

John (@jfcatto) considers the introverts in the class and how we should stop hassling them to fit our "participation" expectations and think of more flexible measures of "engagement".

References

Flipped 3.0 Problem Based Learning - Dan Jones (@ideasforteacher)

https://flippedtrainer.weebly.com/ 

The Kids (Who Use Tech) Seem to Be Alright - Lydia Denworth

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-kids-who-use-tech-seem-to-be-all-right/ 

The TeachThought Podcast - Jared Cooney Horvath

https://www.teachthought.com/podcast/the-teachthought-podcast-ep-159-the-science-of-deeper-learning-and-why-were-not-doing-more-of-it/ 

How to teach and young introvert - Kate Torgovnik May

https://ideas.ted.com/how-to-teach-a-young-introvert/ 

Susan Cain's TED Talk - The Power of Introverts

https://youtu.be/c0KYU2j0TM4 

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking 

https://youtu.be/zNYPKkx1bhs 

This week Pete (@mr_van_w) urges us to see our students as more than just data points and dollar signs. Then a straight white male (@jfcatto) talks at us about how to deal with teenage girls when they are being cray cray.  

Articles

Pete: Are You Data-Driven? - Tonya Gilchrist 

https://tonyagilchrist.com/are-you-data-driven/ 

John: How to Help Teenage Girls Reframe Anxiety and Strengthen Resilience - Deborah Farmer Kris 

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/52994/how-to-help-teenage-girls-reframe-anxiety-and-strengthen-resilience 

This week Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto) walk into a podcast with no preparation and manage to waffle on for 40ish minutes about a PD lecture that the school put on this week. After which a staff member was overheard saying "that was less of a waste of my life than I expected". 

PD: The Learning Trajectory - Dr Jared Horvath

https://www.scienceoflearning.com.au/ 

Welcome to 2019. Hopefully things are different here. Pete has hard a "hard reset" and John is... present. Pete (@mr_van_w) is upset by how much language effects the way we relate to each other. John (@jfcatto) argues the perhaps pedantic difference between politics and civics.

Articles

Pete: Teachers should 'see the child, not the label' - expert - Brett Henebery

https://www.theeducatoronline.com/au/news/teachers-should-see-the-child-not-the-label--expert/259543 

John: Education is Not Activism - Michael Salter @mikesalter74 

https://pocketquintilian.wordpress.com/2019/01/12/education-is-not-activism/ 

In the last Podcast of the year Pete (@mr_van_w) covers fro John (@jfcatto) so he can record a chat with returning friend of the show Rich Watkins (@cambourne26) and new guest Myrri Fatai. 

They discuss their roles as two of the school's three E-Learning Leaders. The ups, the downs and future of ELL support.

Once again, thank you to the school and these three amazing people for the difference they are making to students learning. 

Merry Christmas. Enjoy you Pudd.

https://youtu.be/Z8mt9Ogzi_Y 

This week Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto) are joined by returning guests Tom and Matt (@smedboule). They discuss the HSC, IB and UK models of schooling and when and where Living Skills should be taught to students.

The big question: Are we able to approach Living Skills from a position of privilege, where we can assume that students are to be taught these skills from their parents?

Articles:

I got a 99 ATAR but I got a lousy education - Alana Leabeater

https://www.smh.com.au/national/i-got-a-99-atar-but-i-had-a-lousy-education-20181123-p50hwo.html

Hey millennials, it's not your school's job to teach you life skills - Karen Hardy

https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/hey-millennials-it-s-not-your-school-s-job-to-teach-you-life-skills-20181128-p50ivu.html

If you want to know more about what Tom is doing....

https://www.instagram.com/tree_kws/

https://theregionalengagemententerprise.com/     

Pete (@mr_van_w) raises a few educational issues in the media at the moment. In particular the mapping of NAPLAN results in Sydney and kids being addicted to their phones. John (@jfcatto) then looks at some of the different teaching styles a teacher can use at different points to differentiate their classrooms.  

Disclaimer: John makes a disparaging remark about a certain school in Sydney. 1. He was thinking of a different school in the area. 2.The school he was thinking of was excluded from the map.   

Pete: Where you live is determining your school's NAPLAN score - Pallavi Singhal and Matt Wade

https://www.smh.com.au/education/where-you-live-is-determining-your-school-s-naplan-score-20181126-p50ibq.html 

John: What is Your Teaching Style? 5 Effective Teaching Methods For Your Classroom - Eric Gill 

https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/5-types-of-classroom-teaching-styles/ 

Pete (@mr_van_w) and John (@jfcatto) discuss plans for the holidays and vale Stan Lee (but Marvel is better). Then John questions basic human rights for a while. 

Finally, John continues to question the purpose of education and wonder why we as teachers are not able to agree on one.

Pete then considers the purpose of report cards and how they could be made to provide more relevant feedback for students growth.

Articles

John: The is no single purpose to education - and that is something to be cherished - The (il)logical teacher

https://clickbaitphilosophyofed.wordpress.com/2018/10/06/there-is-no-single-purpose-to-education-and-that-is-something-to-be-cherished/

Pete: 'Sterile and technical": the problem with primary school report cards - Jordan Baker

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sterile-and-technical-the-problem-with-primary-school-report-cards-20181116-p50gl5.html

Parents want clear, easy to understand report cards - Editorial

https://amp.smh.com.au/national/nsw/parents-want-clear-easy-to-understand-school-reports-20181116-p50glb.html

Grade inflation on the rise: Everybody gets an A. - Maureen Downey

https://www.myajc.com/blog/get-schooled/grade-inflation-the-rise-everybody-gets/TXVCB3wbyR8fWDRMJXCxJO/

Pete (@mr_van_w) questions the importance of handwriting. Maybe the current generation doesn't have it all wrong and it just doesn't actually matter as much as we think it does.

On a side note: We were in a meeting today and a colleague talked up how students are much better off writing with a pen and when they can't spell something they look it up in the dictionary. 1. How many kid actually know when they make a spelling mistake. 2. How many kids care enough to then look the word up in a dictionary.     

 John (@jfcatto) continues from last weeks episode and looks at some the personal and social goods that come out of education other than salary from a job. Spoilers: He is still not convinced university is a good idea for everyone. 

Pete: Handwriting saviour or teachers' nightmare? The return of the fountain pen - Alexandra L Smith 

https://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2006/nov/13/handwritingsaviourorteacher1 

The Global Elements of Effective Flipped Learning - FLGI (maybe? Jon Bergmann)

https://flglobal.org/elements/ 

John: Let's not focus on graduate income when assessing the worth of education - Peter Hurley 

https://theconversation.com/lets-not-focus-on-graduate-incomes-when-assessing-the-worth-of-education-106168