Chris Waugh is a teacher of English at Mount Aspiring College in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. He podcasts with his colleagues Renee Plunkett and Gena Bagley. We share our ideas, experiences and the ups-and-downs of daily life at the chalkface. Threaded through the podcast are artifacts that w…
Christopher Waugh with Renee Plunkett
Holding a representative position in a school is a complex task. These roles often sit uncomfortably between the adults and the students in the school, and thrust their holders into the limelight, with all the commentary and expectations that go with this. Arguably these expectations are even more challenging for the female exponents. We talk to our head girl from 2020 about her year, the kind of courage the role has demanded of her - and she shares with us the speech, and exhortation, she presented to the community and school at this year's school prize-giving. Siena also announces one of the head students for 2021, who is a voice you may have heard before in an earlier episode of this podcast.
The 15 November marks Courage Day in New Zealand, recognising writers who defend the right to free speech, and those who suffer oppression and imprisonment because of their writing. This event is observed internationally as the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, on 15 November every year. Liz and Chris discuss this day, the author James Courage after whom it is named and the resonances for this in our community and school. As previous podcasts, such as our Korero with Taki, Hadley and Tawhiri and our recent conversation with Abhishek, indicate, the instinct to write fearlessly is alive and well in our students.
With National Courage Day almost upon us, we looked at how each of us exercise courage in our roles in the school. Kathy acknowledges that, for many parents, just showing up takes courage. She has had to advocate for her children at times and there was courage in this. Anna acted to challenge a student's inappropriate behaviour without reservation - and to important effect - and Renee spoke of a time when she had to stand up and speak out about something that she felt was wrong on a school trip. How will you be celebrating National Courage Day? Do let us know.
Our conversations about identity have evolved into a focus on courage. With New Zealand Courage day fast approaching, we're turning our attention to people in our school community who are acting with courage and integrity. Last week Abhishek applied to be our Head Student. We spoke to him about what inspired him to present such a risky speech at that moment of vulnerability, and boy did he teach us a lesson in courage and gratitude. He said no-one in the school had asked him these questions before. You will be moved.
Identity continues to be the theme - this week we dig deeper. We uncovered some rather interesting, and surprising, insights. The segue may not have been the smoothest one, but we then moved on to talk about School Prize-giving. Bear with us, we found a link!
With more interviews impending with students whose identities don’t fit the norm, and for whom life in school can be a real challenge at times, Kathy, Anna and Chris continue to explore their own identity and encounter yet more buzzwords. Intersectionality is a term that helps us to decode the complex interplay between different aspects of our identity, but in the end, how do we answer the question: “Who are we?”
Identity has become a theme for See Me After Class in recent months. As a result, and in the rare event that all four of the team found ourselves in one place, we decided to explore aspects of our own identity and how this might affect our way of relating to the world and the school. Anna's reflections on the curiosity of her children when they encounter Ollie (from Episode 51) on the way to school were fascinating, and even more than this her experiences as a migrant, relating to students who are migrants and finding commonality with them underlined the true importance of having your identity acknowledged and reflected in our school.
Our school has recently made some forays into the realm of LGBTQI+ inclusiveness. It's complex terrain, so to add to the conversation See Me After Class is interviewing some of our students who identify as LGBTQI+ to gain an insight into what life looks like from their point of view. This week Chris spoke to Ollie who identifies as Queer and is gender non-binary. It's a fascinating insight with useful material for teachers, parents and students alike.
Kathy came in on an avid conversation in Chris' class this week. Some students were discussing an incident of sexist language and attitude in a classroom, and how they'd spoken up. This podcast carries that conversation on: Kathy, Kelly (a student teacher who is currently on placement in Renee's classroom) Renee and Chris discuss what advice we would want to give these students about 'what to say next' when the usual defences are trotted out "Political correctness gone mad", or even "You're just being emotional". Emotional? Who? Me?
This week we explore the experiences of three 16 year old students who relay their experiences working to challenge prejudice in our school community. We can all learn a lot from the humility, generosity and wisdom of these young men. If you happen to teach English, it's definitely worth listening right to the very end of this one!
With a lot of change in our school, including the departure of our principal, the appointment of a Limited Statutory Manager and the on-going impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our school lives, we've been trying to consider ways that we can contribute to the growth and development of our school as we take a good hard look at ourselves. Chris relays a staff development session he was part of which was designed to 'start the conversation' about our obligations to our students and their diverse gender identities and sexualities. Simultaneously, Renee has been working with a group of students who have been working on a way to open up a conversation about race in the school. We explain how these are being put together, and how they have been received.
Just as New Zealand schools were on the cusp of returning to normal, Renee, Anna and Kathy looked at what lockdown has meant for them.
Renee and Chris set up their classrooms online the instant New Zealand went into lockdown. We stuck exactly to the timetable we would work at school, and used online video-conferencing to re-create our classrooms. This podcast explores the experience, and was recorded around the halfway mark. Now that we're all back in school, and normal patterns have resumed, here's a record of how things were in that extraordinary interregnum.
The incidence of people, perhaps inadvertently, in breach of the 'rules' of our current national Lockdown lead to some interesting reflection on the parallels between this and the life of students in a school with its arcane and seemingly arbitrary rules. There just might be something teachers could bring to this situation in relation to our professional skill in so-called 'behaviour management'. But would these techniques work with adults?
With the New Zealand Government calling for a national lockdown, teaching and learning has gone online this week. Chris, Renee and Kathy all explore what this looks like from both ends of the cable. There have been some predictable - and some surprising - discoveries.
Continuing our mini-series on bullying, we flesh out, largely based on our own personal experience and observations, what bullying is happening out there in our school communities, and how we adults may be perceived by those who are persecuted. We recognise that the internet brings a particular new dimension to bullying, but agree that some pretty terrible persecution also happens face-to-face. We explore how we can show our sympathy, availability and possibly the most important: fallibility in front of young people. We point towards next week where we are going to share advice from counsellors and students about what you can do if you are bullied - or if you know bullying is going on.
All four of the team came together this week to start a conversation about a subject that is deeply associated with school life for so many, bullying. We're going to deal with this subject over a series of podcasts, and this week, we talk about the problem as it is. We relate some of our own experiences in younger life, and we share a story shared with us by one of our listeners of a profound experience of bullying that was sustained over some years. The over-riding conclusion in relation to this first episode is the understand that the victims of bullying experience immense isolation. They start to identify with the messages that the bullies impose upon them about themselves, and this has a powerful on their sense of self. Something that can have lifelong effects. We have attached some links to the show notes that outline some of the services available to people in New Zealand who need a helping hand. If you want to share some of your experiences with us and our audience, we are always pleased to hear from listeners - and you can fill out a form on the podcast webpage at http://achieve.mtaspiring.edutronic.net/smac-see-me-after-class/
As a result of his being awarded a National Excellence in Teaching Award last week at the Houses of Parliament, Chris was interviewed on National Radio. Here's a copy of the interview. He was nominated anonymously for this award - thank you to the kind soul who did this!
We discovered an unexpected seam of support in our community, and not for the first time both Renee and Chris are reminded that the greatest joy we have as teachers is to engage in the not insignificant luxury of teaching our subjects in a warm, well-lit, un-interrupted classrooms. We shared a couple of highlights and some other good news too. Next week it will be all four of us, and we're going to have a go at tacking the sobering topic of bullying.
Chris and Renee made it through the parent-teacher conferences unscathed, if a little exhausted, and Kathy was able to gain almost everything she wanted from her conversations with her children's teachers. It transpired though that this hadn't always been the case - and who was the culprit? It was Chris and his tendency to interview the student to the possible exclusion of the parents.
Chris has some exciting news - and once he's told Renee, the podcast shifts its focus to our newer team members: Anna and Kathy share their experiences of the New Zealand Education system and how this compares to their own educational experience in the United States and Scotland. It appears that their impression of the kiwi system is that it's 'driven by assessment'. Do you agree?
This week we have our first round of Parent-Teacher conferences. This was a brilliant opportunity to examine this 'elaborate dance' from both sides of the table. We discovered that we all see great value in these moments - but we did discover that there are definitely some misconceptions to dispel, and we explored a range of alternatives to the classic "40-interviews-at-7-minute-interviews" marathon. As always, we also canvassed the students and gathered some of their views. Do you love parent interviews?
Chris and Renee got the holiday we'd dreamed of, so we celebrate that. We're now a team of four, so we made a new intro. We make some resolutions for the year to come, and hear about some of our students' resolutions too. Actually, Renee has called her resolutions 'rules'. She means business. Kathy is (amongst many other things) a parent of students who go to our school, and Anna is back - permanently. House day provided an interesting topic of discussion - and Anna phoned in her resolutions for the year. We're thrilled to be back, and can't wait to hear all input from you too as the year progresses.
We're pretty proud to have kept this podcast going for a whole school year. This last episode is a retrospective of some of our favourite moments from throughout the last 12 months - We looked back at every episode and picked out the parts that we think might have been crucial to the creation of the narrative for 2019. Students talk about about Shakespeare and the school formal, Renee and Chris talk about all sorts of aspects of our work as teachers and there were even a few moments of madness that probably don't bear repeating - not that that will stop us. We wish all our listeners the very best for the summer or holiday season and we look forward to our return, bigger and brighter, in 2020 - as always, if you are so inspired, we love hearing from you: do get in touch via the usual means.
This being the penultimate podcast for the 2019 school year, Renee, Chris and Anna all decided to select something from the year that we wish we'd done better. Renee queried the timing of her Year 10 film making project. Anna resolved to cease apologising for herself and the role she plays in the classroom and Chris resolves (again) to try to improve the way he works with his colleagues so that he can enable them to engage more successfully in our micro-credential project (part of this will be a concerted effort in getting the senior managers at the school on board). We recorded this one, for the first time, during the school day - during a 'free period' - and sat outside in the courtyard by the staff room and there was a chorus of birds to accompany our thoughts.
Renee calls in from Canterbury and we discuss the emerging shortage of teachers of English. We discuss some of the possible antecedents for this (no-one who listens to our podcast will be unaware of our view of the workload and demands placed on English teachers) including some observations about the significant decline in university graduations in the subject. We talk of the impact of 'running out' of people who have the expertise to teach young people to read, write, speak and listen. But then, we would, wouldn't we?
Yes, you read correctly: we're looking for someone to join our team for 2020. Bagley the Head of English joins us to talk through what working in our department is all about - and to inspire some of you to consider applying. Anna and Chris sit in Chris' uncannily quiet classroom after it has been converted into an examination room and talk about almost everything, and Renee phones it in. It's a big, delicious episode of warm thoughts and opportunities. Welcome to Episode 32.
It's a short one this week. We've had quite a significant week and the effects of it may resonate for some time to come. We discuss what we're doing with our Junior students leading up to the end of the school year - there's some great freedom in having completed all the formal assessment! The weather has been stormy and full of strangeness of late, which can't be ignored as possible pathetic fallacy. Chris felt pensive in the supermarket and was rescued by a colleague.
Anna Brown sits in our classes amongst the students, and from that vantage point gains a unique insight into the reality of the students' experience. In the first of what we hope are many conversations, she offers her perspective on many of the topics that have become our favourites in the last 30 episodes of the SMAC podcast. Renee also received the ultimate card from some of her departing Year 13s...
We hear back from some of the students who participated in our massive 100 student exam revision classes to hear what the experience was like from their end. After next week the senior students go on study leave, so we both contemplate their departure and explore the importance of formal good-byes. The school in its infinite wisdom has scheduled our prize-giving for next week as well. We talk about who should get the prizes.
With our students' NCEA examinations fast approaching, and with one of the classes in our department now sans a teacher, we share some strategies we're going to put in place to support large groups of English students in their preparation for their end of year exams. Also, Renee just bought another caravan to renovate.
Renee fills us in on how her job interview went - and we share the outcome. Some students tell us what they value the most in a teacher (there’s some video on the episode page too) and we talk a bit more about professional boundaries and how much is too much to share with our students. We’ve made it through to the end of the term, so we fill you in on the events of the last week, Chris updates everyone on his efforts to keep his dishwasher working.
Chris and Renee display a classic case of the minor hysteria that follows a phase of intense work. We've finished our exam marking! Chris' triathlon club is ramping up for a big event, so he used Saturday to do a couple of training sessions with them - and Renee read for pleasure. Such joy. Renee also talked through the experience of applying for a role internally in the school - the role of House Dean to start next year. We have all our fingers crossed.
It's not without total irony that we wished each other "Happy Saturday" today as each of us has over 200 exam essays to mark in the next few days. Chris is legendary for his procrastination, so we hear about what form it has taken now the heat really is on. Renee won the prize for the most unique marking location, and we spoke to a couple of students after their exams to see how they went. Renee uncovered a couple of real gems in her essay marking which she brought along to share with us all. We're in the thick of it, but with a beautiful day like today in an idyllic place such as where we live, our spirits remained high.
This episode is brought to you by the letter P. P for Procrastination in Chris' case and P for Painting in Renee's. We discuss examinations, because that's what next week at school will be focussed on. We discuss school management, and express some hope that they might engage in a bit of critical reflection themselves. Renee also came and visited Chris' class, so you get to hear what she thought of that!
In a week where we were told our flagship 'student choice' programme was going to be put to an end by senior leaders who don't share our vision, Chris went to Auckland as he'd been invited to speak about exactly these initiatives to some very switched-on educators. Renee's classes are all speaking too - and we discuss some of the challenges they, and we, encounter when we reach this moment in the year's learning.
One of the inventions that we're immensely proud of in our department is our senior course selection programme. In this system, teachers devise their own programmes of learning and, at the beginning of each year, we present these to our students, who then choose their teacher and course for the year. Every year, we stand ourselves up to be counted. Speaking of which, Renee produced the entire podcast solo this week as Chris jetted off to Auckland to talk assessment at a Hui. Check out the links if you want to know more about this programme - which we've recently heard is in jeopardy due to 'timetabling constraints'. Do let us know if you think it's something worth fighting for!
This week contained the first phase of our parent interviews. We asked our students what value, if any, they derive from the experience and we propose a few ideas for alternative means of engaging with parents and families. The podcast then tilted in a new direction, went "meta-", and we spent the second half talking about our socially-constructed attitudes to speaking and being heard: we looked at how these affect us when speaking in society (and this podcast) and how we're trying to challenge our own normal behaviour to be better. We'd love to know what you think.
We're back from our break. We look back on how things went with our teams and set out our stall for the term to come. This one is really more just a chat, where Renee and Chris catch up, and catch their breath after an intense first week back.
Chris coaches a triathlon team and Renee coaches a netball team. They're both off to Christchurch - 5 hours' drive away - with these teams in the "Holidays" so they can compete in the South Island Road Cycle Champs and the South Island Netball Winter Tournament. We talk about our teams, how they run, and what we get from this aspect of the job. We also interview some of the students from our teams about what sport means to them and Renee shares a small excerpt from her final essay in the Term 2 marking pile. We're off for a 2 week holiday, but keep tuned to the podcast feed as we're going to publish some of our students' podcasts to keep you amused over the break. See you in three weeks!
With the mammoth mid-term report-writing phase almost complete, we discuss their value with our students - and explore what we might learn from this in relation to our micro-credentialing project where information is available to students and their families in real-time. We love Liam, who thinks that the 17 pages should be reduced to one simple summary. One more week until the "holidays"!
This week contained a deadline for student progress reports, a school inspection by the Education Review Office, an unexpected sleep-in and Chris had an incident with a quarter of a deer. We invited our colleague Emily along to discuss our main topic, which was the territory between respect and deference, as it applies to the classroom - and we asked our students to name what they respect in a teacher. Whether it's six-sausage dinners, leopard skin or pedagogy, we've certainly got something for everyone this week.
After a recent podcast where we eviscerated a keynote presentation we'd experienced, we thought it would be a little more 'teacherly' to come up with something constructive - so in this podcast we're outlining what we think would make a keynote worth listening to. Moving quickly along from this, we also asked some students what they thought school was all about. Before we interviewed them, we tried to predict what they'd say - listen in for the result.
It's rare for teachers in a school en masse to have the chance to get together and listen to a keynote presentation aimed at developing our practice. Disappointingly, more of then than not when this does happen, the speaker imagines their main role is to entertain us and another important opportunity is missed. Nigel Latta was the latest in a long line of lay people who have made this mistake and Chris and Renee express their view - as well as their experience presenting a workshop together to our colleagues on the state of play in our micro-credential project. We wonder what Mr Latta might have made of us if he'd taken the time to stay around.
A highlight of our week is undoubtably the moment when some of our students approached us and volunteered to additional work for badges they weren't even being offered. The significance of this can not be over-stated, so we spend time discussing this - and we hear from them as well. Renee asked Chris about how the formal went, and there was good news there too. We look forward to some interesting events on the horizon and we both note with some alarm the strange twinning we're seeing in our home appliances.
It will surprise no-one to discover that Chris and Renee's experiences and perceptions of the school Formal (School Ball, or School Prom) differ widely. In this episode we explore our own past formal experiences, some idyllic, some involving car crashes of the literal kind and we also consider what the place of this secondary school institution should be in the modern educational world. As promised, you'll also hear some equally diverse views from the students themselves. Why not crack open some spray-tan and listen in?
As a departure from our usual format, Chris and Renee have one single conversation that narrates an ordinary school day. We chose yesterday - it was in many ways unremarkable and was easiest to remember. As a teacher strike over workload and conditions has been announced in New Zealand, we thought it was a good moment to give a small indication of what you get for your money. If you'd like to get a look into a typical teacher's day at our school, then this episode is for you.
Our achievement programme is live! Now students in our classes can demonstrate their attainment by unlocking micro-credentials. We explore some of the challenges we've encountered in the process of developing these credentials, and share some of the thinking that's currently keeping us occupied as we start to expand the selection of credentials available. Nina from the Education Hub gets a mention and our students speak this week about what might stop them from volunteering their ideas in class. Welcome back to school for Term 2. You can contact us via twitter or our website any time if you want to let us know what you think.
Each year our English programmes revolve around a unifying genre. Often there's a core text that establishes the stylistic components that underpin the genre for the courses and sometimes that text is written by William Shakespeare. Renee and Chris look at how we do this in our Year 11 and Year 13 courses. We also hear from students who show a remarkable openness to the challenge of studying Elizabethan drama and we reflect on the term that has been before we collapse into our Easter break. Renee finds a golden phoenix (clearly a literary reference of which Chris has no idea whatsoever). We reflect on the term's micro-credential making. Depth all the way.
It can be sobering in education to take note of what happens when teachers stop talking and start listening. We put this injunction into practice this week only to find that the students' ideas about assessment and ours were in remarkable accord. There was an additional aspect of assessment that is very important to students though - one that we'd completely missed. Also, Renee got a bit sick, so we decided to defer our exploration of the study of Shakespearian drama until next week. Listen on for Episode 9, Week 9.
It's mid-week and Renee is starting to hit the wall after her 24 hour+ support for our students in our local Relay for Life fund raising effort last weekend. We discuss why we choose to position Shakespearian Drama as central texts in many of our English programmes. We discover some of Chris' trigger-words; including "real world" and "relevant". Our episode this week is much longer than usual, because our guest Liz Breslin was simply too interesting to cut short. She explained some of the scope of how our Students in the Community volunteering programme works and then we went on to explore how we might create credentials for this kind of altruism. Grab a cup of tea and your favourite headphones and click play...
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