Giving sport a high profile

I hear the debate is raging yet again about providing adequate sport in schools for children. Now I understand it is also about the schools offering defined skills in sport and giving children a real taste of engagement and a sense of feeling active through physical activity.

I understand that schools need to provide sport across the week. It offers children so much on so many physical and social levels. Some years ago, it was mandated by the government, the amount of time that must be given to sport across the week in schools. I can certainly see the reason and respect the concepts behind all of this. However, let’s be realistic. How much can teachers offer to children, given the heightened expectations that are already placed on them. Some teachers have a natural disposition to teach sport, are passionate about it and can teach very specific skills. Not all teachers have that skill and will work to the best of their ability to provide physical exercise and sporting activities but it is not their strength.

If we want to engage our children in sport, I think parents should engage their children in a sports activity that will offer them very specific skills in one area. The argument that rages at the moment is all about getting children involved, interested and passionate about being fitter and enjoying sport as a way of life. This is where parents should take responsibility and as a family engage in sport as a way of life. For example, join a football club, tennis club, swimming team etc. Find the sport that draws your child into it with enthusiasm and a developing drive to improve their performance.

Fabulous benefits of out of school sports

By engaging in organised out of school sport your child will:

• Learn about the value of teams and how they influence the individual.

• Understand how to improve their performance. They will come to recognise in themselves improvement through effort.

• Value healthy competition. Supporting other team members is also a great skill in human compassion and empathy.

• Understand cooperation and teamship.

• Value the importance of being fit.

The list goes on and yes teachers will do their best in the limited time they have to raise the profile of sport for children. However, it will not be the same as children taking part in an organised and well-managed team sport. They will be mixing with like-minded children and enjoy their parent’s involvement. The conversations at home are enriched as you talk about the sporting experiences and joy of the challenge.

 Of course, I caution that parents should research the sporting club and be satisfied that the values are what you want for your child. Once you join the club, you the parents will so gain from meeting like-minded parents.

Sport outside school is also about long term commitment. It requires regular attendance and loyalty to the sporting activities and events. It reduces a child’s downtime at home, which can often lead to reduced hours in front of a screen and it requires good family planning across the week.

Children initially will often vacillate about what sport they wish to join and there is some perseverance needed from parents here. However, keep the longer-term goal in mind. This is about your child actively involved in a sport that builds fitness, raises their awareness and joy of physical fitness and engages them for the long haul in physical sport.

Having a developed appreciation of the value of sport only comes from personal engagement and the joy of feeling well physically.   

“The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.”

— Pele

What’s in a test?

This is that time of the year when testing is prevalent, teachers are writing reports and schools are preparing for their parent teacher interviews. There is much talk and a buzz around this busy time of the scholastic year.

Assessment, assessment assessment.

There is no failure in the process of school assessment. Success is in moving forward.

Who needs assessment? Do we have an immediate sense of failure when we think about assessment? Perhaps it has associations with negative experiences for ourselves. Teachers rely on their regular testing regime as it is the key tool to help them plan their teaching. If they know where the child is at in their learning they can skilfully teach with accuracy. No question about it! This is a highly effective way to teach. Generally, children grow used to the weekly tests in class and the teacher puts the right emphasis on them. In fact children see it as part of their normal routine. Testing is all about where to go next in the learning. However, at this stage of the year it can be slightly overwhelming as parent teacher interviews loom high in the mind of the child and the school.

Consider that this is a positive time to learn about all the wonderful learning that has taken place over the year. It is time to celebrate the hard work the child has contributed to in terms one and two. It is also about learning where the child needs to go with learning in terms three and beyond. Call this learning, growth curves.

The interviews are not a check up time to determine failure nor is it a time to pick through issues that have occurred lately. Also, when the parent teacher is complete, celebrate with your child and talk about the amazing new concepts that you learnt about your child.

 Here are a few thoughts around this focussed time of the school year:

• Be positive about the school. Talk about how you look forward to chatting to your teacher about all the wonderful school experiences.

• Talk about how you felt when you had reports sent home. It is valuable that the child understands that we have all gone through this process.

• Remind your child that you see reporting as a positive tool to tap into all the great work you are doing at school.

• Before the parent teacher interview discuss areas that you want to talk about. Let there be no surprises at the interviews. Also are their discussions that your child wants to have with you before the interview?  Both parent and child should have clarity about what will happen at the interview.

• Remind your child that you and the teacher are very much on their side, that is the side of learning.

• If you have some form of evaluation at work talk about how that happens and how you handle it.

Finally, education is a life long journey. Stopping and taking stock of where the child is at, is an important time for reflection on where to go next. There is no failure in this process only success in moving forward.

“The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, ‘the children are now working as if I did not exist.’”

— Maria Montessori

Nine things to think about regarding school

Enjoy a partnership with your Child’s school.

1. We are well into term two. Your child should feel settled, familiar with the class and working comfortably and steadily with the teacher. Trust between the child and the teacher should be well established by now.

2. Homework routines should be just that, routines. Teachers should only be providing homework for your child that is within reason. Check the time your child is doing homework as the later times of the day make for a difficult task.

3. Check in with the tiredness of your child. The weather is closing in, days are cold and children can be less motivated.  Try to keep up the momentum and throw in a few treats along the way.

4. Is your child well established with friendship groups? This is all about feeling capable with peers. It does not mean that everyone should have a special friend. In fact, the more inclusive the better. If your child is unsettled in this area have a chat with your teacher. Relationships with peers is important for their mental wellbeing and social growth.

5. Teachers will be writing reports and soon there will be the parent teacher chats. Talk to your child about how they are going with midyear work. Don’t let the parent teacher chat be the first time you have talked to your child about their school work. This should be an ongoing interest. The parent teacher chat should not come as a surprise to you. It should be a time of hearing reassuring words from the teacher and coming away with an understanding of where the child needs to go next in their learning.

6. Have you changed anything important in the family that the school needs to know? Often addresses, phone numbers etc. can change and the school needs current information especially with regard to emergency numbers.

7. The school is a very stable hub for your child throughout the year. Keep it in mind if you need support. Chat to the principal if you have queries or need to learn more. It is amazing what you will learn from a chat.

8. If you are the one who picks up your child after school, I advise being on time. At this stage of the year children can get tired and need reassurance. This is especially the case with the younger ones. Being on time is reassuring to them. This also applies to being on time in the morning. Children can become quite unsettled if walking into a classroom late.

9. Watch the balance between afterschool activities and the pressure of school. Check in with your child about this as sometimes afterschool activities can just tip them over the edge.

Oh, what a difference a school makes!

‘The mind once enlightened cannot become dark.’

-Thomas Paine 

So, what’s in a school?

This is certainly is a challenging question. I would be the first to say dig deep and you will find many opportunities for developing yourself and growing familiar with your child’s school. Being around a school is a vibrant and lively feeling. These school years with your child are precious and will not return once complete. Therefore, embrace them.

My recommendation is for you to research what the school offers and how you can tap into its life or perhaps add to its life.

The following are considerations about what’s in a school:

How involved are you able to be at your child’s school?

• Explore the library and learn from the librarian what and how you can access books for the family. Often school libraries have specific sections for parents and they often hold a wonderful feelings section to support children going through emotional issues. Also, if you have time, you could always help in the library. There is so much to learn about books in this environment.

• Does your school offer parenting nights? Schools often look to supporting family education. This can be through a one-night session or a series of nights.

• Read the school newsletter regularly to get all the updates in the life of the school. This certainly gives you a broad picture of what is happening across the school.

• In my time as Principal, many parents in midlife looking for a career change, assisted in classrooms and took up the teacher aid course. Teaching is a great career to take up after having had other work and life experiences.

• Simply helping in the classroom gives you a chance to learn about how reading, writing etc., is taught. You can pick up great teaching strategies from just being around teachers. It is also fascinating to watch how teachers manage and relate to the children with such control.

• If you enjoy sports, often being involved in the sports programs at the school is a wonderful way to commit to a valuable part of the curriculum.

• Schoolyards are great places to build friendships with other families. Many lifelong friends have been made from meeting families in the school setting.

• When the school offers social days such as Book Week, where there are dress-ups, consider joining in and sharing in the fun with your child.

• Do you have special talents that you can offer the school? For example, can you paint, teach cooking or crafts? Schools love to hear from talented parents who contribute their skills to teaching children.

• Check-in with your child’s teacher to see if they need assistance. Your presence in your child’s classroom is a buzz for your child.

These thoughts are to explore and invite you into the life of the school. Your child benefits from your engagement and school become a natural extension to their home life.

“Behind the child that makes the most progress is an actively involved parent.”

— love quotes

Let’s look at Naplan or is it Noplan?

The purpose of the Naplan testing was always about the Government gaining data that they could use in planning for educational improvements. Whilst there have been many theories and beliefs in the latter years about why Naplan, the question now is whether it has relevance in helping your child in their learning?

There are many questionable factors that have made the overall data to some degree invalid and worthless. For example, some schools may teach to the test, thereby disadvantaging those children who are not specifically working towards the test. Of course, the question is also whether more independent schools will approach the test with rigour to ensure the best results for the school. Also, what if your child was unwell the day of the test. How relevant are the results?

What are your thoughts on Naplan?

Consider that teachers will teach the curriculum in different ways across a year. What if they have not as yet taught what was on the test? Does this discriminate against your child?

Does my child feel the anxiety of these very formal tests at a young age?

Certainly, in my experience, there was a good percentage of children who felt the pressure. They would be anxious about their results being interpreted in the light of everyone else in the state. Also, consider the disruption to teaching and to teachers as they prepare and organise the children to sit the tests. Do the test results reflect their teaching? And so, the general concerns go on.

 A big factor in this discussion is that if this is about the results of the individual child, we need to remember that teachers are testing constantly. It is a normal part of their work. They already have a collection of data in a range of areas that reflect the child’s progress. Therefore, does the Naplan guide their teaching? I believe not!

In today’s world of increasing anxiety in children, not the least of which has been the pandemic disruptions and related worries, why do we need a standardised test? Simply ask your child’s teacher to show their results which are cumulative, given under less stressful conditions and a normal part of a teacher’s week. The teachers know your child. A standardised test does not tell you much about your child.

I encourage the debate about the relevance of Naplan and recognise that the best evaluation of your child’s progress comes directly from the classroom teacher.

 After all, we do not want:

• Increased anxiety in our children about their performance in a standardised test.

• Developing competition between schools.

• The building up of pressure in teachers and compromising how they teach to suit a test.

Educating children is a broad and complex issue. It should be built around developing their strengths and not dotting in bold their weaknesses. How can we educate if we are constrained to such limitations as a standardised test?

“Whatever an education is, it should make you a unique individual not a conformist.”

— -John Taylor Gatto