Is This MyStory

Be the author of your own life

Choose to Be The Author of Your Life

Do not say Goodbye

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A week from today life will be very different. A week from today I will be on my own; the thought is simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. This time next week I will open the door and walk into a world of self-reliance. I imagine this is how my year 12s feel each year as they turn to face the dying days of term three and realise, they will soon refer to the school which sheltered them for the past 12 years as – ‘my old high school’.

A week from today I will close the door to my classroom. I will wish my students a safe, fun filled holiday and leave knowing I am no longer their English teacher. However, I cannot say goodbye. The finality of the words seem too permanent and just as I have never said ‘goodbye’ to my year 12s, I cannot say ‘goodbye’ to my students now. So instead, to all my classes I will say ‘see you later’.

Of course, ‘see you later’ is not enough. It does not express the myriad of emotion I feel knowing I will not see their smiling (ok, usually smiling) faces glancing up at me as they fold themselves onto plastic chairs that balance precariously on two (make that one) leg. I wonder if they will miss the times I reminded them to listen carefully all the while offering hand signals worthy of an air traffic controller. I question if they will remember the lessons that drifted from the text into the world of human experience. I hope they will continue to reflect upon how a story speaks to them.

I know I will miss my classes, even though I carry their legacy inside. My students have been my inspiration and their shadows have found a home within my world of expression. They live in my memory. My students have my respect, my loyalty and my admiration; so to all of you – past and present, I say a big and heartfelt THANK YOU.

As I turn toward the future I feel a growing anticipation. The next chapter of my story promises to be an exciting adventure. Soon I will have the time to really teach. Rather than being constrained by curriculum, I can offer students so much more. I can teach them how to learn. I will stand beside many students, from many schools and support them while they become aware of themselves and their place within the world. I will introduce them to effective communication and critical literacy.

Is This MyStory is ready to launch. You are all welcome to join this quest. Will you walk with me along the learning path?

Romeo, Juliet and the Blame Game

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Do you accept responsibility for your actions, or do you play the blame game? When things go wrong, as a result of your choices, do you accept accountability or do you blame someone else?

At this point, with year 10 classes in mind, I would like to take a short detour into the world of Romeo and Juliet. Students may recognise my favourite quote, a line delivered by Friar Lawrence,

‘Within the infant rind of this weak flower / poison hath residence and medicine power”

In other words, a situation has the potential to be helpful or unhelpful depending on the choices made. Those who know the play may remember, these lines of dialogue foreshadow the priest’s involvement in the tragic ending of the play. In the final Act, Friar Lawrence accepts responsibility for his actions. He admits he married the couple in secret. He admits he gave Juliet a sleeping potion (so she could avoid marriage to Paris). He admits he failed in his efforts to contact Romeo (so Romeo did not know Juliet was in a death-like sleep). Nevertheless, audiences (and the Prince) accept Friar Lawrence’s actions were motivated by peace and love. However, even though his intentions were pure, the outcomes were not as he intended. The waring families may have buried their hate, unfortunately the cost was higher than Friar Lawrence, Romeo or Juliet ever imagined.

You may be wondering how this reference to literature relates you.

The answer to this question is best found within your Self. What message about choice, consequence and responsibility will you take from this example?

Do you recognise the times where, even though your intentions were good and you planned a particular outcome, circumstances delivered a different result? Importantly, at these times, are you willing to accept responsibility for your actions?

What Determines Student Success?

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If asked to search for an answer to the question; what is the most reliable determinant of a student’s future success, where would you look? Would you, go to google, read a book, question your teachers, ask your parents, or chat with friends?

Last week I attended a course, based on the Positive Psychology research of Martin Seligman. The facilitator, Dr Toni Noble, demonstrated the benefits of positive psychology practices in the classroom. This highly practical course provided participants with useful strategies that have direct relevance in the classroom. It was clear to all of us, that the research supported what we already knew – a student’s overall feeling of ‘wellness’ has a direct impact on their success at school. Put simply, happy students, who feel valued and supported by the school community are more likely to succeed than students who feel marginalised and lonely.

The question then becomes – how do we support and nurture young people so they may experience wellness rather than dis-ease? Professional development courses which provide teachers with functional, tangible tools to help young people recognise emotions and foster cooperative social behaviours, are a positive start. Of course we need to provide schools which are a safe haven filled with encouragement and opportunity.

However equally important is a student’s choice to participate. In fact, as individuals within a school and wider community, we need to be mindful of mindset. We need to ask ourself  – how willing are we to take responsibility for our own feelings and behaviours? We need to encourage young people to do the same.

Therefore as useful as google, books, teachers, parents and friends may be, when we want to search for answers, perhaps it is equally important to ask questions of ourself.

So maybe what I should have asked at the beginning of this post was… have you ever asked yourself, what determines MY success?

If I were to answer this question, I would reply, ME.

How will you respond?

Critical Literacy: A Learning ‘Rite’

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We tell ourselves stories all the time. We tell ourselves stories in an attempt to make sense of our world. We tell stories about our life and what we deserve. We tell stories to explain our actions. Yet how often do we consciously examine those stories?  

 How effectively do we evaluate the stories we’re told?

 Years of teaching have taught me that the most useful aspect of stories is  not necessarily their literary merit, but rather the opportunity they provide to  teach us.

 Stories may be seen as life’s metaphors.

 The study of English therefore, can be the study of experiences. Through  stories it is possible to enter a new world and participate from a protected  position so that, when a character learns, we learn.

Certainly it is important to live and be aware in our present. However, as we analyse the characters in a story and critically evaluate the strategies they employ to overcome complications, we gain a fresh perspective of our own situation.

If we are mindful of language we may also begin to perceive some innovative solutions.

In this case, readers become critical literate individuals who recognise choices have consequences and we are responsible for our behaviour. In other words the study of other peoples stories, offers an opportunity to practise the evaluative skills that can help us understand the stories we tell our self.

The stories we tell have the power to limit or enrich our life. However, critically evaluating those stories encourages us to propose questions and discover answers. I like to call this process the Critical Literacy Rite.

 

Welcome to a World of Expression

Is This MyStory (Ebook)

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Is This MyStory opens the door to a place where you can be yourself. Through the use of stories and familiar questioning techniques, you will be transported into the World of Expression where you will discover your place of power. To order your copy from Amazon, click here.

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