Dare to be Different E-Book

Will Ryan

• Herausgeber: Crown House Publishing
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Will Ryan's Dare to be Different: A leadership fable about transformational change in schools tells the fictional tale of Brian Smith a primary school head teacher who listens to what his political masters have to say, but then sets out to inspire real transformational change by doing the exact opposite and leading through his own values and beliefs. Writer and novelist Michael Korda claims that 'the fastest way to succeed is to look like you are playing to someone else's rules whilst quietly playing by your own'. Dare to be Different illustrates how real transformational change can occur when a school leader does just that, as Will Ryan shares the trials and tribulations of the story's fearless protagonist, Brian Smith, as he endeavours to take back ownership of what happens in the classroom. Exploring the significant challenges that school leaders often have to overcome in order to turn their dream into a reality, Dare to be Different lays before the reader a model of inspirational school leadership in this engaging and humorous take on life in modern schools. The story is told through the eyes and experiences of Brian as he resists top-down government directives on how his school should be run and instead strives to build a vibrant curriculum with which to hook the imaginations of today's children. Scattered among the narrative's twists and turns are deeper insights into the nature and purpose of schooling that are sure to rekindle school leaders' passion for pupil-centred education over policy-led prescription, and which will motivate them to 'dare to be different' in standing up for the education they believe in. Whilst it may be a fable with fictitious characters, Dare to be Different is based on real schools: schools in which the author has worked with leaders and teachers who, by applying their deeply held educational beliefs, accelerate learning and provide exciting learning opportunities for their pupils. Will Ryan has condensed and interwoven his forty-three years' worth of accumulated experience of going in and out of the UK's best classrooms into this book, in which you will find: at least one-hundred-and-eighteen tips that are based around exciting primary practice and which should make the hairs tingle on the neck of the most wizened school inspector; at least forty-five significant ideas that will strengthen leadership and have the capacity to transform your school as a learning community; at least fifty quotations that will make you think about how our most inspirational leaders create inspirational teachers who get an inspirational response from their learners; and compelling pieces of evidence to demonstrate that primary school teachers are doing a fabulous job, despite what any politician or tabloid reporter would tell you. Suitable reading for all school leaders at both primary and secondary levels who are looking to promote excellence and raise aspirations within their schools and wider communities.

Leseprobe

Acknowledgements

This book is dedicated to those brilliant teachers who dare to be different and whose pupils develop a love of learning while making brilliant progress.

I would especially like to thank the following schools who have been kind enough to allow me to work with them on a regular basis and whose work has helped to shape this book:

Dinnington Community Primary School, Rotherham

Leavesden Green Primary School, Hertfordshire

Mildmay Infant School, Chelmsford

Ordsall Primary School, Retford

St Alban’s Catholic Primary School, Doncaster

St Bede’s Catholic Primary School, Rotherham

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Dewsbury

Thorpe Hesley Primary School, Rotherham

Woodthorpe Community Primary School, Sheffield

Foreword

by James Kilner

Will Ryan has broken the mould when it comes to educational leadership textbooks! He skilfully weaves a believable and engaging work of fiction with a golden thread of truly inspirational educational philosophy which will appeal equally to the newly qualified as well as battle weary school leaders. Will’s sharp wit and insightful take on current challenges facing schools makes this a very easy read. By lampooning the pomposity, hypocrisy and shenanigans of politicians both locally and nationally he strikes a blow for freedom for those willing to ‘dare to be different’ and take up the very practical ideas which fall from every page. Through his apposite quotes, reference to current research and exploration of the mythical ‘golden age’ of education he is able to convince the reader his ideas are a worthy road map for successful school leadership. He lays before us a concept of leadership he encapsulates in the ‘brave school leaders’ who play by their own rules. I suppose what Will refers to here is that group of leaders who have managed to retain their integrity and sustain their deep-seated philosophy on primary education despite the meddling of central and local government.

I have known Will Ryan for practically the whole of his time in the world of education. It comes as no surprise to me that he is able to articulate his own deep-seated philosophy on primary education since his work as a classroom teacher – and later as a school leader and education adviser – always put enjoyment at the forefront.

As a teacher he honed his skills well working in local authorities and with teachers and leaders who were fully committed to ‘the West Riding philosophy’ which brightened the lives of so many children. It was a philosophy promoted by the legendary Sir Alec Clegg (CEO of the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1945 to 1974). It enriched the lives of children growing up in south and west Yorkshire from the 1950s right up until the first ‘raspberry ripple’ Curriculum Matters booklets published as Margaret Thatcher’s Tory government was preparing the ground for the 1988 Education Reform Act, which was to impose the national curriculum on schools.

I remember accompanying Will on a visit to Alderley Edge in the mid 1970s as part of our class study of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner. Well before health and safety Will and I crammed together in the caves of Alderley Edge with fifty-three Year 6 pupils (J4 in old money) and read extracts from the book describing the sleeping knights under the hills. I still meet men and women in their fifties who remember that day and that experience and how, for some, it brought reading alive for them in every sense.

Over the course of the book Will provides the reader with a rich bounty of ideas for enriching children’s learning which he draws from the inspiration he gives to schools as he invents the crafty twists and turns of a vibrant curriculum with which to hook the imaginations of today’s children.

Will takes us through an inspirational curriculum through the eyes and experiences of an inspirational head teacher, Brian Smith, and his various friends and foes. The villains of the piece; Roger Stonehouse, a chair of governors and leader of the council who bullies his way to power; the inept secretary of state, Rupert Brinton; and the head of Ofsted, Sir Compton Urquhart, are a compilation of so many who have held those offices in recent years.

Brian’s allies are the inspirational Tom Featherstone, a local authority adviser, together with Andrea and Eve who keep Brian focused and motivated and ensure he keeps believing in himself.

The battle lines are drawn and Will successfully convinces the reader that Brian’s vision will conquer the dull and lacklustre curriculum facing schools.

Within the first few pages we see Will’s simple ideas of teaching three-generational lessons within a fourth-generation curriculum. The reader is left tingling at the prospect of a Disney film leading to the type of high quality maths, design and literacy and spiritual, moral, social and cultural experiences on offer with just the right amount of encouragement and inspiration. Here, even the least confident teacher, given just the right amount of freedom, can design learning which has no boundaries.

Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that almost every page of the book contains some nugget which causes the reader to sit back in amazement at the achievements of the various characters Will parades before us.

Will has no time for ‘The Vicars of Bray’ who chop and change their theories of education in a vain attempt to convince inspectors that their institutions are good or outstanding. His message is loud and clear from the outset – Will is setting before the reader a vision – backed up with specific and practical school based ideas – which can rekindle in the primary schools of this country the belief that greatness and success for our future generations can be achieved: if only the leaders at the chalkface hold fast to their beliefs in how children learn and make our schools the envy of the rest of the world.

A head teacher once said to me during a review of his large primary school in the centre of a west Yorkshire city, ‘My aim for the children is simple, I want our children to become good neighbours.’ Mind-blowing in its simplicity but what a world our children would create for themselves if the overwhelming majority were ‘good neighbours’. As you read through Will’s amazing examples and practical solutions for this ever-changing world of primary education you feel the urge to take his ideas and run with them. You know deep down that Will is capturing the reason why you went into primary education, because it is your vocation and not just a job.

It is an inspirational tale. As schools prepare themselves for the next onslaught of government initiatives, as the press continue to blame teachers for all the ills of the world, Will hands to those willing to take the challenge the opportunity to take back ownership of what happens in the classroom.

In Will’s time he has seen off the barmy ‘Initial Teaching Alphabet’ of the 1960s, with its forty-five symbols that nobody ever really got to grips with, Fletcher Maths, SMP maths (Still Millions Puzzled), reading by osmosis and all the fads and fancies which came and went over the years. No, Will sticks to what he knows best and what is proven to work well, good old-fashioned fun learning which engages and excites the children to discover and causes parents to have to listen to ‘what we did at school today’ open mouthed. Above all, Will inspires teachers young, old or anywhere in-between to ‘dare to be different’ and get back to enjoying the job they are proud to hold as a vocation in life.

Preface

The current educational climate has become obsessed with data and the collection of evidence, so here comes my contribution. Within this text you will find:

At least one-hundred-and-eighteen tips that are based around exciting primary practice and which should make the hairs tingle on the neck of the most wizened school inspector.At least forty-five significant ideas that will strengthen leadership and have the capacity to transform your school as a learning community.At least fifty quotations that will make you think about how our most inspirational leaders create inspirational teachers who get an inspirational response from their learners.Compelling pieces of evidence to demonstrate that primary school teachers are doing a fabulous job, despite what any politician or reporter from the Daily Mail would tell you.

I have been a very lucky man. I have now spent forty-three years going in and out of the best primary schools and classrooms in this nation, and if there is one thing I have discovered it is that these wonderful places tend to make up their own rules. It was Michael Korda who said, ‘The fastest way to succeed is to look like you are playing to someone else’s rules whilst quietly playing by your own.’ The problem in education is that politicians and administrators have constantly been changing and making up rules, leaving behind a workforce that is committed to the children in its care but worn down by political meddling. It may be a personal view, but I seriously believe that a significant proportion of actions have been taken by politicians driven by a quest for power rather than by a deep concern for the welfare of children. Indeed, sometimes their well-being has been totally neglected. For example, in May 2016 The Guardian carried a story about the then mayor of London concealing a report revealing that 433 schools in the capital are in areas that exceed rules on nitrogen oxide pollution. In the same edition there was an article by Jonathan Wolff based on Bernard Williams’ paper ‘Politics and Moral Character’. This argued that ‘the characteristics that allow politicians to rise to the top might not be the virtues we seek in those who govern us: “Lying, or at least concealment and the making of misleading statements; breaking promises; special pleading; temporary coalition with the distasteful; sacrifice of the interests of worthy persons to those of unworthy persons; and (at least if it is a sufficiently important position) coercion to blackmail.”’1

If this is the case, then it really is time for brave school leaders everywhere to start playing by their own rules. However, this can be easier said than done. I have always been impressed by the influential leadership fables of Patrick Lencioni. I believe they have the capacity to bring about transformational change. As a consequence, I have always had a desire to write a similar leadership fable within a primary school setting, and this is it. It is the story of a primary school head teacher who listens very carefully to the things his political masters say and then sets out to achieve greatness by doing the exact opposite. While the characters in the story are all fictitious, the wonderful Tom Featherstone and the butterflies he creates (i.e. the little things that make a huge difference) are based around the work of Sir Tim Brighouse.

Those forty-three years of going in and out of wonderful classrooms while trying to make sense of constant government meddling have left me with a story I have been dying to tell. As Zora Neale Hurston said, ‘There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you.’ So here comes the story. I hope it proves to be a good one, because we all love a good story. We were made for them!

Contents

Title PageAcknowledgementsForeword by James KilnerPreface1.Begin with the end in mind2.A hero in waiting3.The sexy subversive4.Every time I use my mobile phone I take a photograph of my foot5.Wanted: invisible leaders – apply here6.Books, not bullets, will change the world7.People who moan about people who moan8.Six $1.5 million words9.The three signs of a miserable job10.When teachers learn from each other, their future will be secured11.The problem with fronted adverbial clauses12.This is the kind of English up with which I will not put13.Three-generational lessons within a fourth-generation curriculum14.Leopards, peanuts and compost tip Brian over the hedge15.This way to the nuclear bunker and other secrets16.Real mathematics is based in the real world17.Who wants to solve a quadratic equation anyway?18.Without struggle there is no progress19.The power of being true to your beliefsEndnotesBibliographyCopyright

Chapter 1

Begin with the end in mind

Budget 2016: Every state school in England to become an academy by 2022

Daily Mail Online, 15 March 2016

Wilferd Peterson famously told us to begin with the end in mind and ‘walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground’. This is a leadership fable about a school and its head teacher who did just that.

Brian Smith had grown tired of wave after wave of government initiatives and meddling politicians with their vanity projects. These projects were often ill-conceived and seemed to be designed to spread fear and unrest among school leaders. This was despite the fact that Ofsted inspectors were reporting that primary schools were doing well. Brian hated this approach and he also loathed the way in which certain newspapers disparaged the wonderful young people and their dedicated teachers in the nation’s schools. While Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools was praising the work of primary schools, some tabloids preferred to publish distorted stories that potentially corroded the spirits of committed teachers. They seemed especially to aim their venom at leaders like Brian, driven by a moral imperative to make a difference in some of our most challenging communities by daring to be different.

Brian had certainly dared to be different. Three years earlier he reached a bold and momentous decision to listen to everything his political masters said and then achieve greatness by doing the opposite. This was simply because he considered that there was more research behind his approach. Instead of feeling demoralised by the fabrications of journalists, Brian was determined that they galvanise him into action. So, for the last three years, Brian had led Springett Lane Primary School with his head in the clouds and his feet on the ground. Wilferd Peterson also told us to begin with the end so, perversely, we will start our fable at the end.