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Ch ch ch ch changes

Thanks Mr Bowie for providing a sound track for my thoughts!

I'm approaching the dawn of a new decade of my life, and it makes me think about this idea of change - how I've changed, how the world has changed, how I feel about change etc. That's all just middle of the night thinking, but clear-eyed daytime thinking has me looking at the idea of change in relation to our classrooms.

Hearing things like 'this has worked before, it'll work again'.... 'we always do poetry reading in term 3'... 'but there are only five different writing genre.... 'but that's the way we've always done it'... and most worringly of all 'but our curriculum says we have to'... suggests to me that CHANGE is not something that is practiced in our classrooms.

Are we as teachers afraid of change? Not the huge things, just little things. Are we now just so perfect that changing something would ruin the perfection? Are are too numbed or dumbed down from all the broohaha over National Standards? Or do we leave our fate to the great gods above us, letting them determine our changes, if any? What is it that makes us unadventurous? Or is it complacent and unworried? What makes us leave our creativity and curiosity at home each day?

Or are we creative and curious, adventurous and full of change? On the whole, from what I see and hear, I fear that we are not.

Change brings to mind some other ideas that I suspect teachers might be afraid of...
- novelty (not as in toys, but as in the new-ness of things)
- trying something new out for size
- casting a critical eye over how we've always done things
- even just knowing that just because we feel comfortable and things are ticking over nicely, things could still be just that little bit better
- variety - routine is nice, but variety truely is the spice of life
- making our students go 'what?' when we talk about what's coming up in the day (curiosity definitely will not kill those cats!)

Sometimes I think we need to take a big breath, be brave, and make some changes. Again, not huge things, just little things.

Change makes me
- feel curious and full of wonder
- feel nervous and probably a little uncomfortable
- sharpen up a bit and engage my brain just that little bit more than before

Can't be all that bad can it?

This week I have committed myself to make some changes (just little things, not huge)
- change my start of day routine (takes too long and is dull for me, so must be mind numbing for kids)!
- change the way my kids work in the day
- do something different in my programem - same goals, new journey to meet them

What will do to this week to make your classroom more curious, more wonder-full, that little  bit more uncomfortable, that little bit sharper?

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