Let's Talk About Sex, Baby

At the end of last term we had Dr Tessa Opie from In Your Skin visit the Y8 HPE teachers for a Relationships and Sexuality Education PD. I was proud to see how ahead New Zealand is in this space - there were even Kiwi resources used such as the notorious pie ad.This year Pedare has started an RSE programme with the Y8 students and this was the prep for it. 

As many know, sexuality education is one of my passions (see here some posts that reflect this). As a result, there were lots of reminders throughout this PD around gender, sexuality and stereotypes (the key topics of the unit). If you are learning or new to this area of the curriculum, the genderbread person is always a great place to start. The visual clearly helps to differentiate between sex, sexuality, gender and expression. So much discussion comes from this picture alone. I often then use the Real Sex Talk videos (especially the gender one and the sexuality one) to create further discussion.

Without elaborating on each of the below points, these are a few things that I was left thinking about after our session with Tess. I feel leaving them as points may encourage you to also ponder and complete further research;

- "The issue isn't porn. It's the complete lack in our society of an open, healthy, honest conversation about sex in the real world." (Cindy Gallop - Twitter here)

- Consent is a noun, not a verb

- Body autonomy can be taught at any age including kindy - Do you want a hug or a kiss?

- "Don't put the red dot on the traumatised kid's folder" (Tess). This was referring to removal of students from sexuality education - just because a student has experienced trauma, does not mean they don't deserve the education or want to be there. 

- "There is a very real difference between feeling uncomfortable and feeling unsafe" (Tess). 

- We are aiming to empower students. If they can own their own Medicare card at 15, can we empower them to feel comfortable to go and get an STI screening and/or contraceptives? 

- "The more positive you feel about your own sexuality, the more likely you are going to have positive sexual experiences with someone else" (Tess). 

- The impact of having teachers that aren't competent or confident teaching sexuality education can be significant. 

- "Pornography is the most prominent form of sexuality education for young people today unfortunately" (Interview with Maree Crabbe as embedded below).

Teaching Sexuality Isn't That Scary!

This year was the first year I have taught sexuality education. I was super nervous, but also really excited for this unit. I created the unit overview for 10Health, utilising lots of Family Planning resources throughout my lessons, and suggestions from educators on Twitter. I will share my unit outline once it makes sense to others, as I'm busy with my dissertation currently.

I went in with no idea what to expect. No clue how the students would respond and engage with the learning, and no clue how I would feel. As sexuality education is an area I am interested in, and passionate about, I knew I would be comfortable, but I think I was more relaxed than I anticipated to be! I was blown away how respectful my classes were overall. There was some giggling and discomfort throughout, but holistically, the students were pretty mature and interested. 

At the end of the sexuality unit I asked all students to complete this Google Form, asking a variety of questions about the topics the students learnt about across the 10 periods. This summative assessment showed the clear strengths and gaps in student knowledge, as below;

• Some students still had some confusion between conception and contraception, but had understanding of their options and provided examples of contraception. Greater emphasis on the difference is required next year.
• Lots of understanding across the board about safe relationships and consent, which was the major aim of the unit. 70/78 students were able to identify the legal age of consent, and 72/78 students were able to explain why intoxicated sex is non consensual. Some words used to describe unsafe relationships included manipulation, abusive, controlling, dishonest, possessive and aggressive.
• 68/78 students were able to describe changes to the body for males AND females during puberty, some students uncertain about the changes for the opposite sex. I was pleased by this, as many students were uncertain of changes at the beginning of the unit.
• Students were introduced to the sexuality and gender spectrums, to start discussions and awareness of the variety of sexualities and genders in society. Students needed another period or two around the spectrums, as there was a lot of confusion in the Google Form answers. This is likely due to a lack of time spent on this area, as we were pressed for time. About half of the students started to explain the differences between the two and were able to identify what LGBTQI stands for, and 38/78 were able to explain what heterosexual means.
• The result I was most proud of when reading students' answers, was that only 2/78 students were unable to identify where/who they can go to for help, or any questions they may have about relationships, sex, sexuality and gender. Student knowledge of places they can go for help, was imperative for the learning throughout the unit.

Overall, I am really pleased how the unit went considering it was the first time in the school and the first time I had taught it. I really enjoyed connecting with the Nurse, agencies, other educators and stepping out of my comfort zone. The above points, and the student feedback alongside give me lots to work with moving into 2018. 

The greatest success story, was the Y10 dean saying this year the Health Centre had the greatest influx of students asking for help, support or general questions related to relationships, sex and sexuality than any year previously. This is a highlight, and great feedback for me, as this shows some of the learning within Health is encouraging students to reflect on their lives and Hāuora. 

Challenging Our Education System

Tonight I attended the Teach First screening of the documentary Most Likely To Succeed. The film explores our education system today, questioning why we still have subject silos, why we still have bells between periods, and why we are still running school much the same way we did 124 years ago. Some questions I have never thought about before, and really struggle to answer. Why are we still so much the same?!

MLTS demonstrates the possibilities we have in education through the lens of High Tech High, a secondary school in California, who are running things differently to what we have known for 124 years. High Tech High base learning around projects students create and then share at the end of a time period (e.g. term). Classes are based around learning content through invention and creativity, with a large focus on the development of soft skills including collaboration, determination and leadership, rather than learning purely absorbing and regurgitating information. I feel this is something many schools are guilty of, still.

I am trying to include opportunities for students to be creative, like the Junior's Hāuora PowToons, or my Year 11s Stressor Trees,  but still have a long way to go! I can't wait to feel more confident in my own feet, and be able to include many more opportunities for students to be creative, and take away the focus of content and assessment. If I wasn't completing a dissertation this year, and teaching on my own for the first time, I would love to include some time for my Seniors to create projects like at High Tech High, investigating and creating something that they are passionate about. This is something I am interested in for future years, also similar to Hobsonville Point Secondary School's amazing projects.

The documentary reminded me why I became a teacher - I did not enjoy school because I felt I was regurgitating information. I felt like I didn't have time to explore, create and have fun, that learning was for assessment and not for learning's sake. I am inspired to make some small changes in my practice, keeping at the back of my mind that learning is NOT for assessment.

Here is the trailer for Most Likely to Succeed, which I would recommend anyone to watch, even if you aren't in education!

Critically Thinking About Critical Thinking

This afternoon I was fortunate to spend at a New Zealand Health Education Association (NZHEA) PD. The major reason I went was for an introduction to the new Alcohol and Drug Education resource, but ended up walking away with the resource and other thoughts too.

I really enjoyed meeting networking with new people, both experienced and new teachers, as well as catching up with some old friends. We were given opportunities to share our ideas, questions and concerns with our groups, which I thought was very helpful. There were some curly questions I had related to my teaching, which I needed to ask an experienced and passionate Health teacher. We don't have any experienced passionate Health teachers at Tamaki unfortunately, so I was thankful for this networking opportunity. 

One major take-away from the session was the need to develop critical thinkers, particularly in preparation for Scholarship exams. I classify myself as a critical thinker, and think this is an important skill for students have, so I attempt to include activities that involve critical thinking into my lessons. I am finding this tough, though. 

I liked the simple question we were suggested to ask students today "So what does this mean for you?" To explore further, the question could then ask what 'it' means to their whānau and/or the wider community. Additionally, we discussed what critical thinking actually is - a discussion I could also explore with students. Some suggestions of what critical thinking is;

- challenging the status quo/the norm

- exploring and challenging "age old assumptions"

- appreciating others perspectives

- being open-minded

- asking open-ended questions

- positive debating

Further information and examples in this YouTube clip.

I enjoyed participating in a couple of the activities from the new Drug and Alcohol resource, which looks like it will be incredible for my units later on in the year. I am feeling behind in my planning for Health, as my Seniors are a priority currently. But, I am still so thankful to be leading the Junior programme, and I am excited for some of the fun activities we will get up to this year. I feel confident that NZHEA will support me! Fingers crossed I can get to conference again this year...

A Day at The Movies

As posted earlier today was the annual Manaiakalani Film Festival! This provides the opportunity for all students and teachers in the Manaiakalani Film Festival to exhibit their movies on the big screens at Hoyts. 

We, the MDTA, spent the day as helping hands for the running of the day, mostly ushering students into their seats and ensuring all are ready to go on time, as there was no waiting - the show must go on!

The hype and buzz from the kids was amazing, and incredibly infectious! The students were so happy, excited, positive and proud of themselves and their peers, which was so lovely to see. I need to encourage more created from  TC!

I enjoyed having the opportunity to be involved with this day, not only to see the students, but also have a glimpse into what the other schools had created. I have already reflected on the day, and what I need to improve for next year. See the short films created here (about 100!), and my film here.

As the students in my film are on study leave for their exams, I did not expect them to come to the cinema and present their film. So, I asked two girls from my SOS class, and they did an amazing job! Check out their intro below. I was pleasantly surprised when the boys from my film showed up to watch though!

Looking forward to next year, especially as it is the 10 year celebration.

Decile - Just A Number

According to the Ministry of Education, deciles are defined as "a measure of the socio-economic position of a school’s student community relative to other schools throughout the country". The 10% of schools with the highest proportion of children from low socio-economic families are classified as a Decile 1. The 10% of schools with the highest proportion of children from high socio-economic families are therefore classified as a Decile 10.

The unfortunate reality I have been thinking about a lot recently, are the stereotypes associated with the decile of a school. I started to think about deciles more after reading a uni student's blogpost about being Maori (see Trinity's blog), and the recent article about students at our school. More often than not, higher decile schools are considered to be 'better schools' with greater academic results and more opportunities for students than those who attend schools that are lower decile. However, as Education Minister Hekia Parata expressed, "decile is not destiny".

As discussed throughout considerable research and media articles, including this piece above the decile divide, home background effects students success. I do not doubt this one bit; home life certainly effects student success at school, however not only students from low socio-economic backgrounds. Irrespective of decile, all students have backgrounds which influence on their academic achievement, which I think is something we are guilty of forgetting. 

Just because there different struggles in a low socio-economic home, this does not mean there aren't struggles in a high socio-economic home.

This graph (from NZ Herald) really bugged me. Yes, it may be true, and yes it is something our country is striving to change, but no it is not entirely about how much money the students families make (I must add here I do think this is a significant factor, but not the only factor impacting on a child's success). Because, as Kirsty Johnston comments "although their lives aren't like the kids from wealthy areas, it doesn't mean they won't succeed". 

If we, New Zealand society, do not challenge the status quo, the norm, the stereotypes surrounding the decile system in our country, then I believe the statistics will remain unchanged. If we assume all Maori and Pasifika students and all low decile schools are incapable of high achievement, and Pakeha students and high decile schools are incapable of failure, we are the problem.

"Be responsible for what you say and be a part of the answer, not the problem." Trinity

Water Safety Update

I have been super busy as of late with six million things, as I am sure every teacher can appreciate! But I still have water safety at the back of my mind and the unit development for Term 4. Please ignore my "ums" and the internet dropping out etc, this was just supposed to be an intro/update to how I envisage the unit to look. 

I did not mention that in addition to the use of the site, there will be in pool sessions. After a theory lesson around one of the topics, there will be a pool session to put what the students learn into practice. I hope this will increase student confidence of how to be safe, and how to keep others safe in, near and around the water.

Check out my site here, and let me know if you want/need any more information. I will upload my lesson plans for the theory and pool sessions later in the year!

A Day In The Life Of A Learner

This was probably the biggest task for Digital Immersion I have had so far. Our goal was to create a short film in iMovie to depict what a day in the life of a learner is like. I decided to include a day in my life, in addition to a day as a school student, because I am a learner too.

After 2 days of filming and 3 days of editing, this is my creation. Thank you to everyone who helped me out, especially my Year 13 students Kim, Toa and Lita who took the time to record themselves for me. 

Shout out to Sid, my talented audio engineer friend who sung the cover of Rihanna's "Work". Check him out! Do enjoy my creation and please give feedback!

Music credits:

Maroon 5 - One More Night

Silento - Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)

Drake - One Dance

Mario - Let Me Love You

The Lion King - The Lion Sleeps Tonight

The Black Eyed Peas - Let's Get It Started

Rihanna - Work (Cover by S.I.D. Music)

Head Bobbing and Chuckles

This week we have been fortunate enough to have two guest performances for the full school to enjoy. On Tuesday we were visited by iLuminate dance crew, and today a well-known New Zealand comedian, Mike King.

Mike King

iLuminate are an American group, who have become well known for following dreams, living amongst their passions and being unique. They have combined the love for technology with the love of dance, to create something quite extraordinary. iLuminate perform in the dark, because their suits light up - that is the main attraction and explains their name.

Apologies if it is difficult to see!

The brains behind this masterpiece is Miral Kotb, who is a talented software engineer with a love for dance. She merged her two loves together to create iLuminate; performers who dance in suits that light up in sync with the music, through a wireless network. Amazing!

The message put across from the crew, who were from low-socioeconomic, 'rough' neighbourhoods growing up, is that the only thing you need to be successful and to be happy is passion. Passion provides us with drive and determination towards something, which should not be ignored. They discussed the importance of following our dreams and doing what we love, because even if it may not feel like the best option at one given time,  and even if we need to make sacrifices or take risks, it is most likely following our dreams will result in a happier life.

The performance concluded with Tamaki's kapa haka group teaching and performing the haka alongisde the dance crew. I was proud of the prefects particularly and then the whole school perform a haka as a cohort.

I am more excited about creating a dance unit for the Year 9s for Term 4, because the students were amazed by the performance. The kids have headphones in 24/7, when they are moving between classes, they are often having a boogie along the way - they love music and they love to dance. This was visible during iLuminate's performance, as the students were cheering, applauding and dancing with the music. I am so excited to see my own students performing later in the year!

Following on from this, earlier today we had an interactive presentation from award-winning comedian Mike King. Mike told us his story from the beginning to today, and his fight against depression, alcoholism and a drug addiction. His presentation, Cool to Korero, aims to increase awareness and acceptance of mental health and urges the need to ask for help. Mike cleverly kept the school engaged and high spirited throughout a touchy subject, a subject that can be difficult to talk about, by keeping his presentation very light hearted. I found myself crying of laughter.

Mike was phenomenal. His messages were very powerful, as they were easily relatable to the students and their lives. Mike's presentation encouraged Maori and Pasifika to recognise that even if they are Decile 1a, if that's how they identify and label themselves, then that's how others will. He encouraged students to consider themselves as equals, to everyone else in the world, because the reality is - they are equal. 

Self esteem and self confidence in our community is low. Dangerously low, so much it frightens me. A goal of my own teaching, as well as many other teachers in the school, is to increase students' self esteem and self confidence. Mike's presentation supported this considerably, which was wonderful. I look forward to the programme Mike is currently developing and working alongside him.

My favourite part of these powerful presentations was their openness and willingness to be approached and contacted whenever students need. Mike even provided students with his personal email and mobile number! 

I encourage anyone to contact me too, if they need someone to talk to. If you, or anyone you know show any signs or symptoms of depression (i.e. anger, self blame, self harm, sleep or appetite changes), ask for help. Whether this is a loved one, a trusted adult or a counsellor, it is ok to ask for help. Some organisations who can help in New Zealand for a variety of support are listed on the New Zealand Mental Health Foundation website.

Modern Learning Environment Opportunities

This morning I was fortunate enough to be involved in the Manaiakalani School Leaders Study Tour, hosted at Stonefields Primary School. We were invited to Stonefields to view their modern learning environments in action, as well as provided with ample opportunities to hear both the student and teacher voices, and ask questions.

Today I walked away questioning how I can attempt to implement their way of teaching and learning into my professional journey and school. I think the atmosphere of the classrooms and the vibes from the students was so positive throughout the entire tour, thanks to the supportive, open learning environments the students are immersed in. The students enjoy their learning, as they are able to immerse themselves in learning about whatever they are passionate about, known as Break Through. For instance, some students wanted to make quilts for the Starship Hospital, some created artwork (see right and above) to showcase around school, and one boy worked individually to write a novel. I love how their passion is the focus of their learning, which I want to see more of at Tamaki College.

Pondering how we may be able to include more co-teaching and collaborative teaching at Tamaki, there are various ways, but some may take a while to achieve. I would love to be able to teach all our year levels at the same time. This would eliminate having to stream classes, would enable all students to be provided with the same learning opportunities, and more than one teacher would always be present in class. Currently a struggle is the seniors being at different stages throughout a unit, and being taught very differently, but are then provided with the same assessment (NCEA). This is a department work on, but unfortunately due to how a school timetable is manipulated too, which would be the biggest challenge to put into practice co-teaching and modern learning environments - where and how could we find the time with students choosing multiple options.

However, there are ideas I have floating around in my head which are more achievable. I would love to do the same as Stonefields and encourage students in Art or Graphics to create/design creations to be around the school, like these photos. This eliminates teachers creating learning environments which they think are the best for the students, and enables the students to literally create their own learning environments. 

I have heard about modern learning environments within secondary schools, rather than primary, which I would love to go and check out for even more relevance to me. To learn more about Stonefields and the wonderful opportunities they are providing their learners, please browse their website!

Our Fortnightly Sleepover

Kata and I have scheduled a sleepover once a fortnight to work on our lesson planning, as we teach Year 12 Health and Year 9 Health together. Because we are both beginning teachers, we knew co-teaching was going to be a challenge for both of us. However, we are both so thankful we have developed a beautiful relationship not only as colleagues, but also as friends.

Health is a subject we are both not only passionate about, but also really enjoy teaching. To be up all hours of the night, calling each other every few days and continually questioning what and why we are teaching, does not phase us. We are both wanting to increase student achievement at Tamaki, as well as increase student knowledge and interest in Health. Prior to our (mostly Kata's) arrival, Health did not seem to be taught to the best of it's potential, so I am so grateful we have been gifted with the opportunity to create new units such as the draft we completed on Padlet tonight (below).

I cannot wait to see where Health at Tamaki College will be in two years time, and to see how are professional learning journeys as individuals and as co-teachers have developed. To determine progress and improvement throughout our careers, we value feedback, feedforward and reflection of our teaching, learning and planning both collaboratively and individually in order to grow. Many struggle to discuss feedback/feedforward suggestions, but, as Sheila Heen discusses in this TED Talk, there are many effective ways to provide and receive feedback, which are beneficial for teachers and their learners.

My Job is Better Than Yours

A look into what is happening in my classes at the moment. Jealous? You should be!

Brainstorming with 9Health what we will be learning about this year. I took this opportunity to reiterate the importance of speaking up when you have something to say/ask, and to never laugh or mock one another. In schools like Tamaki, the likelihood the students' families educate them about touchy, difficult subjects including sexuality is little, therefore it is crucial the students feel safe and comfortable to freely speak in class, so they are correctly educated.

Teaching the concept of Hauora and aspects of our lives within the dimensions through classroom discussion in 12Health.

9Health critically analysing which dimension of Hauora is mostly impacted during specific scenarios, then we had a classroom discussion/debate - because there is no wrong answer as long as there is justification (which is an important lesson to learn).

9SOS created posters using Pam Hook's hexagon model. Students are given a page full of blank hexagons, then in each hexagon they are to write one word related to a given topic. Once the hexagons are full, students are to cut them out and them place them in an order which makes sense to them, then explaining why they have hexagons linked. An awesome activity to critically think, and also revise content.

11PE and 13PE participating in a volleyball tournament. Easily managed when there are three teachers, one per court. Sometimes, although many would argue this (especially my lecturers!), there does not need to be an aim or objective for a lesson. Sometimes, we don't need to teach anything, but there is still learning. Sometimes learning occurs indirectly, and the students don't even realise it. This was a perfect example of one of those lessons.

Are you a beginning teacher too? Check out some tips on how to be successful... and keep your sanity!

Passion is Lifesaving

I briefly mentioned Hauora in my previous blog, and I think it is important to understand what this is, especially amongst my rainbow of emotions this week. 

Put simply, this Maori concept, created by Mason Durie, is comprised of four aspects; spiritual, mental/emotional, social and physical, to reflect different parts of our lives, to view our wellbeing holistically. These aspects are commonly referred to walls of a house/whare. Metaphorically speaking, if one of these 'walls' crash and burn, the other walls of the whare may collapse too.

Model located from here.

Today I realised how important it is to have things in your life that you are passionate about, and how these passions can influence your wellbeing, your four walls, greatly.

I always knew this was true, I have experienced both positive and negative aspects of my wellbeing spiralling other aspects out of control many times. However, it wasn't until tonight when I really felt a sudden change in my wellbeing. You could say it's as if my whare was rebuilt in 24 hours, on fast forward.

I am clearly passionate about physical activity, sport inclusive. For instance, I have been playing social football for the past few months. Our team certainly aren't All Whites, but we try our best and have a heap of fun in the process, which was the whole aim of the season.

Tonight we played against the top of the table. We were the bottom. And it was absolutely bucketing down. Prior to the game we considered forfeiting as the weather was so average and we were feeling pessimistic about playing the top team. But, they had terrible attitudes.

The opposition talked each other down. The whole game. I couldn't believe how negative they were toward one another, even though their skill level was astounding.

The adverse comments, alongside our team being supportive and encouraging, got in their heads. They cracked, and we won! 

This simple passion for sport completely and utterly reshaped my wellbeing. My rainbow of emotions leant more towards happiness than of recent. This passion saved my sanity.

What's the moral of the story? Always engage in things you enjoy, do things you are passionate about, because you never know how 40 minutes may lay the foundations of a strong, rebuilt Hauora.

If you would love to learn more about wellbeing models including Hauora, visit this website. In addition to Hauora, there are Pasifika models discussed such as Fonofale and Fonua.

Over the Moon

I told myself I needed to try keep my weekends free for me. Georgia time. But oh my, I am currently jumping for joy. Well, I was before I sat at my MacBook!

I am sure all teachers can vouch for me when I simply say Term 1 is an organised mess. Due to the state of the mess - we are reshaping our Health and PE Curriculum currently. I feel so privileged and excited to be a part of this, and I look forward to seeing where the department will be in the future.

Today was a minor, yet huge accomplishment for me.

Earlier this week I discussed with my Head of HPE what we were going to include in the Junior PE Curriculum. I instantly noticed a couple of things missing - no dance and no aquatics units. I suggested these be included into the Curriculum because dance and performance is a part of the students' culture, and many of the students do not know how to swim or have any water safety knowledge. 

I have just received an email from my HOD confirming these units will be included in the Junior Curriculum. I am so happy.

However, this is not all of my success, only part of it.

I have been asked to write the dance and aquatics units.

Over the moon. Way past the moon! THIS IS SO EXCITING!

I am making a difference!

Everyone around the world, come on!