"Welcome to the real world", says John Mayer. Week one of this grand project allowed me to believe that excitement and innovation would always prevail, so successful had we been in somehow getting everything up and running while apparently upsetting every human within the detonation radius of a small nuclear weapon. Petty (and sometimes valid) arguments were put aside or overcome, powerful opponents were placated without significant damage to our philosophy and yet... something still lingered.
We have huge obstacles to overcome, mostly formulated by the weaknesses we each bring to the table. We acknowledge that; in fact, we focus upon it. Teaching in a manner such as this; rotating groups, individual student accountability, games based learning, etc - it clearly marks one's shortcomings when the rails and the train no longer line up! And it should. In fact, this should be one of the key ongoing concerns of any decent group of educators. Traditional classroom teachers tend to hide their failures behind common 'it's the students' fault" gripes and "but I have to teach that" moans. It's been pretty clear to us this week that most learning disruptions have had much closer roots than we're comfortable with.
Here's what we shouldn't have to deal with though: pathetic and obtuse purchasing systems that everyone worth their salt tries to circumvent anyway, traditionally styled consultants desperately trying to keep their cushy non-teaching position afloat through constant self-justification and, my personal favourite, the hidden unemployed - or teachers who, in their current form, would be utterly unemployable in any other industry.
I've been learning how to adjust myself to suit the needs of others; I tend to bulldoze when my ideals seem within reach but I'm still thoroughly uncomfortable with the apparent acceptance of mediocrity and heartbreaking apathy within this field.
And so, in week two of this project, I've decided that fitting in with the expectations of a mediocre system and it's supporting cast is much like trying to keep an annoying relative happy at Xmas - you won't see them again for another year, so smile, nod and bring your ideals to life despite, and in spite, of their actions. Especially if they try to stop you!
I'm going to give this project the best chance to succeed - and late/expensive equipment, negative "I've been here fifteen minutes but here's what you're doing wrong" consultants and the background political whispering of 'the veterans' won't be enough to stop me.
So, how do you beat the system you're bound by?
Next week: Making management fun OR "You can't do that, we're teachers not entertainers!"
