Schoolhouse

Today, Dr. Nikki Brunker shared the below advice with teaching students at the University of Sydney, some of whom are parents now looking after children at home...

I know many of you have kids and you are now juggling study with the usual parenting as well as the kids being home all day, possibly required to be doing some learning.

Lots of people keep saying to me things like 'ah now everyone will get a taste of home schooling'. This is not home schooling. Home schooling is an incredible form of education where the number one cliche could not be further from the truth...home schoolers socialise more than kids at school! Yep! And there is research to show that they experience better socialisation but that is another story... Home Schooling, or Home Education as many of us prefer to call it, is a busy collection of activities with only some ever happening at home. So home schoolers are also feeling this significant change to our existence as they can no longer be out and about engaging in the myriad of activities available and created every day.

Home schooling also differs to this situation in that it involves an incredible amount of work from parents to plan and create the learning opportunities for their kids.

Thankfully for most of you there will be some learning provided from the school. One difficulty of that is that for many that will be online which brings in a whole new element of managing screen time with our kids. For some there will be expectations from school beyond what is going to be possible eg. some schools are asking students to follow their regular timetable which is going to be very difficult to maintain for most kids.

So, some tips if you are in this situation:

- please stop listening to the suggestions that children will lose a year of learning; they may lose a great deal of teaching though this will be a valuable lesson for you to see the incredible amount of learning kids can engage with when there is no teaching....that does not negate the profession which you are entering, though it may encourage you to look at it differently

- kids (even the pet variety) are most welcome in zoom sessions etc., no need to worry about shooing them out, or worrying about needing to disappear for a bit to do something for a child. If you can't stop yourself worrying about the kids in the background perhaps try a virtual background so as no-one else can see what is behind you.

- relax the screen time rules and do that for yourself as well; uni is going to require an enormous amount of time online from you, look for where you can do things offline and allow yourself time without uni

- these are uncertain times where our lives are changed from our established normality so a bit of FOAL (F@ #% Off And Learn), as I mentioned in a lecture, may well be the order of the day to give you some time to study and keep some peace in the house

Which leads me to what can you do when school hasn't given your child anything or it is not something they will do:

- Lego challenges: set a challenge eg. Make a bridge that two lego people can stand on; make a vehicle that moves without wheels etc.; and make a big deal of the hyped up reveal so as the production is kept secret until the unveiling which is when you get off zoom or whatever else it may be
- Outschool: sign up for a few classes on topics that interest your child https://outschool.com/ They are hit and miss, though try a few and you will find the teachers who run things your child likes (Lindsey Nielson does some good lego and engineering ones; Kirsten Garn does some great maths drawing ones; Laura Forde is fabulous for the budding ehticists)
- podcasts - Short & Curly is brilliant for mid to upper primary; Fry & Rutherford; Infinite Monkey Cage; 99% Invisible for upper primary and high schoolers...I could be here forever listing the fabulous ones that are out there, try one of these and then they will link you to find other ones
- Youcubed https://nrich.maths.org/ Jo Boaler is a math legend, fabulous site for authentic math activities that kids could do independently then meet in groups with a teacher via zoom to explore and extend; also has great PL for teachers – some of the activities can sadly be used as FOAL though be brought back to some great shared time afterwards
- NRich https://nrich.maths.org/ - this is a goldmine of fabulous authentic maths activities – more that can be FOAL or shared
Mashup Maths https://www.artofmathematics.org/books - some good videos that can be handy when some quick direct instruction is needed – lots of FOAL
- Khan Academy for some basic linear format maths and some other content https://www.khanacademy.org/
- Also check some youtube sites that can be helpful for building off for projects eg, Mark Rober is ex NASA and a brilliant launchpad for science/engineering projects https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY1kMZp36IQSyNx_9h4mpCg
- If not already using Minecraft education then get that sported https://education.minecraft.net/ fabulous possibilities for integrated projects
- Have a look at the museums offering virtual tours https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours this would be a wonderful basis for a week of exploration through a museum, their website, investigating items of interest etc. – a virtual tour could be a good FOAL they could then create a version of some aspect at home to lead you through afterwards
- The Australian Design Centre for their Design Thinking resources https://australiandesigncentre.com/learn/, the basis structure of a design thinking activity is brilliant for a short interactive lesson via zoom or a massive project.
- There are lots of celebrities reading books aloud for kids at the moment, as well as authors - see Oliver Jeffers live on instagram each day
- Here’s a list of US websites offering free access at the moment https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/135609/list-of-education-companies-offering-free-subscriptions/?fbclid=IwAR2hhzlRvA3heqfvhFs_EhIF62bBmu4YlQCNNHAaEmrhzFWVrwF46UXVXyM
have upper primary or early high school who love novel studies? Some of these are okay they vary by book though tend to go beyond comprehension http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/

Go easy on yourselves and your kids, enjoy books, games and movies, set them a challenge to find ways for the whole family to be active (obstacle courses through the house are always fun!) and hey there won't be any visitors to see the mess!

Outschool: Take small-group classes, from anywhere. 8,000+ video chat classes for K-12 science, art, mindfulness, english, social studies, life skills, and more!

Helpful advice for teachers who are feeling overwhelmed right now. 📚💻

https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-through-pandemic-mindset-moment?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-edutopia&utm_content=later-6022309&utm_medium=social&utm_source=instagram

Remember:
- You aren’t in this alone
- Slow down, take this all a day at a time
- You’ll make mistakes, that’s okay.
- Less is more. Adjust your expectations (hopefully your school will too).
- Talk and be transparent with trusted colleagues (or fellow teachers on here).
Don’t be afraid to ask questions or express your worries. And don’t be afraid to share constructive suggestions.

*If you’d like to help other teachers on here please comment below. You can use the following format:
Who? (Subject/year levels you teach)
Where? (State, territory or country)
What? (Clearly list what kind of support you're able to provide)

We’re all in this together and we’ll get through it together.

Thank you to all the teachers who are still pushing on in the classroom and who are continuing the support from home. 💪

Teaching Through a Pandemic: A Mindset for This Moment Hundreds of teachers, many of them operating in countries where teach-from-home has been in place for weeks, weigh in on the mental approach you need to stay grounded in this difficult time.

Normally I'd like to be a lot more project-based, but after a couple of trial days last week I have realised that (for now) the boys need to feel that school at home is basically like school at school. They have even been very keen to maintain the same times for their lunch and recess!

Tomorrow I have worked up a list of different activities to do, it's up to them to self-manage when they do them and tick them off as they go. We'll see how it works...

(Apologies for my poor penmanship!)

- Brett (if anyone knows how I can make posts appear from myself personally in here, as the page owner, I'd love to know)

So it seems many of us will be newbie homeschoolers for a while!

We'd love to hear what you're doing to engage your kids in lieu of sending them to school. Posting on the Schoolhouse page should be open, so please share your successes, challenges and questions.

Homeschooling veterans, we're really keen to hear any tips you have to share for the rest of us.

An overdue update on why things have been so quiet around here...

TL;DR: Schoolhouse is pivoting from starting a school to helping other schools change.

When I started Schoolhouse eight years ago it was with the ambition of starting a school. This was because when I looked around, not a single high school had been started in NSW in over ten years that was ‘doing school’ in a new way. I believed that the biggest impact Schoolhouse could have was demonstrating that something different was actually possible.

Recently, the landscape has begun to shift. Earlier this year, Lindfield Learning Village opened its doors - a government school offering a very different teaching and learning approach. Enrolments have begun for CathWest Innovation College - a Catholic systemic school opening in 2021 that will offer a vocational model new to Sydney. Further North in Lismore, the Living School is an independent school promising a progressive, community based approach to learning. Beyond this handful of new schools, there are existing schools looking at innovating from within, inspired by local and global models for change.

While these are isolated examples, they appear to be a sign of change. After much consideration, we have decided to refocus our efforts at Schoolhouse in response. Rather than opening a school to demonstrate that change is possible, we plan to work with schools who are already doing so - to better understand the forces that are shaping them, to promote effective models for making change in our schools, and to support the growing cohort of schools that are recognising the potential to evolve the way they are ‘doing school’.

As part of this new direction, I have commenced a doctoral research project at the University of Sydney (looking at innovation in Australian high schools), as well at taking on the role of Director of Innovation at Cranbrook School.

Moving forward, I hope that the Schoolhouse community continues to be a place where you can find and share what inspires you about progressive education. From a personal perspective, I look forward to sharing my research progress, and inviting many of you to be part of that journey.

Brett Rolfe
Executive Director | Schoolhouse

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Great turnout in support of Globe Wilkins Preschool today!