ASCD Conference Day 2

A quick snap shot with participants from Hong Kong before the morning general session.

Morning general session presented by Erin Gruwell.

The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them
Presenter: Erin Gruwell

Learning points and team reflection:

1. The session was anecdotal and very inspirational.

2. The team felt that her experiences must have been very significant as she was able to remember details of her experience.

3. Theory differs from practice. Effort is needed to reflect on the theories and modify them to fit local context. The actual learning takes place on the job.

4. The main message of the sharing is to believe in the students’ ability to make the choice to change their lives.

5. Definition of success: where there’s hope, success will come. Pupils need directions to succeed. Students are lost. Home background affects pupils’ perception of life and school.

6. Often, teachers teach to the test, but forget to teach about life and guide pupils in the right direction.

7. Result driven vs teaching the child: teachable moments are around, therefore teachers should try to capitalize on these moments.
Singapore context: our system too result-driven? Pressure to complete syllabus. We owe it to pupils to provide opportunities to learn about life. Difficulty is reaching a balance between academic excellence and teaching about life. Seems too idealistic. There may be a need to change the general mindset of society. National recognition of motivating teachers may help.

8. Success can be in non-academic areas. How do we accept this ideal? Celebrate achievement in non-academic areas equally with some kind of recognition system.
How much time to spend on academic and other areas? Seamlessly merge the two would be easier if not caught up solely with academic achievement.

9. Teachers feel that they may not be teaching well if the results are poor.

10. Teachers are afraid to change because others are not changing. Requires a lot of courage and risk and accountability. Can start with foundation students. Don’t use prescribed books. Use some sort of bridging module to inspire them and go round the system to achieve success in the PSLE. Should not see it as an “all or nothing” situation. A little of each approach to get pupils ready to handle required content would be ideal.

11. LA pupils: there is a possibility of not meeting teachers’ expectation in terms of results. Important is to ensure that they have learnt something at the end of their school life even though they may have failed academically.

12. Getting pupils to come to school is important. Help pupils break this habit of taking the easy way out. Sometimes, teachers may need to address the issue by directly handling the child, rather than the parents to the extent of separating the child from the parent legally. These children need rules and routines to direct them. It is not about winning or losing. It is about respecting the child’s personal choice, but teachers should not give up.

13. Struggling children need democracy. They need to be heard. Give them the chance and respect to be heard. Reserve personal judgement. Eg. Northlight and Pathlight school provide opportunities to tap on their potential. Ultimately, it is what teachers and the school want to stand for. Pupils enjoy writing true stories, which is a way to reach out to these pupils.

14. Teachers must believe and have the drive to work within the system. Teachers often forget the reason for teaching. Need to renew passion with heart -warming “boosters” similar to Erin Gruwell’s sharing.
US teachers publicize success of teachers. We can encourage a culture to see the extraordinary in the ordinary in teachers, and publicly recognize this.