Coursework

This week marked the end of the Art coursework. After months of hard work for most pupils, the end was a relief. It was a relief for me as well, as many days towards the end were really Red Bull Days, where I need 'nourish' myself to keep my mind alert on a tired body.

By and large, this is the best batch of Art pupils I had the opportunity working with. There is a general sense of motivation and perseverance, the will and courage to try new things, and the resolve to see it through the end. It has been a joy to teach this class and I hope that the experience of coursework will bring them a level of thought and self discovery that is able to enrich their lives in a way or another.

As this is already the third batch of O Level Art pupils we have, there will be sufficient data to do some decoding when the results are out. By this, I mean a process of understanding (both for the teacher and pupils) in detail, what constitutes a good piece of coursework, or at least in the perception of an external exam. We have been doing this analysis in terms of showing pupils distinction coursework pieces right from the beginning of Sec 3 to establish understanding of the parts, but have not been able to spot a trend amongst a common genre and specify a list of specifics that we can agree with.

Assessment in Art can be fuzzy and will never be a science no matter how robust the rubrics is, impression still counts. If we are able to decode the ingredients neccessary for successful performance, it will be useful as an aid for our weaker, and less initiated pupils. The end result may be more formulaic as a result for these pupils, but performance in general will likely get a boost. As for the stronger candidates, we should give them our full support for most of the creative endeavours which they have decided to persue, as long as the teacher is able to provide constructive feedback in the genre of work.

Revisiting some work tools

I was thinking about the 2 working tools which had made their impact on my life these few days. GTD and Mindmaps. Both of which are applicable to all manners of life, whether it is personal or professional. Although I am an advocate and is totally sold on both methods, I still have plenty to learn from each and is still constantly falling off the bandwagon. The fault does not lie in the methods, it just takes a lot of effort to turn workflows into working habits. For this, I am hopeful and optimistic, that as long as I have questions for myself on these methods, I will learn and get better.

David Allen is the guru who invented the GTD philosophy and workflow, which is gaining a lot of traction in the past few years. The inaugural GTD Summit this year at San Francisco is a measure of its international following. While researching for materials on this subject, I stumbled onto a YouTube clip where David Allen himself was presenting to the folks at Google. Going through the 45 min clip served as a good refresher for those of us who had read the book. Those who are new to the methodolgy can also be quickly introduced its main ideas.

I had also included a mindmap which I made of the video while watching it.

There is a great opportunity to introduce these tools into the classrooms.

Pressure and Encouragement

Being away for some official duty for some time, last Friday was the first time which I got back to school to see my Sec 4s. I supposed they were both eager and anxious to see me, as I have always been very frank when I am giving feedback concerning their art. Truly, I appreciate their anxiousness, for that means that they do care about what they are doing.

Well, everyone was under certain amount of pressure. I had to quickly adjust to the mode of being a coach to pupils who have such a diversified range of work while the pupils were all rushing to meet the coming deadline. I can see and feel the pressure experienced by the pupils, from their eyes especially. Some pressure is always good, they just need to know how to draw strength from it.

And during such times, the ability to give encouragement and move foward is crucial. Whatever flaws committed were really water under the bridge, we need to focus on what is ahead and what in our control can be done. Pupils need to believe in themselves that they can do it, teachers have to be there to give them this validation.

Over Lunch and Coffee

Through some engaging conversations last week, it is really interesting to get to know how others in the teaching fraternity are dealing with both problems and opportunities in their own contexts.

What is heartening to witness is the presence of some teachers who care deeply about the ideals of education, having the courage and priority to always do what is right and good for the pupils and not being distracted by perception or measurements. Their conviction is inspiring and there are plenty of methods which I can learn from.

Stories are exchanged and one of those which really left an impression on me is a case whereby a friend recalled an incident when he was still a pupil in school. It was an impressionable lesson carried out by a highly persuasive teacher. His teacher spent perhaps the course of one lesson to convince his class, using clear statistics, that they are better off not furthering their studies after they finished secondary school, and that they should just contribute to the workforce as early as possible. The very sad thing is, some of my friend's classmates and friends got convinced in that very short amount of time that it was indeed a very viable option and they went on to do exactly that.

More than 20 years down the road, my friend still spoke with much anguish and contempt about that incident, and how it had adversely affected some of the lives of those who were there in the class that day. Such a strong influence, but such a crippling belief.

Fortunately, this friend of mine did not get indoctrinated on that day and went on to graduate in a reputable university and is presently a very skilled teacher in bringing about changes in pupils, in a good way.

We play such important roles in shaping beliefs. This, we have to do very mindfully and effectively.