2009 APPA Conference - Gold Coast - 16-18 September
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Two galleries of photographs from the conference is now available:
Social and Emotional Learning: What Every Principal Needs to Know and Do to Implement Sustainable SEL School-wide Practices that Impact the Achievement, Behaviour and Well-Being of All Students - Dr Michael Bernard and Ann Maree Kelly. Session notes. Presentation (Bernard). Presentation (Kelly).
Michael Bernard -
Ann Maree Kelly -
How Do You Top an Oscar? - Adam Elliott. Session notes.
Session 1: Who is Coming to School? – Steve Francis
He started teaching in Collinsville. Became a teaching Principal – not sure how to teach Year 1s how to read. He was told: get them to touch their left ear with their right hand over the top of their head – then they are ready to learn to read. www.stevefrancis.net.au
Wants to get you thinking about who is coming to your school. Reflect on what’s going well, what you’d like to refine, make new networks, make your schools even better that they already are.
What about the kids? How different are they? We know about the changing structure of the family – single parent, same gender parents, extended nuclear.
The gap between his age and the Preps coming into school is widening every year. "I still see me as a 24 year old, so the reality is somewhat more than the perceived 20 years – it is now a 40 year gap. That’s because for some of us, we have never left school. I think that I can connect to their world – but is that true?"
What about the 4 year olds coming into school in 2010 – the Athens Olympics happened before they were born; they have no connection to Beijing Olympics. Finding Nemo is an historical movie. The Tsunami was before they were born. What are their differences? What do we have to do to cater for their needs?
But the Pareto Principle applies to them. 80% of outcomes come from 20% of input.
Kids are still kids – 80% the same. Love to have fun. Want to please. Are sponges. Enjoy learning – at the beginning anyway.
"Sometimes we overplay things, and we forget that they are young children. We need to make sure that we connect with that."
Their needs are still the same – Maslow’s hierarchy is still the same (slide 3) – food and water and shelter (basic physiological needs), safety needs (adults tend to forget about that – we live in a stable place – kids need certainty, predictability), love and belonging (connecting with people), esteem (good self and held in esteem by others), self-actualisation (living the life you were born to live).
Why do schools exist? "It is so important that we teach the young children the mechanism of a civilised society, so they established schools."
"All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." Book by Robert Fulghum.
These are the things he learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.
How are children today different?
"If we keep doing what we always did, we won’t get what we’ve always got if we start from a different place."
Who’s coming to school?
1985 – overweight – boys 11% and girls 12%. In 2007 – boys 24% and girls 26%.
Intellectually – some IQ tests are going up, but others are not – might be norming differently. Not as good with motor skills now – different activities now – less on bikes and football, now Playstations. Lot of kids can’t ride a bike.
Average concentration span = 7 minutes – the average time between TV commercials. 12 year olds – 12 minutes. "Need to change the learning mode in the classroom every 7 to 12 minutes to cater for that, because you are not going to change what happens at home with TV."
Impact on language skills by TV and internet – they may be more knowledgeable, but it is receptive language not expressive language.
AEDI Index – Australia Early Development Index – physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills, communication skills and general knowledge. Talks about how vulnerable they are when they arrive at school (example on slide 9). Gives a good baseline and identifies areas of risk – e.g. physical development. Need to have greater focus on 0 – 5 years – have to lobby for more resources.
Families – single parent 1997 – 20%, 2007 – 22% - not much change to national average.
Births outside marriage increased from 1997 to 2007 - slide 12.
Both parents working – 1997 – 54%. 2007 – 60%.
1-3% are raised by grandparents 100% of the time.
% of time in childcare going up - slide 15.
Children in formal care under 1 year of age – 7%. 1 year of age – 31%. 3 years of age – 53%.
29% of Prep kids attended a quality (with qualified teacher) early childhood environment before Prep (85% national average).
Formal care has impact on schools – focus of program is vital.
Transition to school is far more settled that it used to be. Tim Tam and Tissue sessions for parents. Impact of childcare. Tears of parents might be an aha moment – parents might have guilt feelings and feel that they have not been able to give the sort of parenting that they would have liked.
Neither parent working – 1997- 9%, 2007 – 7%. Busy day schedule. Only get a couple of hours – 1 in morning and 2 at night – to be parents. Typical school day for the kids - slide 22.
Parents going from Gen X to Gen Y.
5 sins of Gen Y parents: defensive, desire ‘independence’ (want their kids to challenge authority), protective, hate saying ‘no’ (time poor), outsourcing of parenting.
Why? Aspirational, frustration, guilt.
Precious kids because mothers are older now – lots over 35 - slide 25.
Ways forward:
Make sure that we know OUR children.
Support parenting.
Build alliances. School is hub for community with other agencies.
Challenge – OECD rankings for reading, etc – see slides 27 to 32. Note the difference between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians.
"We are better off to face the waves of kids coming to us. Don’t try to change the force of the waves – change what you do."
One hundred years from now
It won't matter
What kind of car you drove
What kind of house you lived in
How much money you had in the bank
Nor what clothes you wore
BUT
The world may be a little better
Because YOU were important in the life of a child.
Session 2: Michael Bernard - Social and Emotional Learning
With Anne Marie Kelly.
SEL needs to be recognised in policy as a contributor to school effectiveness and student outcomes.
What we knowabout SEL skills: Students achieving to potential, well-behaved, emotionally healthy. Then consider the kids who are the opposite. What makes the difference between the two groups?
Might be thinking that it is home background. That has some merit, but research shows that the kids have different social and emotional skills and values. Have known this for some time.
Benjamin Bloom (diagram below) – 3 factors that explain student outcomes – social, emotional and affective accounts for 25% of the variance.
SEL has a relationship to behaviour and emotional well being.
2004 Early Childhood Longitudinal Study:
What factors contributed to reading achievement?
20,000+ four- and five-year old children were surveyed by teachers and parents.
Time parents spend reading to children is a key factor.
Young children's "Approach to Learning (e.g. persistence, organisation, eagerness to learn, attention) that reflects their level of social-emotional competence predicted achievement in their reading.
Children from families with economic disadvantage were found to demonstrate extreme developmental delays in their social-emotional competence. Children from the lowest 20% of family income levels show the greatest delays in development of SE skills.
Girls demonstrated greater degrees of social-emotional competence than boys.
Children from different cultural backgrounds showed differences in their social and emotional competence.
Key SEL recommendation: "Because children with reading challenges are delayed in their social and emotional competence (no "reading readiness"), SEL instruction needs to be part of your school's literacy strategy!"
Because their SEL is delayed, they are not engaged in the learning. Pressure on teachers to get them learning. But need to empower the children from an early age with SE skills; the distribution of that responsibility is across teachers and students.
SEL can be integrated at the beginning of a literacy lesson in a number of ways:
Share the literacy goals of the lesson. Say: "Before we begin, I want you to know what I am planning to teach in this reading session. Here are the goals of the lesson that you are trying to reach. After I describe the goals of this lesson, I will ask you to say what they are so I am sure you understand the goals."
For example, you can say: "Today, you are going to learn different ways you can tell the main ideas that an author is writing about. Can someone tell me what you will be learning about in this lesson."
The way SEL sounds at the beginning of a literacy lesson:
Develop positive mindset of students. Say: "Before getting started, it is important that you have a positive attitude towards what you will be learning."
For example: "Let's make sure everyone has an 'I can do it' rather than an 'I can't do it' attitude to what we're learning today." Ask students to volunteer what that means.
SEL can be integrated in a whole class teacher-led literacy activities:
Describe behaviours for learning. Say: "For you to be successful in this next activity, it is very important for you to know how to be a successful learner. Here is a list of what are called 'behaviours for learning' that will help you to be successful. I want you to practise these behaviours during this activity."
For example: reading out loud with a strong voice so that everyone can hear you clearly; coming up to the board to write a difficult word or sentence.
SEL can be integrated in small group literacy activities:
Describe positive self-talk for learning. Say: "Remember everyone, as you're heading off to your groups, your self-talk can really help you to get the most out of your activity. Here's a reminder of self-talk that can really help you to be successful."
"I can do things that are hard."
"When I can not read a word, I should try to sound out the letters or re-read the sentence and then try to read it again."
"The more I try at this, the smarter I get."
Whole class reflection: what we've learned from literacy activities:
Have students reflect on their use of behaviours for learning. Ask the following question: "Who can share with us the 'behaviours for learning' that you used in the session (e.g. "I was confident", "I raised my hand to answer a difficult question", "I really tried hard in reading words that were difficult without giving up", "I helped others in my group", "I managed frustration when I found something hard to understand, and I stayed calm".")?"
SEL can be integrated in literacy homework:
Describe positive self-talk for learning. Say: "The following self-talk can help you to do homework that is hard or is taking a lot of time." For example,
"The more I try at this, the smarter I get."
Helping others helps me learn."
"Before getting started, it's important that I understand what the teacher wants me to do."
Need to talk about SEL when we talk about literacy and numeracy. The ones who find those hard are the ones with delayed SE skill development.
Bernard 2008 - large survey (Social and Emotional Health of Australian Children and Youth). The best outcomes were in schools where they learned about things like conflict resolution. Some findings from a survey of over 10,000 kindergarten / pre through Year 11 students reveal:
4 in 10 students say they worry too much.
2/3 of students say they are not doing as well in school as they could.
1/3 of all students say they are sometimes quite mean to other people.
4 in 10 students are delayed in their social and emotional competences.
In school, learning about feelings and how to manage stress and solve conflicts contributes most to high levels of wellbeing.
State curriculum frameworks – the Queensland one specifies the SE skills - some others do, and others do not. Queensland's previous Minister for Education: "State schools will begin embedding social and emotion learning in a bid to boost students' skills in dealing with stress, self-responsibility and interpersonal relations in today's society." Mentioned in other states as well, e.g. Tasmania, South Australia.
SE skill specifications tend to be buried away in places like Religion Education. They are often considered to be for children with social problems.
"In her remarks opening the 2009 APPA Conference, the Governor-General, Ms Quentin Bryce, spoke of the new tasks of schooling today which go beyond literacy, numeracy and childminding to providing children with the social (and academic) foundations for success. She spoke of the importance of children's self-belief and resilience."
Many schools are implementing SEL and seeing positive benefits. Schools of all sectors and systems.
What is SEL?
CASEL, 1997 – "SEL is the process whereby children and adults develop essential social and emotional skills, knowledge, attitudes and values."More information at www.casel.org/sel/academics.php.
SEL Skills:
First circle – positive self orientation - emotional domain. Rational attitudes (e.g. self-acceptance, tolerance) and coping skills (e.g. finding someone to talk to, relaxation) needed to regulate emotions and behaviours in tough situations.
Second circle – positive social orientation. Interpersonal domain. SEL skills and values of empathy, respect, responsibility, conflict resolution, friendship making, social confidence and community responsibility needed to form relationships.
Third circle – positive work orientation. Learning domain. SEL skills of work confidence, persistence, organisation and work cooperation needed to manage school work that is challenging.
This is a basis for you to do a self-assessment of your school.
Can see the connection between these skills and the impact that they have on people’s work, relationships and emotional health.
"SEL is also a process of creating a school community that is caring, supportive, and responsive to students' needs." (CASEL 1997 and Bernard 2008):
Building positive relationships.
Employing positive discipline skills.
Involving students in decision-making.
Providing multiple opportunities for student success.
Modelling by adults of social and emotional skills and values.
Framework for SEL Programming: SEL (learning environment + SE skills instruction) = positive outcomes.
SEL is for all children. Help prevent problems and promote excellence. Kids Matter – systems of early intervention – second circle in the diagram below.
SEL needs to be a part of any ILP in your school. Those children are the ones who have delayed SEL skill development.
Lots of programs available. List from the Qld website – all are research based and can provide a trainer to come to your school.
Aussie Optimism Program
You Can Do IT! Education
Skills for Adolescence
Skills for Growing
Friendly Schools and Families Program
Friends for Life - Friends for Children
Benefits: Impact on student mindset. Adaptable to different cultural and language environments. SEL provides the sorts of skills that kids need to succeed in society and does not override cultural backgrounds. Kids can learn from age 4 or 5. They can also use the language of SEL.
9% improvement in attitudes about self, others and school.
9% improvement in prosocial behaviour.
9% reduction in problem behaviours.
10% reduction in emotional distress.
11% increase in standardised achievement test scores in reading and mathematics.
Some basics of SEL implementation:
Effective implementation of SEL is not an event. It is not something that staff members experience briefly until it is over so they can return to business as usual.
A series of planned, deliberate steps have been identified that assist schools in supporting school communities in the effective implementation of SEL.
The more that SEL is embedded in school culture and the greater the number of those who are singing from the same SEL hymn sheet, the greater the impact of SEL programs.
Principles of school leadership:
The active involvement of school leadership is necessary for successful implementation of SEL.
School leadership is responsible for articulating the importance of SEL to the entire school community.
School leadership must prepare staff for change, deal with resistance, and be supportive throughout implementation.
School leadership must apply gentle pressure to ensure that all staff are committed to implementing SEL and are over time increasing their SEL teaching skills.
School leadership should model the social and emotional competencies that teachers should teach and that students should learn.
Have to be up-front. "It includes you plus others; never excludes you."
Williams, 2003 study of outstanding school leaders: analyses showed that outstanding principals were distinguished by their self-management skills (emotional self-awareness, adaptability, etc.) and their relationship management skills (empathy, developing others, etc.).
5 stages of implementation:
"Buy in" and school-wide agreement:
Principal understands, endorses and advocates for SEL for all students.
School leadership understands, endorses and advocates for SEL for all students.
Staff understand and endorse SEL for all students.
Parents understand and endorse SEL for all students.
School Council understand and endorse SEL for all students.
SEL incorporated as an explicit priority area in the school's 3-year strategic plan and annual operational plan.
SEL Planning Group set up.
Planning practices - ongoing:
SEL coordinator(s) established.
SEL planning group achieves agreement on specific SE skills for teachers to teach and students to learn.
SEL planning group reviews different "evidence-based" SEL programs and selects one (or more) that meets the needs of staff and students.
SEL planning group scrutinises and modifies the timetable so that time for teaching the SEL curriculum is identified.
Settings for initial and ongoing SEL professional learning identified (e.g. staff meetings, twilight sessions, newsletters, performance management).
Surveys identified to gather evidence of the effectiveness of SEL.
SEL action plan developed and circulated to staff.
Preliminary implementation of SEL practices:
Initial stafftraining in SEL.
SEL launch.
Staff model and communicate SEL skills and values.
SEL introduced to students (goals, class discussion of meanings of SELs).
SEL curriculum taught on a regular basis.
SEL classroom-wide practices (awards, feedback, images).
SEL integrated in school-wide activities (assemblies).
Ongoing professional development of staff in SEL.
Evaluation of SEL practices - ongoing:
Staff provide discussion and feedback of practices and student outcomes.
SEL planning group recommend alterations and improvements to SEL implementation.
School-wide implementation and sustainability (needs to have a critical mass to go school-wide) of SEL practices:
Continuous and ongoing staff development of SEL practice.
Opportunity for staff to strengthen their own personal SEL skills.
Teachers continue to integrate SEL in classroom and across curricula areas.
Students' SEL skills assessed by teachers and reported on school report card.
Students with challenges provided to more intensive exposure to SELs.
Parents learn how to support children's SELs.
SEL integrated into school excursions.
Sporting and PE coaches integrate SEL in sporting events.
Homework clubs, before- and after-school programs support SEL.
Concluding remark: The Principal of Collectivity:
Can one teacher impact the social-emotional well-being and academic achievement of all students in a school? Probably not.
However, with all staff and members of the community uniting ("collectivity") to work towards the SEL common purpose, there will be a shift in the culture of the school.
With all of us participating in the process of social and emotional learning, the effects of negative and non-supporting home backgrounds, previous negative school experiences, and negative peer group pressure can be minimised.
And the human potential of every child maximised.
The session continued with a presentation by Anne Marie Kelly, Morisset Public School, NSW. Refer to her slides for the challenge that her school faced and what they did about it in 2006. Individualised learning.
He talked about the experience of waiting for the phone call from the Academy telling him that the film was nominated.
Each nominee get two tickets to the ceremony and two tickets to the dinner afterwards, but they could not afford to buy their tickets to fly and to stay. But the Victorian Government gave them a grant. He was on the dole, and he had $88 in the bank.
The Academy puts on a special lunch for the nominees – two weeks before the ceremony. Could not go. Would have sat next to Clint Eastwood.
Qantas gave them an upgrade to Business Class on their flight over to the USA. Never been up there before.
They did not believe that they would win, so they decided to relax and enjoy the moment.
As a kid, Adam wanted to be a vet. He grew up in the Outback on a SA prawn farm (Port Broughton) with a father who was a retired acrobatic clown and a mother who was a hairdresser. It was a lonely and desolate place. They had a black-and-white TV and could only get the ABC channel. He made things out of pipe cleaners and egg cartons and play dough. The business went broke, and they went to Melbourne. He went to Haileybury – very expensive school. By Year 10 and Year 11, he found out that he was terrible at Maths and Science and would not go to University. But he had an amazing art teacher who had won an Oscar for set design for Camelot with Richard Burton. He was very encouraging to the students. He achieved very average marks in the VCE and ended up at the St Kilda art market selling hand-painted t-shirts. The got tedious after 5 years of doing that.
So he decided to leave – went to the open days for various tertiary colleges and saw the animation department display for the Victorian College of the Arts. He applied, but they accepted only 8 people from the entire world – he was not accepted. Also did a framing course – was a keen photographer – thought that he could sell the framed photos. Then received a phone call from the College and he was offered a place caused by someone dropping off the list. Everyone in the course had to make a short film – made “Uncle”. Used the process of claymation. Started to win prizes – AFI Award – shortlisted for an Oscar. That has now become Australia’s most successful short film ever.
Then was awarded a grant of $42,000 to make “Cousin” – a 4 minute film. Also won prizes.
then another grant of $54,000 to make “Brother”. That took a year to make. Terrible working conditions. But it was his passion.
All of these are in black-and-white.
Then received a grant of $380,000 to make “Harvey Krumpet” – produced 5 seconds of animation a day over 3 years. The money ran out, and he went on the dole again.
Disney, Pixar and Fox were their competitors, each with $7 million budgets for their short films. Disney’s film was “Destino”, a film started 40 years before by Walt Disney and Salvador Dali.
He took the Oscar to the Collingwood Trophy Shop to affix the plaque. Had not seen a trophy for a while!!
3184 was the number of the Oscar, which was also the postcode of the suburb of Elwood, the place where he wrote the script for the film.
Told the crowd to watch SBS at 8.30 to see the film. The crowd went very quiet. SBS is a porn channel in Amsterdam. They were ushered off the stage very quickly.
He felt like a fraud walking up the red carpet with all the stars. He just wanted to get out of there. Lots of friends had flown over at their own expense to see them – watched it from the hotel across the road.
They were not invited to any of the after-ceremony parties, but figured that "The Man" would get them in. Went to the Vanity Fair party first. Approached the bouncers – they said: "Yes, Mr Elliott, of course you may go in." So he asked about his friends going in as well. Was told that he could do anything he liked. Saw Brangelina in the cue and gave them a big wave.
Back-to-back media calls for the next 3 days. And they have done over 700 interviews since then.
Lots of mail from all sorts of people. 1 from the PM. 1 from the Governor-General. And 1 from Centrelink telling him that his dole was cut off.
He has not been on the dole since then.
His favourite interview was with Andrew Denton. Denton flew Adam's parents up Business Class for the interview show.
"Mary and Max" – was shown in cinemas earlier this year. It became one of the biggest grossing films of the year.
Oscar is the “golden crowbar”. Have less money here in Australia, but he retained control over the film.
His was the first ever animated and first ever Australian film to be shown on opening night of the Sundance Festival.
Why does he make films? It's about storytelling and connecting with people around the world.
He has no secrets for his success – he is a workaholic about making films.
"Life is not a dress rehearsal, you only get one chance. If there is something that you love to do, just do it."
He is a futurist, demographer and social commentator. His website has background information for this session.
He will look at Australia today and present an analysis of the trends and how Australia is changing.
He wanted to find a stunning forecast for the session. So he decided on the Gillette Fusion razor – a 5 blade disposable razor - used to be a 3-blade. If you add new blade each 18 month (following Moore's Law) – by 2040, it will have 26 blades!
Sometimes, predictions are based on dubious data. See the day's editorial from The Australian – it’s about people. Need to understand the demographics. By the end of 2009, Australia will have 22 million people. We had our highest population growth ever in the last 12 months – 300,000 babies were born in the last year.
We have an aging population – the key defining factor. But the highest birth rate ever and the lowest death rate and the highest nett migration. 1.9% population growth rate each year
Since 1909: have quadrupled our population, added 20 years to our life span. We are more than 10cm taller. We are more culturally diverse - over 25% were born elsewhere, and more than 1 in 3 were born overseas in the population under the age of 35.
Blue graphs (slide 2). The Baby Boomers are 25% of the population with 50% of the nation’s wealth. Gen X (born 1965 to 1979) – still with dependents – are 21% of the population and 25% of the wealth.
The Baby Boomers have adopted and adapted to new technologies more and faster than any other generation, and they spend more on it.
Gen X – important because they are the parents in your schools, community leaders, staff. Intense focus on naming their kids. He used the births registry and compiled baby names – the most popular name for boys is now Jack. A generation ago, the list was very different. John is the most popular name overall, but it is 108th on today’s list. Peter was #1 in 1957; only 4 Peters born in 2009 in the whole of Australia. Mia was the top girl’s name last year. In 1900-1930, the most popular girl's name was Dorothy. None of those were born in the last year.
"Hyperparents" today – they have fewer babies – 3.5 in 1965 to 1.9 today. More double-income families now.
In Scandinavia, they call them the “curling” parents – smooth their kids’ path.
Gen Y – born since 1980.
The key generation of students is now the Gen Z – born since 1990s. Understanding them is key to educating them. Digital natives. Sydney Morning Herald article1 and article 2. One of them might ask: "Mum, how do I put the bread in the toaster – landscape or portrait?"
Changing generations – the class of 2020 are 7 years old now: 9 in 10 of them will complete Year 12. They are the smallest cohort for some time (50,000 less than the 2008 cohort). They were born when the birth rate was at its lowest. They have older parents – their mothers' average age is just under 31. Their mothers have had careers. They live in smaller families with 0.8 siblings. They are more disconnected from other groups outside school – sport club, neighbours. They live in an aging society – the median age is 40. In 1983, the average age was 29. As many are aged 60-70 as are aged 10-20. 1 in 3 women will have no women; it is 1 in 4 currently. They will live longer, work longer, and have at least 5 careers.
1909: the aged pension was introduced. Accessibility age for the aged pension has not changed since then - has been 65 since 1909. That will go up soon. Life expectancy in 1909 was 57; today it is 85.
Regional demographics in NSW and how to retain people out there. Parkes has an Elvis Festival. By the end of 1977, there were 54 Elvis impersonators. In 2008, were 8000 globally. Using extrapolation, by 2020, 80% of the world population will be impersonators.
Psychographics: helps us understand how they think; their attitudes.
Attitudinal changes:
Tradition to Innovation – e.g. newspaper going innovative, online, etc. and news plus lifestyle, not just news. Written by more than journalists and readers. Interactive.
Reputation to Recommendation – by others, not just by ourselves. E.g. on ebay, the buyers rate the sellers. Social validation, not self-advertisement.
Sit and listen to Try and see. Participate. What websites are most popular now? The ones where the content is created by the users – Facebook, Wikipedia. For more than 200 years – Encylcopedia Britannica was perceived as the most authoritative source of information. Until Microsoft put reference material on CD and DVD. Encyclopedia Britannica rebuffed Microsoft when they were approached to out their material on disk; they had a traditional business model. So Microsoft approached Funk & Wagnells = Encarta – the biggest selling CD of all time. Then Wikipedia started – now it is the dominant source of knowledge of all time. The web sank the CD.
Long-term need to Short-term wants.
Content to Process.
Authority to Authenticity.
Technical-IQ to Relational-EQ.
The young people now say: “It’s not that we don’t care on purpose; its’ just that we don’t care.” So we need to understand what they do care about.
T-shirt: "When I’m bored, I Google myself."
Using the idea of the conference theme: The surfer does not make the wave; he does not try to change the wave; he just makes use of what is there. So we can’t change their upbringing, so we have to use what they bring to school.
To help us to surf the wave:
Postlifestage: Our age does not match our life stage (see the graph to the right). We no longer have the traditional life milestones. The transition from childhood to adulthood was about 14 about a century ago. It changed in the time of the Baby Boomers, as more of them finished high school.
Kids are older at a much younger age now. Tweens now like teens were before – brand knowledge.
Gen Z toys – more than half are powered or electronic. Not so many free play toys. Mums stopped dolls at 10; most now stop them at age 6.
July 2009 – Barbie tattoo range was released.
Can’t take out 20th century developmental models and use them now – they don’t work as well. Piaget and Skinner are age wrong now.
Young kids can navigate the technology now. Can multi-task.
New technologies in schools. Skype. Classroom Technology Ambassador – Year 6. Now teaching kids ICT in Year 1.
Kippers = 20s staying home longer = kids in parents' pockets eroding retiring savings.
They are also called the "boomerang kids". Half of the 20s come back home within 2 years of having left.
Connecting in these ways with them is key. Providing a primary education is critical.
Mature age student is the fastest growing tertiary education.
Rock stars like Mick Jagger are still out there. Rock fans are now as likely to be 50+ as 20.
Post-structural life now - slide 19 to 22. Life is not as structured as it used to be. Work vs leisure, etc.
Technologists call them handsets now, not phones. Convergence of facilities.
Need people and life skills, not just educational skills.
In 1970, people worked for an average of 10 years per company, now 4 years per employer.
Move to flat structures – distributed leadership.
"If you are leading and no one is following, then you are just out for a walk." (John Maxwell).
Options for emerging generation:
Expectations – so much choice, needs directions, mentoring, coaching.
Post-rational: communicate not just by left brain technology. More relational than logical and analytical – remember what the most popular websites are now.
See 4 quadrant model on slide 24. Need to know where people are in the quadrants. Seekers need structure; agree-ers need more heart stuff.
Reason that kids sit through Pixar movies is that it is an emotional journey. Changes over time as it goes.
What is a leader to do here? Chase the trends? Or we to be leaders and stand firm in some cases?
2007 book – High Surf. Interviewed people from all works of life, including old surfers – looking for wisdom. "High Surf is a collection of profiles, quotes and anecdotes from some of the most inspiring surfers I have had the good fortune to meet, over 20 years of surf writing. World champions like Kelly Slater, Mark Richards and Pauline Menzcer are interviewed alongside intriguing surfing characters like novelist Tim Winton, violinist Richard Tognetti, ethicist Peter Singer, chef Steven Snow and tribal elders like Buffalo Keaulana and Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz. The central question posed through all these profiles is: "What have you learnt from surfing and the ocean". The responses are varied and fascinating and form a kind of mosaic "philosophy of surfing" or ocean-worn wisdom. Doc Paskowitiz recently made news headlines around the world by his trip to the Gaza Strip with a bunch of surfboards he wanted to donate to Palestinian surfers, as part of his "Surf for Peace" mission." Refer to Tim Baker's website for more information.
Would like to take you for a surf. Health promoting properties of surfing would be made clear immediately.
Doctors used to prescribe dunkings in the ocean for patients back in early 1900s - impractical these days.
“Good health is more than the mere absence of disease.”
Went to Palestine and took some surfboards to help out the surfers there.
“Surf for Peace” mission. "If we can learn to surf together, we can learn to live together," Doc told reporters.
His son started Surfers Healing as a result of their son being autistic. Calming influence of the ocean. Not alone in their belief of the healing powers of the ocean. "Surfers Healing was founded by Israel and Danielle Paskowitz. Their son, Isaiah, was diagnosed with autism at age three. Like many autistic children, he often suffered from sensory overload-- simple sensations could overwhelm him. The ocean was the one place where he seemed to find respite. A former competitive surfer, Israel hit upon an idea--with Isaiah on the front of his surfboard, and Izzy steering from the back, the two spent the day surfing together. Surfing had a profound impact on Isaiah. Israel and Danielle decided they wanted to share this unique therapy with other autistic children. They began to host day camps at the beach where autistic children and their families could be exposed to a completely new experience of surfing."
Peter Singer – ethicist: keen body surfer.
Classical violinist – Richard Tognetti. He has a 1743 violin – drips saltwater on it - worth about $10 million.
Surfing tends to inspire an obsession in people.
Need to stretch and warm up as you get older to stay in the game.
Surfing has plenty of benefits:
1. Gives you a powerful reason to be in tune with the natural elements – waves, tide, wind, etc. To get the pick of the waves. Whatever your source of motivation, our lives are enriched by connection with the natural world. Negative ions generated by breaking waves could help treat depression - some scientists believe.
2. Gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning. No two mornings are exactly the same. Sense of excitement and anticipation.
3. It is a really practical reason to maintain physical body. Challenges get greater as we age. If we do not do it every day, we can not not do it. Maintains our mobility. Standing position is similar to the tai chi position – drop into the lower body – breathe in and breathe out. Relieves strain on the upper body. Most of us under-utilise the strength in our legs and lower body. Lower body is planted – upper body is loose and free. Same in surfing as in tai chi.
Things that you can do not only through surfing. Gives you a template. As you ride a wave, you shift between 4 balance points – heel and ball of each foot. Need to massage your feet occasionally – sophisticated mechanism. In surfing, your foot is your brake, steering and accelerator.
4. It makes you take some time for yourself to actually go surfing. Not so easy to do that in these busy times. Monitoring the elements of the beach and waves and weather on the beach. Then intense aerobic exercise to get out the back from the beach. Then sit and scan the horizon to wait for the swell to approach. Getting into position – becomes instinctive – watching for the right signals.
5. Teaches humility in the face of a higher power – the wave. Can’t fight the wave. Have to come up to the surface when it lets you do that. Have to maintain a fitness regime if you have a passion for surfing – or anything else.
6. Surfing offers must-do moments in a less life-threatening moment, but the immediacy forces us to switch off our intellectual minds and act instinctively. No longer take breathing for granted – when your next breath comes after being held under the water. Primacy of keeping the breath in your lungs – might have only a few seconds before the next wave.
7. Teaches balance. As you go down the wave against the water coming up the wave.
Waves are pure energy. Water does not move in towards the beach – it moves up and down. 2/3 of a wave is under the water, then when it hits the bottom, it slows the bottom and the top falls over – that is the breaking wave zone where surfing happens. Tube riding is the peak of the experience. Spinning tunnel of water, travelling at about 40 kph, hoping to come out the end of the tunnel. Feels like a re-birth to come out of the tunnel.
Surfing is an almost childlike experience – you do the same thing over and over again. Like a kid on a slippery slide. Not a lot of other things that give us that experience.
8. Provides active meditation – for the intellectual mind. Impossible to think about your unpaid bills when surfing a wave.
It is a trance-like state called the flow state – total focus and involvement – done for its own sake – produces a state of wellbeing. Quote at 31+ minutes. “The challenges were in balance with the skills.” Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the positive psychology concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields. Colloquial terms for this or similar mental states include: to be on the ball, in the zone, or in the groove. Refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28psychology%29
We all need a flow activity in our lives.
Older surfers were most convinced and convincing and most effusive.
Definition of health = presence of a state of vigour.
Doc Paskowitz: “When you come out of surfing, there is a feeling of euphoria.”
Finds surfing references everywhere these days.
Timothy Leary: “Your future is right ahead of you; your past is exploding behind you.” Saw life as a dance. Real point of our existence rather than material wealth.
Come to regard the ocean as life made visible. Ancient mysticism tells us that life is made up of waves of all types.
Not going to tell you how to educate the children. How you sustain yourselves as leaders. What if the answer to those questions are the same things – inspiration. Inspire others by being inspired by being inspired yourself. Pass it down the line, like a wave. Being inspired is how you sustain yourself as leaders. The ocean is his inspiration. Poem from a 10 year old boy on the surfers healing website – 42 minutes.
The Happiness Institute was established in September, 2003 by Dr Timothy J. Sharp. Dr Sharp is a clinical and coaching psychologist who has devoted the last few years of his career to building a private practice from which he and his team have helped thousands of people overcome problems such as depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia and relationship difficulties. Dr Sharp is also a lecturer at the Universities of Sydney and New South Wales, a best selling author (of "The Happiness Handbook" and "The Good Sleep Guide", published by Penguin Australia), and a corporate and public speaker whose lectures and workshops cover topics such as work/life balance, personal productivity, time management, stress management and, of course, happiness.
There are lots of myths and misconceptions about happiness. Need to know what it is before we can achieve it. What does it mean?
Positive psychology = new area = it is the scientific study of optimal human functioning. It aims to discover and promote the factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive.
In 10 years at university and 3 degrees, he was taught nothing about happiness – all they talked about was misery. Pain and suffering and depression and stress.
As well as treating those problems, we have effective tools to treat them. We can help most people go from -10 to normality (slide 3). But do we want to settle for an OK life – is that all we really want for our lives? Want to do better than just OK. Can go much higher – playing and living above the line – aim for +10 (slide 4) – not every minute of every day, but we can live and play more often.
Goals of Positive Psychology (slide 5) = pleasant life + engaged life + meaningful life. Greek philosophers – Hedonia (short term, superficial) + Engaged (more than just getting through the to do list; flow state; connect with others) + Meaningful.
Creating positivity in the workplace – having fun and play at work as well as away from work.,
Building social support and connectedness – critical for all especially kids.
Building character.
A few practical tips to take away and apply in your life and at work right now.
Try POT - think of as many positives as possible about yourself, your world and your work, and the other people in your life.
Basic principles: they work for everyone but differently for everyone. How to apply them is up to you.
Focus on what you have, not on what you don’t have. Many people go through life with no gratitude.
If you do these things regularly, you’ll be happier, live longer, more successful.
Positive events record: (1) 3 good things that have happened today – benefits will last >3 months if you keep doing it. Do it a couple of times each week. (2) Practise gratitude. Journal, letter, visit. Think about someone who has had a positive influence on your life and do something like that – take the letter and read it to them. Hard to do – very emotional – great for the giver and the receiver. Gratitude and appreciation. (3) Plant Optimistic Thoughts. Think of as many positives as possible about yourself, your world and your work, and the other people in your life. Up to us to find the good things in our world and our work. Don’t forget the good things – reflect on them.
Myth = happiness is a team sport – not just about feeling , it is about doing good. Not just about me me me. Do good to / for others.
Get more out of your money if you spend it on other people or on experiences, not just on things.
Optimists say how can I fill up my glass (don’t just settle for OK but go for more than that) + how can I fill up your glass (what can I do for other people)?
Happiness is looking after self so that you can look after others.
Sleep your way to the top! Most people don’t jump out of bed yelling "woohoo!" Should feel refreshed. Average Australian gets 1 hour less sleep than they need, including adolescents and even younger kids. Make sleep and rest a priority. Keep active and exercise. Eat well and …
"Barbara Fredrickson developed the Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions to explain the mechanics of how positive emotions were important to survival. According to the theory, positive emotions expand cognition and behavioral tendencies. Taking issue with the view that all emotions lead to specific action tendencies, the theory argues that positive emotions increase the number of potential behavioral options. Instead, emotions should be cast as leading to changes in “momentary thought-action repertoires” – a range of potential actions the body and mind are prepared to take." When we experience positive emotions, we do better. People who have a bigger bank of positive experiences have more resilience. Have fun and play. Focus on strengths. Build positive character. Losada ratio – positivity ratio.
All of us have some negativity in our lives. That’s OK if we balance that with the positivity. Need 3 or 4 positive things to each negative thing. Catch people doing the right thing.
There is a knowing-doing gap – we know the right thing to do, but we don’t do it.
Need to work out what is really important is our lives – our core purposes.
Need to have a happiness plan. Clarify priorities. But we get too busy.
Need to find a way to build it into your lives so that you can do it on a regular basis.
We limit ourselves by having self-limiting beliefs.
What can we do to sleep better? Examples: exercise is good, especially early in the day. Practise relaxation. Learn how to deal with the worrying thoughts (most common cause of insomnia), not when it is bedtime or at 3am. Set aside some time when you solve or find problems – between end of work and when you start relaxing. Use a pen and paper to write things down, including when you want to deal with it. Don’t drink excessive alcohol – puts us to sleep but it wakes us up in the middle of the night.
Do you have Dementors among your staff = energy suckers (refer to the Harry Potter series of books)? How do you deal with them? Get rid of them. Not that simple.
Serenity Prayer: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."
Where you can do something with the Dementors, do it. Strength-based workplaces are the strongest. Help them channel their energies in different ways. Never be able to get rid of 100% of them all the time – will always have some people with whom we would not choose to work or live. Acceptance should not be seen as a passive strategy – how can I cope with that in the best way?
Session 7: Sam Bailey - You Don't Need Wings to Fly
Tells his story – born and raised on the land – dreamed of life on the farm. "Had a bit of bad luck." But made the decision to stand back up and have a go. His website is at http://www.sambailey.com.au/. Might help when your life goes a bit wrong. And that we are lucky to live in Australia.
Grew up at Copper Creek – 80km north-east of Moree. All he ever wanted to be was a farmer like his father. Why? – lots of acres, crops growing, Mother Nature, watching a new-born calf. Can remember lots of good things from his childhood. Education away from home for secondary. Then thought that he would go back home, getting married, and spend the rest of his life on the land. Not good HSC marks, but no worries – wanted to get out of school.
Dad was very unhappy with his HSC marks: all Fails except for Agriculture = 51%.
So he found a job in western Queensland. Worked hard, played hard. Fell in love with the Outback. Next year, moved to a cattle station in the NT. Early in 1987, drove back to the NT. 4 months later, the weekend of 11/12 July 1987 – Tennant Creek show – decided to go into town for the weekend with the other guys. 2 of them decided to give it a miss and stay on the station. He said that he would also stay – no money. Can give them a hand for the weekend. Real reason for staying back was that one of the other two was the governess who had just broken up with her boyfriend – so he decided to move in for the kill – all his opposition had gone to town. By Sunday lunchtime, had got nowhere. Only had a few hours to go, before going out to the camp on Monday morning. So he and the others decided to go to Camooweal for a beer. Dressed up. Started off.
They never made it to town. 15 minutes down the road, blew out the front tyre, rolled the car - he was thrown out the back window. Could not move lower body – could not stand. First words were: “Geez, I hope I don’t spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair.” RFDS took him to Mt Isa. X-rayed whole body. Broken neck = C6/7 quadriplegic. No left hand movement, slight control of the right hand, no feeling or control below neck, 35% of lung capacity. RFDS took him to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane. A shattering blow at that age – he had felt bullet-proof.
Hard to take. Tragedy / accident is part of life. Everyone has to confront it at some stage. First reaction = why me? Have to pick up the pieces and move on. Life goes on; the sun comes up tomorrow. Had to come to some acceptance = bad luck; move on; you’re still alive. Lot more positives than negatives. Life says: 2 choices – sink or swim. Injury was worse than he first thought. Had to learn to sit up again for a start – took days to learn that. Then had to learn how to transfer to bath chair – toilet, bed, dress himself. Very hard. Getting a boot on is sooooo hard! Combing the hair, using a knife, opening an envelope – all so hard – taken for granted before the accident.
Spent 5 months in the spinal unit, then went home. Nightmare getting there. Record time through the unit, so changes to the house had not been finished. Lots of infections and burns – long time to heal. Great heat in that part of Australia in summer meant that he had to spend all day in front of an a/c unit. His old bedroom – with all his sports gear – was terrible.
Could not do anything around the farm – had no car. Had to learn to live life from four wheels. Could not look after siblings. Had to get used to asking for help.
Had a massive challenge if he was going to have a life on the land. But he kept going.
Rebuilt his life. Used a quad bike. Got a car with hand controls. Changed the farm machinery so he could drive it, and built a hoist or get into the machineryso that he could farm. Also flew an ultra-light aircraft.
Travelled overseas. Tried skiing at Thredbo.
Took 5-6 years to do the rebuilding – lost his early 20s.
Still wanted to find someone to share his life with. Had a few relationships, but his partners could not take all the consequences of his quadraplegia. By his early 30s, he had almost given up the search. Then he met Jenny Black, ABC rural reporter in Tamworth. Arranged to come up and do a story. "She sounded all right." His Mum knew her from her radio broadcast. The next day, he changed radio stations and started to listen to her. He developed a mind picture – tall, dark, olive complexion – got taller over the days. He went down to meet her at the front gate. Saw her red hair. Then saw she was short – close to the steering wheel.
“Out hopped a red-haired, freckly, sawn-off little runt”. Did the interview, became friends for a couple of years. Did not take the bait that he kept throwing in her direction. Then he went over one day, started talking, then asked her out for lunch. Country Music Festival was on. she was busy. Plan B – ask her out tonight for dinner. But she was busy – national rodeo. But her dog started licking his arm – her dog never takes to a new person that quickly. So he left. Thought he had wasted his time.
She phoned a few weeks later, coming up – would you like to come for dinner. Said he was busy, but said he would try but probably not. He went in so fast! Had a great time. Realised that it was more than friendship. Had an agonising week – terrified that quadriplegia might ruin things – did he want to load that onto her? But he brought her up for the weekend – cemented things for life. Refer to the book extract at http://www.sambailey.com.au/default.asp?PageID=38
Proposed to her live on her radio show. Married in 1999 at his school chapel. First 6 months were wonderful – worked together. Jen's help allowed him to move away from his parents.
“Australian Story” asked to do his story. Did it. Early 2000 was screened. Amazing response. Started public speaking locally. Now travelling across Australia and sharing their story.
"So we are very lucky to live where we live - in Australia." Lives an extraordinary life telling his story – he never knows who might call.
Had a lot of luck in his life – got a contract from the ABC to write about it – early 2006 the book came out. Great reaction to it. 11 reprints - over 50,000 sales. Gratifying to help others – to give them hope.
What’s next? Love where they live. Improve their 3,000 acres of beef cattle. Keep public speaking. Maybe write another book. He has a goal to fly a chopper – love of flying, feeling of freedom; has been told that he can’t – wrong controls, can’t pass medical. "Pig’s **** it can’t be done." was his reply. But the real reason is that he talks to lots of schools – story has a great impact on kids in terms of developing resilience. He wants to fly in in a chopper, get into his chair, tell them his story and his dream and then fly the chopper out. Message is that they can do anything.
10 year Australian Story reunion. 300 people. Met Glenn Todhunter – Blackhawk pilot, lost both legs, but now back flying Blackhawks – he was enthusiastic. Now Glenn lives in Toowoomba, instructing in fixed wing. Wants to help out with the project. Has to have a co-pilot for the first while, so his wife is also learning to fly. Glenn got a chopper instructor’s ticket. Found a doctor to give him the medical. Robinson Helicopters have designed the modifications for the chopper. This was back in 2007. Had a funding problem. Looked for a sponsor – Commonwealth Bank.
GFC has not helped them find a chopper to lease or hire. Once that is OK, will happen quickly. Should be in the air early in 2010, and in school by mid-year. message is: You don’t need wings to fly.
"I am the luckiest bloke in the world."
Jen then spoke. Biggest thing he has taught her is to appreciate what she’s got. Very busy with career – thought she might have missed out on finding a life partner. The dog figured it out before she did. Then could not walk away from him – does not see him as a disabled person. All have things we can’t do – she can’t reach the top shelf of the supermarket. Always had her goals. But did not think much about she already had. Goal setting is really important, but so is appreciating what we already have. Example: a roof over our head and a bed to sleep in.
Knew that it would be a challenge to have kids – tried IVF, but then thought that they were meant to do other things with their lives. If they had kids, would not be able to go to schools and help other people’s kids. Got great messages of appreciation from kids and young people.
Life is what you make it. This great country offers endless opportunities. The thrills outweigh the spills. But everyone will have spills, but you have to get back up and give it a go. Laughter and humour help overcome all sorts of problems. “Jumping the fence” helps also – looking at other people’s problems makes ours seem insignificant. Lots of the people around the world would swap for my situation in a minute.
Wonders what would have happened with his life if he had made it to Camooweal that day. Might have never found his inner strength. Would not go back now. Would not have done all that he has done or met Jen.
Had a great life until he was 19, and now it is an absolute ripper. "I would not trade places with any of you."
Surfing Sustainable Primary Education
"All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." Book by 
Postlifestage: Our age does not match our life stage (see the graph to the right). We no longer have the traditional life milestones. The transition from childhood to adulthood was about 14 about a century ago. It changed in the time of the Baby Boomers, as more of them finished high school.