John Piper

Parking at the BCEC $15
Ticket $35
Hearing John Piper's message - priceless :)

Starting from:
Only one life that soon will pass
Only what's done for Christ will last
.. he spoke on the topic "Don't waste your life" - where a wasted life is one that doesn't reflect God's magnificence. My life should at all times magnify God to a world full of people who can't see him clearly (or at all) for their own sin and the broken world we live in. "To live is Christ and to die is gain" - God made me, he owns me, everything I am and have and do belongs to Him. My life should demonstrate that I consider God worth more than anything else - riches, food, rights, freedom, even my life.

Ok, so what does that look like in my life?

Well, I'm reflecting on my teaching. I have been learning over the last few years how to be a good teacher, and how to include God's priorities in my teaching - both topics and practice. But am I reflecting His glory in the way I teach, in the way I treat my students, in how I respond to dishonesty, misbehaviour, rudeness? Does my teaching show that I value God above my subject, above my own desires, above my job, above assessment items, above school rules, .. above everything else?

Hard questions. Watch this space. I know God can do miracles - as those who knew me as an arrogant teenager also know! What will God do with me next?

A busy semester

Well what can I say? Sorry it's been so long. It's been a very busy first semester.

As I wrote earlier, this year I'm teaching Year 11 and 12 Maths A, and Year 10, 11 and 12 Physics. The Physics classes are going much better this year, since it's now my second time around—especially since the start of term two (I only started teaching Year 12 Physics in term two last year). My revised and extended Year 10 Physics unit is definitely an improvement. I'm even collecting and marking the assignments electronically now. I wonder if I can figure out a way to get them to do their exams online too…?

I am missing the Year 10 Prep Maths A, though.

Other than that, I enjoyed my lecturing at CHC, although it was a lot of work. That's finished now; I didn't even have to create a supplementary exam! (Which is not the same as saying that all the students passed…)

So far this semester has been much less stressful. I hope it stays that way.

Classes for 2011

… and so begins the school year for 2011.

This year I am teaching Physics in Years 10 through 12 (well, the Physics unit of Science in year 10), Maths A in Years 11 and 12, and Christian Foundations in Year 12. This is a lovely mix, to which I would only for preference have added Year 10 Maths, but that's on at the same time as Year 12 Physics, so I can't (and besides, then I'd be teaching far too much!).

I have rewritten the Year 10 Physics unit because the new timetable allocates more time to Science in Year 10 than last year, and also every student in Year 10 will this year have a laptop with access to the school network. This is a good thing, because it means (a) I can set up a “virtual classroom” with all the planning, notes, worksheets and other resources the students need, and (b) I can run more interesting software-based interactive activities during lessons. But of course, the students won't actually receive their laptops until week 4! So now I've had to make copies of a whole lot of things for them for the next few weeks. Sigh.

The new timetable has only 60 and 90 minute lessons for Years 9-12, where last year it was a mix of 40, 45 and 90. Longer lessons for the older students is a really good thing!

My Year 12 classes are lovely—because they're the same classes I had in Year 11 last year. My Year 11 Maths A class is too big. Poor things, they're seeing my strict and grumpy side. I have little choice, given the number of students. Ah well, learning a little self-discipline now will only help them in the future.

And let me just say (along, I think, with most school teachers in Australia) how much I appreciated having the Australia Day holiday in the middle of the first week.

Teaching maths to teachers-to-be

I must be mad. I am taking on an extra job this semester: sessional lecturing at CHC. I'll be teaching maths one evening a week to 2nd year education students.

Quilt Extravaganza

Today Laetitia took me to a quilt show in Cleveland. It was held at the Redland Performing Arts Centre (in the same place, I think, as my Senior Dinner back in 1991). Some of the quilts were amazing—intricate details, creative ideas, all kinds of sizes and patterns. My personal favourite was one made by a mum for her son. It had these fantastic comic strips with the boy being a hero, along with exciting designs of space travel, dragons, and fishing (apparently the five-year-old boy likes going fishing).

But an additional highlight of the day for me was seeing there an old English teacher from high school, Anne Green. (Hmm, and here I need a Shakespearean quote about teachers or teaching. Ideas?)

Term 1 at a new school

Phew! Term 1 is finished.

My new school is quite similar to the one I left in Mackay: both Christian, about the same size, K-12. If anything, the students here are more obedient, although not necessarily less lazy.

I'm teaching Physics and Maths A in year 10 and 11, plus an odd mix of other things - year 9 ICT and Christian Foundations, and a year 7 PE class!

I'm not sure what else to talk about here, so feel free to ask questions…

Thank-yous after three years

Perhaps one really does have to leave to get people to actually say “thank you”. Certainly I've received more thanks than usual at the end of this year.

My fellow maths and science teachers signed a card for me, and pooled contributions to get me a gift of a couple of games: Tantrix and Rush Hour. The former I'm enjoying already; the latter I plan to use in my classroom. Both are about building logical and spatial reasoning skills.

I also received many thank-you cards from students. I thought I'd share a few of their nice comments. They have honoured me greatly with their kind words.

In first term this year I taught Maths B in year 11, but then the classes were reorganised and I switched to teaching Maths A instead. There were a few students in that Maths B class who I continued to help with their maths in after-school tutoring—and many other times when they asked! It seems some of them still think of me as their maths teacher:

I was a private maths tutor to one student since the end of last year. In our tutoring sessions, as well as working on maths, we discussed many topics including dealing with stress, time management, careers and life after school, … and we prayed together.

When I was studying to be a teacher, I was warned that I wouldn't see some of the best fruits of my work for years. Here's (part of) a lovely letter from one student who I first taught two years ago, and then again this year:

But I will finish with a short note written for me at the end of the last day of school. Rushed, unprompted, but so meaningful to me:

On practicum during my studies, my mentors and lecturers were always commenting on my apparent passion for my subject. I really wanted them to be commenting on my love for my students. But it's very hard to build up that kind of relationship in the context of a four-week prac. Now, three years into my teaching, and with God's constant help and guidance, it seems I'm finally getting somewhere.

Thank you, Father, for an amazing three years. Thank you for all that you've taught me about being a good teacher. Thank you for the lovely encouraging words from my students. Thank you for allowing me to be such a big part of their lives, and for encouraging and growing their passion for and enjoyment of learning through me.

Ian's core values

Funny how some things don't change—at least, not in a hurry.

I've been going through old stuff in preparation for our move to Brisbane, and it's providing me with a good opportunity for reflection on my first three years of teaching. This afternoon I rediscovered some notes I'd made during one of my teaching pracs. At that time I decided my core values for my classroom were:

• Respect for others and self
• Build others up
• Self-discipline
• Follow God's leading

These lead on to a similar number of simple classroom rules, but that's not the point here. This is: in the last three years, these core values haven't changed. I wrote these up before I started teaching full-time, and in the mean time I have imbibed, digested and regurgitated my school's own philosophy and value system. My teaching skills and strategies have grown from almost nothing to—well, perhaps I can now call myself a teacher, although not yet one good at managing a large class of thirteen-year-olds. My opinions on many aspects of teaching and learning have changed as my ideas have been challenged, bruised, mangled or proven downright absurd through daily testing at school. But in the end, I still think these four statements sum up what I feel should be valued most highly in my classroom.

Interesting, no?

(PS- For my teacher friends, a challenge for you to think through. What are your core classroom values?)

I have a job!

Next year I will be teaching at Calvary Christian College. No, not the one in Townsville; we're trying to escape from the humidity, remember! This is the one in south-east Queensland, at Carbrook, just north of the Logan River. I will be teaching senior Physics, and some combination of Maths and Science.

I'm not allowed to say this (here)…

I'm glad I don't work for Education Queensland.

They have a new (as of October 2009) Code of Conduct, which applies to all their staff including teachers, administrators, janitors, even (to the extent that they are able to) contractors. The new Code is generating some response in the media, due to some parts of Section 2.2.2 “Protecting Students from Harm: Sexual Misconduct” (p.11–12).

Overall, I think the policy is fine. I understand and agree that my “interactions with students must be and be seen to be professional at all times” (p.12). However, there are a couple of points they make that I think are unreasonable, short-sighted and probably unenforceable. First:

“You must not use internet social networks such as Face Book [sic], My Space [sic] or YouTube to contact or access present students enrolled in any school or institute.” (p.12)

I originally joined Facebook because it was something my students were doing and I wanted—professionally—to find out more about it, so as to be able to relate to them in their world and their language. Indeed, I was explicitly encouraged to do so by my supervisors at my school. And I found that after a while, some of my students began using Facebook as a way to ask me for help with their schoolwork. It was a medium in which they felt comfortable enough to ask questions. Now, part of my professional job is to build a relationship with my students within which honest communication and dialogue can take place, a relationship within which they feel safe enough to ask questions and learn from the answers. And I'm very comfortable using digital media as a means to communicate; after all, I was using electronically-mediated social networks years before my students were even born! So why not use a contemporary internet social network as a means to provide another avenue, another option if you like, for my students to contact me if they wish?

But it goes a step further. In a recent incident in Adelaide, two young girls lost in a drain used Facebook to ask for help. That's right, they had mobile phones and were in service range, but they updated their Facebook status rather than calling triple-zero. Now, leaving aside the wisdom of their choices, consider: perhaps a teacher, i.e. a responsible adult who knows them and cares about them, might see their status update and be able to get help to them? In this case, they fortunately had another young friend online who saw and called for help. Good teachers care about their students. Not just about what happens in the classroom. We care about their lives.

Of course, I soon discovered that Facebook was also a good way to get back in touch with many of my own old friends. I have grown to like the way I can keep in touch with so many people without an excessive effort on my part. But some of my personal friends (e.g. from church or other family friends) happen to be students. At state schools and private schools. And TAFE and universities—for crying out loud, some of them are older than I am! And now all Education Queensland staff, including teachers, are not allowed to use Facebook or other internet social networks to contact or access (whatever that means) students in any school or institute.

However, I am quite capable of setting up my Facebook account so that my friends can see everything, but my students can only see as much of my private life as I choose to share with them. Which brings us to the second point:

“If you use internet social networks in your personal time you must ensure that the content is appropriate and private, and that you restrict access to specific people who are not students.” (p.12)

Now don't get me wrong. As I just said, my Facebook profile is set up to restrict access, especially from my students. And I never initiate contact with a student on Facebook. But even my blog is an internet social network that I use in my personal time, and it's not exactly private. I'm also trying to establish a photography blog as a means to sell some of my better photos. Making that private defeats the purpose! In fact, technically, using email is a kind of internet social network. How far will this wedge eventually be pushed?

Bottom line: My employer does not own my personal time. If I choose to use it to build a publicly accessible profile on an internet social network, that's my business, not theirs.

Speaking of my business, I am also a private tutor to several students. As part of that professional relationship, we have exchanged contact details. Which also contravenes the same section of the new Code…

Parting is such sweet sorrow…

I cried today.

I took a minute to tell a couple of students that I wouldn't be around next year. These are two who I've taught, tutored and encouraged since they were in Year 8 in my first year here at MCC. Two who have particularly taken to, and thrived under, my style of maths teaching. Two who I have had the privilege of watching grow and mature. I would so love to stay so I could see them continue to grow and flower into beautiful young ladies, as I'm sure they will over the next few years.

I wanted to let them know before they heard rumours—I'm sure there must be some floating around the school by now. All the staff know I'm going, thanks to a not-so-subtle hint from Craig at staff devotions on Monday. Many of them have children at the school.

I just wanted to let them hear it direct from me first. And after we talked about the situation, and I walked away heading back to the staff room… I cried.

I'll miss them. And many others besides.

Why I hate football

Apparently there were some fights on the field in the third State of Origin match. So what did I see on the playground at school today? Teenage boys mucking around play-fighting at the try line in their lunch-time touch footy game.

It's not that I think it's especially dangerous—to them. It may be hazardous for the primary school children watching from their classrooms to copy the older students' behaviour, of course.

No, the problem is the way they copy their pro-player heroes. They unconsciously imbibe the idea that fighting is okay, that fighting is an acceptable way to express their feelings, that fighting is a good way to sort out differences of opinion. That fighting is fun.

It's not.

Busy, busy, busy

Sorry, it's been a while since I posted here. That's because I've been quite busy. Since the end of Term 1 I've had to turn down four separate invitations to do more. I'd actually enjoy doing those things—coaching a Lego robotic soccer team, for instance. (That is, coaching the students programming the robots, not coaching the Lego robots!) But I just don't have time for anything else.

I'll try to find some time soon for more updates here, though.

Changing the subject

Well, Term 1 is over. *Phew*

Actually, the time seems to have passed much more quickly than usual. Perhaps I'm finally starting to get the hang of this teaching thing. My senior classes are fabulous. (Can't say the same for my year 9s though!)

Unfortunately, one of my favourite classes won't be mine to teach any more. Like last year, our two Maths B classes in year 11 have grown too small to justify keeping separate, especially since the Prevocational Maths class in year 11 is at 27 students and growing. So we'll combine the two Maths B classes and split up the Prevoc class instead.

Fortunately I get to teach Maths A. One of the Maths A teachers is going to take the new Prevoc class.

The Brain That Changes Itself

My father-in-law showed me this book when we visited recently. Within a few minutes I had decided it looked interesting, and possibly also useful for me as a teacher. I suggested to Laetitia that she could buy it for me for Christmas.

She did.

And I've just finished reading it. It's fantastic! A big book (280pp text + 130pp end-matter), but easy to read, it's full of amazing, inspiring personal stories along with fascinating insights into how the human brain works. Complex scientific theories and discoveries are explained in a straightforward and lucid manner, making the implications clear while avoiding excessive use of difficult terminology or grammar. (In other words, the writing is better than mine in that last sentence!)

My father-in-law recommended it to me because, he said, it spoke directly to how he felt as a stroke survivor. Strokes and brain damage are a significant part of the book's subject matter. Other topics include the links between sense, perception and action, learning difficulties, bad habits and obsessions, pain, and of course a fair depth of neurological anatomy and physiology. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on imagination and the appendix about culture.

One chapter I did have to skim through quickly. The author, Norman Doidge, goes into more explicit detail about a few sexual perversions than I personally care for. Respectfully and without hype, but it's just not something I want to read.

The author does write from an evolutionary point of view (in spite of the magnificent evidence presented for the glorious design of the human brain and nervous system), but this generally does not affect the material presented in the main body of the text. The appendix on culture is based heavily on evolutionary ideas—yet I still found it a good read (note my comment above).

The insights I've gained just from a first reading of this book will, I am already sure, help me in my day job as a high school teacher. And I will now be able to speak with more certainty to help some of my students with their own learning—habits of mind, study, etc.

And of course, I now want to go get my CaT scan of my brain from 2001, to see whether I can detect anything unusual. For instance, apparently musicians have stronger links between hemispheres, and a strong spatial awareness correlates with a large hippocampus. Anyone know any radiographers or neurologists who can help me know what I'm looking at?

Recommendation: Read this book. (Just beware chapter 4 if, like me, you prefer to stay with G or PG.)

Boundaries

I recently read Boundaries and Boundaries with Kids by Drs Henry Cloud and John Townsend. I must admit, I was sceptical at first, when Laetitia recommended them to me. More pop psychology I can do without, thank you!

But I was pleasantly surprised. Indeed, I learnt just how good my parents were at teaching me good boundaries. Thank you, Doris and Munro! The authors are Christians, and their advice is soundly based on biblical principles. They deal with the sticky questions of how forgiveness, boundaries and consequences fit together (“I forgive you, but that doesn't mean I will allow you to continue to hurt me”). They give suggestions for responding to others who don't respect your boundaries. And they write in clear and accessible language without fancy psychological terms.

The Kids book I found especially helpful for my role as a teacher. Although the focus is not specifically on the age group I spend most of my time with (perhaps I should read their Teens book), their advice was still very useful and directly applicable to my interactions with students in and outside the classroom. Much food for thought!

Recommendation: A must-read. Should be compulsory for beginning teachers.

QAMTAC '08

Last weekend (actually Thursday-Saturday) was the annual conference of the Queensland Association of Maths Teachers. I flew down to Brisbane to attend, missing the athletics carnival on the last two days of term.

The conference was held at UQ, based mainly in the Hawken Engineering building. The conference theme was “My Way or the Highway: Reflections on the Distance Travelled in Mathematics Education”. As well as three interesting keynote speeches, there were four elective sessions each day with no less than seven offerings each session—a real smorgasbord of workshops and seminars!

Casio offered us all a free graphics calculator! Not wanting to be out-done, TI began giving away their new multi-line scientific calculator too.

But for me the highlight of the conference was definitely the dinner on Friday night. This was in the Burke & Wills rooms at the Mercure in town. Not only did the chef feed me very well, it was a great night of fun and friends (my cold notwithstanding; I picked up a cold somewhere between Mackay and Brisbane, and it was fairly chilly, so by Saturday I was feeling rather unwell). And the band, made up of conference delegates, were simply fantastic! They played and sang beautifully.

More photos on Flickr.

The Black Balloon

It's $8 for any movie, any session this weekend, so we had to go see something. After more than one recommendation, we chose “The Black Balloon”, an Australian movie about a family with an autistic son. The other son struggles to come to terms with what that means for him and his relationships with other people.

I found it very touching, and it really made me reflect on just what the parents of some of my students must go through at home. I did have trouble at times believing that the two boys were as young as they were supposed to be. The humour and romance were typically Australian, which is to say delightfully understated. I especially enjoyed the long poignant silences and meaningful looks. (And don't blink too much during the opening credits, or you'll miss the only black balloon in the whole movie!)

Highly recommended.

Ready for Term 2. Bring it on!

Well it's been a good break: relaxing, but also productive. I've planned out most of my subjects all the way to the end of the term, and prepared most of the extra things I had in mind.

Yesterday night our billet arrived. Suzy is studying Education at CHC, and is here to do her first teaching prac in grade 2. She'll be staying with us for the next four weeks—unless my vegan cookery kills her first!

End of Term 1

*Phew*! Made it to the end of term 1. Much easier than last year, but still hard work.

The last day of term 1 was the cross country. I enjoyed running the course; the plan was I'd run just a quarter, in a relay of teachers in my house, but by the end I'd done the whole course. (They even gave me a point for my house!)

Now I get two weeks without students. I have three main jobs to do in that time, to prepare for what's ahead. One of those things is to get ready for my maths enrichment classes. Yes, I've volunteered for more work—because nobody else around here is doing it, and it really does need to be done. I will have weekly after-school meetings with half a dozen of our best maths students from years 8, 9 and 10. I will be introducing them to some interesting ideas from the rich history of mathematics, and challenging them with some tricky problem solving activities.