Food For Thought: Conferencing plus aI influenced pedagogy.

Dear all,

With the Student Led and 3 Way Conferencing fast approaching I thought I'd share this poem from Allan Ahlberg that was published in the Sir Ken book that I have just finished reading, You, Your Child and School. It was shared in a chapter on building relationships in which Sir Ken explains the importance for parents building relationships with their children's  school. He uses the poem to emphasize the anxiety that can be felt by all parties when this relationship is not present and explains how what should be a relaxed formative conversation becomes a "nerve racking succession of short, charged conversations with more left unsaid than said." Hopefully this is not how ISHCMC parents feel as we do provide lots of opportunities for parents to inquire about their children's learning throughout the year by attending coffee mornings, exhibitions, other conferences and online with my ISHCMC, Managebac and SeeSaw.

Having said this, we must realize that there will be both parents and students who are nervous about the conversations this week and it is important to ensure we remember our mission and ensure all are stakeholders feel welcome, safe and spoken to mindfully during the conferences.

Parents' Evening

We're waiting in the corridor,

My dad, my mum and me.

They're sitting there and talking;

I'm nervous as can be.

I wonder what she'll tell 'em.

I'll say I've got a pain!

I wish I'd got my spellings right.

I wish I had a brain.

We're waiting in the corridor,

My husband, son and me.

My son just stands there smiling;

I'm smiling nervously.

I wonder what she'll tell us.

I hope it's not all bad.

He's such a good boy, really;

But dozy - like his dad.

We're waiting in the corridor.

My wife, my boy and me.

My wife's as cool as cucumber;

I'm nervous as can be.

I hate these parents' evenings.

The waiting makes me sick.

I feel just like a kid again

Who's gonna get the stick.

I'm waiting in the classroom.

It's nearly time to start.

I wish there was a way to stop

The pounding in my heart.

The parents in the corridor

Are chatting cheerfully;

And now I've got to face them,

And I'm nervous as can be.

(From Heard it in the Playground by Allan Ahlberg)

As you have heard from me throughout the year I spend time thinking about education for the future and how this will be impacted by artificial intelligence. My holiday Food for Thought will share with you a number of interesting videos about the bigger questions related to AI from whic we can think about how we are really preparing our students for their future in our ISHCMC classrooms.  

This TED provides some thoughts about this topic from a educationally pedagogical point of view.  
"Currently around 63% of students are disengaged at school, meaning that they withdrawal either physically or mentally before they have mastered the skills that are required to flourish in later life. In this talk Scott Bolland explores the science of learning, the mismatch between how we teach and how the brain natural learns, and the important role that artificial intelligence could take in addressing the limitations in our current education system.

Have a good weekend,

Yours

Adrian

PS. I case you have a few extra moments this weekend/ week. This video of Peter Hutton I shared with you some time ago. I am sharing it again because I believe it is important to add context to our own exploration into what is the right style of education for our students today.