Tree Climbing

"Leaves rustle softy and whisper and sway: Can you see in the tree who is hidden away? Green branches, green birds' nest, green grass or green sea, there's nothing so green as the world of a tree."

This is a page from one of my most-treasured childhood books, ‘A Child’s Book of Seasons’ by Satomi Ichikawa. Her enchanting illustration shows the wonder of tree-climbing, one of my favourite pastimes as a child. My young son has suddenly become fascinated by climbing trees and, for me, watching him scrambling up amongst the branches has been bringing back so many memories of special trees I delighted in exploring. Each tree offered unique gifts - a spectacular view, a hiding place, a thinking spot, even fruits to snack on at the right time time of year.

Edubabble

“What does a lessin look like? Lessin.

Sounds small and slimy.

They keep them in the glassrooms.

Whole rooms made out of glass. Imagine.”

This is an extract from the wonderful poem, First Day at School by Roger McGough, illustrating a child’s confusion regarding school vocabulary. I was reminded of it during a heated discussion recently on the choice of a particularly difficult word used daily in our curriculum which one colleague in the group felt was far beyond the comprehension of children. The word was, ‘transdisciplinary’ which is at the root of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. Though me and my colleagues staunchly defended the use of the word during the discussion, I did begin to reflect afterwards on exactly how much of the curriculum jargon our students actually understand and to what depth.

Listening to Students

A new angle I am actively pursuing this year in my teaching is encouraging students to drive their own learning. One of my first steps is a commitment to taking feedback from my students. Having recently been involved in a number of research projects in which I had to gather data on student views and experiences, I’ve been really awoken to the importance of listening to students and trying to see things from their perspective.