A Christmas Gift

We all know that 2020 has been a year of highs and lows, wins and losses.   Some of the losses in our personal lives have been extreme and truly gut-wrenching.  Some of the professional losses may have been similar.  For schools where distance education was and possibly still is the main vehicle of teaching, you might have seen your established practice slipping away as everyone scrambled to get something in place to support learning.  Other people have had loss of position or loss of hope as the changes you expected to come in 2021 were lost in decision announcements about whole language or balanced literacy approaches that would be at the fore next year.

Whatever your 2020 experience has been, I guarantee that you have had wins.  Wins, whether they be big or small, are all wins and worthy of celebration.   I remember a particularly difficult time as a new Assistant Principal in a big school. I felt that there was no point to the change I was trying to make and overwhelmed by the incrementally slow progress that we were making.  I remember standing in the stationary storeroom before school, crying to my Principal (and super mentor!) saying, “Why am I even bothering?”.  His advice? Focus on the small wins.  After all, it is the cumulative effects of small wins that build up to the bigger picture change we all want to see.  Turns out that he was right.  The bigger wins came down the track and I am so grateful that I didn’t give up.

So, in this week before Christmas, I want to give you the gift of clarity.   Look down this list and tick off whichever of these items applies to you in 2020.

• I made a child feel successful
• I reassured a parent
• I supported a colleague
• I helped influence a small change in my school
• I supported my team through a rough patch
• I raised awareness of Dyslexia in my school
• I engaged with an advocacy organisation such as Code Read Dyslexia Network
• I watched a online webinar such as Learning Difficulty Australia’s weekly webinars on YouTube
• I invested in my own professional learning outside of school
• I provided professional learning support to one person who was looking for more information
• I engaged a paraprofessional (Education assistant / teacher’s aide) in a discussion about the science of reading
• I helped a teacher feel affirmed in their choices
• I taught using evidence-based practice when nobody else in my school was
• I shared data with my team and we made decisions based on that data
• I contributed positively to an online platform about the science of reading
• I coached a teacher to introduce a new strategy or technique
• I kept my cool in the face of unreasonable opinions 
• I overcame my own self doubts
• I stuck to my principles as a leader and held someone accountable
• My school let go of ‘sight words’
• My school introduced decodable texts
• My school began a conversation about alternative methods of reading assessment (other than benchmarking)
• My school began a conversation about how to teach phonics
• My school introduced an evidence-based program of some kind
• My principal noticed that the students in my class have performed better than their peers in the next classroom that teachers using whole language
• Parents have given positive feedback about their children’s learning

If you were able to tick off just ONE of these items, you have had a win.  Congratulations! 

In 2021, I anticipate that we will see even more wins.  The need for students to learn at home has highlighted for many parents just how much their children are struggling with reading.  The tide is turning when it comes to evidence-based practice in our schools.  The calls for change are getting louder and departments of education are listening.   The introduction of the phonics screening check in some jurisdictions is an encouraging sign but is only the tip of the iceberg.

It is time now to rest, my friends.  Spend time with your family knowing that 2020 has not been a write off. There have been challenges for sure, but there have also been wins.  It is time to rest now so that in 2021 we can come back into our schools ready to take further action.  I have an initiative coming at the start of February that I hope will help to guide and support individual teachers and schools in their professional learning efforts.  More details will come soon.

For now, thank you for your messages letting me know that this group has been a positive support.  I look forward to being here for you again next year.

I wish you and your family a restful break. See you in 2021,

Take care,

Jocelyn