Barry Smith - Learning about Learning

Feels like an eternity since I’ve posted, a clear indication to me, not that I needed one, of the way things have been recently.  The ability to reflect has been hijacked by all ‘hands’ and resources directed at the firefight for control of my attention which has been underway in my brain over the past two weeks. 

SQH Unit 2 has been submitted, thankfully, although my 5 nights for editing were chopped to only half a day last Friday after the winter vomiting bug wound its merry way through the Smith household.  The result is that I have handed in the SQH Unit 2 assignment equivalent of an overfed, and probably overcooked turkey.  The meat is good, it’ll make a lovely meal and was ready in time, but is just crying out for a bit of trimming.  Well, I’ll await my comments, it’s out of my control now.

I’ve been out of school a lot recently what with ’vomit patrol’, courses and meetings and can sense that I’ve taken my eye off the ball while focussing on all the other distractions.  I’m out again this week for three days on SHARE training, the timing couldn’t have been worse but we couldn’t have known in June when we were planning ahead.  I have some major work to do to get back on top of things and get my head back around organising the next stage of the development of the Alternative Curriculum, or Developing Excellence, or Futures programme or whatever we decide to call it.  Really need to find a good name.

I’m just delighted that I have the drive back to start posting here again, it’s a great feeling to have come out the other side of what was one of the most difficult periods of my professional life so far.  I know it will be worth it because I have learned a tremendous amount throughout my short time on SQH, both about leading and managing and about myself as a person and my limits. 

I had an interesting conversation with Paul Raffaelli, headteacher at Dunbar Grammar, last week.  I was asking him how one of the Deputes, Gavin Clark, was getting on preparing his Unit 2 assignment and the feedback was that he was probably in about the same position as I was - snowed under.  Paul, who has also been through SQH, commented that perhaps the ‘overload’ is all part of the SQH experience, to help prepare you for being in the position of headteacher or senior manager and just having to ‘get on’ with things to get the job done.  I’m not sure anyone at Moray House would admit to that, but on some level it does make sense.

They say these few months are undoubtedly the hardest, so to have ‘broken the back’ of Unit 2, know what I’m doing and where I’m going with Unit 3, and have made a good start on the school improvement project I have to be happy.  Even if I get my Unit 2 assignment back for slimming down it’s not the end of the world.  My confidence is growing that I can ‘crack’ this thing!