Category Archives: Community

Operation Pink Mohawk

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The circuit breaker has been challenging for us all. We have had to be resilient beyond what we thought possible.

I’m reminded of our school motto by Kurt Hahn- Plus Est En Vous- there is more in you than you think.

We have done a remarkable job as a community building systems that have kept us learning, connected and engaged. We have all been working hard for six weeks, and for all we know, we have six more to go. There is a time and place to hunker down and get things done, and I have no doubt you will step up to the challenge when asked. While there are benefits to establishing routines, sometimes these new habits create a blanket of malaise that drapes over us, making it challenging to stay motivated.

During times like these, we need a spark. Inspiration. We need Pink Mohawks (Or metaphorical equivalents. Please DO NOT try this at home) !

And to do my part, I have kept my promise to Grade Six and enacted operation Pink Mohawk. I hope you have already seen the video at the end of this week’s announcements, but I wanted to write a few words to add context and explain its meaning

This hair-do is meant to remind us all that schools are places to challenge and excite us, regardless of whether we are on campus or not. Operation Pink Mohawk is a reminder that adults come in a range of shapes and sizes. The way we look, the way we dress, the hair on our heads can all be indications of who we are or what we believe, and I believe in the levity that comes from not taking myself too seriously. I respect the power of silly authenticity and vulnerability. Adulthood doesn’t have to be a mono-chromatic path to oblivion. We are not all mind-numb zombies, always stressed and chasing bills. We are filled with creativity and passion too. There is not only one way a teacher should look or act; our diversity is what makes us great role models.

Every school needs a Pink Mohawk to remind it not to take itself too seriously. To remind it that life is fun, exciting and maybe a little wild, and that it’s not too scary to stand up and take a risk.

What are a few things we will remember from this time?
Who are the people that brought us joy?
How will you lift our community?



Gratitude

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Sometimes middle school teachers are jealous of high school teachers. There I said it.

Interacting with 11th and 12th graders after a day of engaging with 8th graders can be jarring.  High school kids make eye contact. They seem genuinely excited to be talking to you. They are articulate and exude an air of reliability.

We MS teachers talk to our upper school counterparts in awe as they tell us about the efficiency with which HS Global Concern groups get things done. We marvel at the sophistication and depth with which the older students unpack a text or express themselves through art.

We ask ourselves- what must it be like to teach kids who don’t harbor so much disdain? What must it be like to work with kids who have made it to the other side of teenage cynicism? Don’t get me wrong. I know our kids are not all sloth-like-monsters. I am also not naive enough to believe that HS kids are angels.

All I am saying is that being a MS teacher in April of G8 can feel like a thankless job. Are these kids learning anything? Do they respect us? Are the hours we spend with them having any effect at all?

The answer is yes.

I was reminded yesterday that while middle school teachers might not always see the results of our work, we must remember that we are part, some would say the most important part, of the journey a child makes from K-12. The payoff might sometimes be delayed. For years!

Yesterday, a former student that I taught in grade 8 came to my classroom during class to give me a card and a small gift. I remembered her in MS, the same way I see many of our kids: Serious. Stoic. Unexpressive. When I joked. She usually didn’t laugh. She worked hard and was a natural writer, but it was hard to know what impact I was having on her at the time.

While MS teachers wish we could see the fruits of labor while we are teaching, while we wish that we could receive gratitude from the kids that we currently teach, while we wish we could have tangible evidence of the impact we have on the kids in front of us- sometimes we have to wait four years before the students feel the need to share their gratitude.  

But let me tell you this, it is worth it.

Having said that, it does feel nice not to have to wait four years. Can I ask that you speak to your child in the coming weeks to see which of their teachers has had a significant impact on them in MS? Or do some reflection yourself, who have you seen really inspire and motivate your child? It would be great to let them know.

A small note. A short email form you or your child will go a long way. MS teachers appreciate the notes from students they taught years ago, but the notes from the students they teach now are priceless.

Middle School Is Scary

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The thing I remember the most about being in middle school was the constant threat and dread of looking stupid. Not actually doing something stupid, but the fear that I might be perceived as lame. It could have been saying the wrong thing in front of a class, or telling an unfunny joke at lunch, maybe it was striking out in PE or just wearing the wrong shoes or having an unpopular haircut.

Everyday was a battle to be myself and fit in at the same time. And on any given day this tension made me feel powerless and small.

As a middle school teacher, even while I try to be sensitive to the anxiety of many of the students in my care, the need to deliver my curriculum or “get on” with my class overshadows their need for me to take it easy. As teachers, how often do we take for granted the level of risk we are asking kids to take by just answering a question or performing some task we designed.

Work with a partner. Share your ideas. Read your poetry out loud. Present in an assembly.

Of course, I know that kids need safe supportive environments to take risks and sometimes fail, and it is our job to make sure that they have these opportunities, so I am not saying that we need to shelter kids and constantly protect them. My middle school years helped me find the resilience I needed to become confident and become the man I am today.

What I am proposing is that kids at that age need role models and mentors who are willing to make themselves vulnerable. They need teachers who are not afraid to look stupid. They need teachers who can admit that learning can be terrifying and that if you truly want to learn, you must put yourself out there and overcome the fear of judgement. I think it’s important for kids to see that adults still harbour fear and anxiety when it comes to learning publicly.

As adults we have the luxury to do most of our new learning in isolation or in small groups of other adults. We rarely take a chance and learn with or in front of kids.

With the inspiration from my friend and former principal Mike Johnston, who learns something new every year in front if his kids, me and my G8 team changed our culture today. I thought about the scariest most embarrassing thing I could think of and proposed to the team that we take a few assemblies this year to learn how to do a choreographed Salsa dance routine. Did I mentioned that I hate dancing?

One of our teachers is a semi-pro dancer and she has agreed to teach us a routine by year’s end. Today during assembly in front of 198 kids, we learned the first 8-count steps.

I was terrible. It was hard. I was embarrassed and wished I wasn’t doing it. I made a joke of my inability to master even the simplest first steps and wanted to stop and call the whole thing off. I felt like a middle school student and learning was not fun. It was another time that I felt I would be judged and made fun. So it was a success. I had achieved maximum empathy.

In a minute, when I am done writing and sharing this post, I will practice the few steps again, because I have to take the same advice I give my students and my own kids- if you want to learn you have to practice and forego the fear and embarrassment of failure. Little did I know that this actually gets harder the older you get.

I want to end with a big thank you to my amazing team for joining me on this journey.

What does love mean in the context of a school?

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We had our Moving On Assembly for the grade 8 classes today. I had a very special group this year. I will miss this class something fierce.

Here is the speech I gave. (We all raised plants this year, hence the reference to plants.)There are many variables to consider when helping a seed to grow into a fruitful, viable, living plant.The obvious things are water and sun. But you have to be sure that the soil has nutrients. It can’t be too wet or too dry. You have to place the pot in a place where it gets optimal sun but not too much.Sometimes the pot needs to be rotated. Sometimes the plant must be pruned. Sometimes you just leave it alone for a few days and trust that it will be fine. Other times it needs constant attention.

Raising a collection of different plants in one setting adds even more complexity. Some plants need water everyday, while others prefer drought. Some plants will vine and weave and grab onto anything they can attach to, while others prefer to grow alone in their pot. Some plants will wither with the slightest neglect, and will spring back to life with a little attention, while others will ignore everything you do.

There are many variables to consider when helping a teenager grow into a kind, independent, expressive human being.

The obvious things are food and electronic devices. But you have to be sure that their classrooms are nurturing. They can’t be too hands off or too smothering . You have to place the kids in a place where they get optimal mentoring but not too much.

Sometimes the student needs to be reminded about manners. Sometimes the kid must be reprimanded. Sometimes you just leave them alone for a few days and trust that they will be fine, other times they need more constant attention.

Raising a collection of different kids in one classroom adds even more complexity.

Some students need attention everyday, while others prefer to be left alone. Some kids will make friends and be social and grab onto anyone they can get attached to, while others prefer to grow alone in their skin. Some students will clam up with the slightest neglect, but will spring back to life with a little attention, while others will ignore everything you do.

But one thing I have noticed is that both plants and students need love grow. Love is word we don’t use enough in schools. We love our families and we love music and we love food and we love boys and we love girls and of course we love books, but for some reason it feels a bit strange to say you love your teacher, or for me to say I love my students. Maybe it is because the word love is such a tiny word for such an immense emotion. But I am here to take it back.

What does love mean in the context of a school? I think it means kindness, honesty, respect, taking risks and allowing for vulnerability in order to feel safe. I think love in the classroom means that everyone feels like they belong. Everyone feels heard and attended to. Everyone can be themselves without having to change for others. In short, people enjoy each others’ company and feel happy to be with others. When you love your peers, your teacher or your students you want to see them everyday and their energy and your energy are no longer separated.

I want to share a quick story to help you visualise what this love looks like. Last Friday night, I was with 8JRa and all their parents at our year end class party. We had eaten and the music was loud. Before I knew it, I looked up and saw us all dancing and smiling. Yes, there was a conga line around the room. Kids, parents, teacher.

In my 15 years of teaching, I have never seen anything like what I saw last week at our class party. I have taught my share of kids. I have raised my share of plants. But sometimes, the stars are aligned and a classroom and the teacher and the kids, and let’s not forget about their parents, create a situation so we all love each other. These bonds. These classrooms are special. Don’t take them for granted. They don’t happen very often.

In closing, I want to say goodbye to 8JRA for this year. I hope you will come and visit and stay in touch in the future. I hope you cherish what we built 8JRA. It didn’t happen by accident. Kids, Parents, Teacher- we all did our part. We had a good run. I hope you will look back on this year and think about the things we learned together and that you smile fondly. This class will always have a special place in my heart.

Thank you. I love you.

Schools Can Be

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A few years ago I was scared of my thoughts. More accurately, I was afraid of how people would react to my thoughts, my ideas, my values. Maybe it was because I was living in a conservative country and working at a conservative school. Or maybe it was because my values, at the time, were still forged in anger and seeped in rage. I was driven by an obstinate defiance. I was always pushing back against existing hypocrisies, instead of standing for anything on its own merits. There was little wisdom to my beliefs. Even less understanding. Whatever, the case I was constantly anxious about what I said, what I shared and what I wrote. I was scared of my thoughts.

But recently, things feel different. Not only do I not feel scared, I feel that my ideas are valued and even celebrated. This acceptance and sharing of diverse thinking is a testament to a healthy learning environment. The fact that all members of our community feel valued enough to share their ideas no matter how different from the status quo is what makes UWCSEA East such an amazing place to work.

Let me tell you a bit about my last few days. Last week, I was part of a Share Your Beliefs session with our current grade elevens, as part of their TOK (Theory of Knowledge) exploration of faith. It looked a bit like this:

Your role is in session 1; when you be based in a single classroom and you will have three sets of some 13 students come your way; one set at 8.30am, one at 9.00am and one at 9.30am.  The students are all mixing up for each session, so all will hear from you and two different people; in all cases students hear from an atheist and two people of different faiths.  We have several speakers from outside school coming too.

The aim is for you to share with students your beliefs, and to have a short discussion/debate with them. This will then form a solid platform for later analysis and comparison.

The following faiths were represented:

Christianity
Sikhism
Buddhism
Reikei
Baha’i
Hinduism
Atheism

This is the second year in a row that I have been able to talk about my unique melange of  Zen inspired spiritual atheism with a group of young people. I spoke about how my Buddhist principals have shaped my ethical and moral choices when it comes to teaching, parenting, and being an active and thoughtful member of the human race. I pulled no punches and spoke about my animosity and disdain for organized religion based on the effects of Islam on my country of birth, Iran. I spoke about how a belief in a patriarchal omniscient deity just doesn’t jive with how I view the natural world.

In short, I was able to have a very open and frank conversation with a group of young people about who I am and what I believe, without fear of reprisal from an angry community member, because by making this sharing of ideas possible, UWCSEA is telling students and parents that we value a range of ideas. We are saying that no one idea is correct or carries any more weight then any other. We are free to hold our unique beliefs, but we must be open to the idea that others may disagree. This melting pot of ideas may seem obvious to anyone who has studied or worked in a progressive environment, but I think we all know that open-minded is not always the case especially when it comes to religious matters.

Second story– My daughter is in grade two and their current unit of study is about food and where it comes from. They were recently visited by Cowboy James, who spoke to them about his experience on a dairy farm and growing up in rural Canada. (BTW Cowboy James is our head of school) Kaia was curious and excited to hear about this process. At home we began to talk about my current decision to become vegan. Our entire family is vegetarian, but the vegan thing is new. It was great to watch Kaia negotiate her understanding of our family’s choices in the light of Cowboy Jame’s message and what I was telling her about food choices.

After our family chat, we thought that it would be great for Kaia her share some of her thoughts from our conversation with her class. So today, Kaia and I gave a 25 minute presentation, which we prepared yesterday, to her class about why our family chooses not to eat animals. It was great. She helped brainstorm the slides, find the pictures and got up in front of her class and shared her thoughts, with just a little help from me.

“We simply love all animals like our pets and don’t want to eat any of them.”

If you are keeping score– Atheist, Vegan, long haired, bearded and tattooed! It may not seem like much to you, but this is the first time in my career where I feel at home where I work. The first time I feel I can be my compete self. I think a school with such freedom of ideas should be celebrated and upheld as a model for effective learning communities everywhere. I cannot imagine having opportunities like the ones I just described in too many American schools. It is precisely because of  this celebrated diversity that I work internationally. I also love the cross pollination of ideas between ages groups and school divisions.

Third Story– Some students in my grade seven BTC (Be The Change) class are working on an action project about labor rights and treatment of migrant workers here in Singapore. As luck would have it, our grade nines recently did extensive work on the topic with TWC2. So they were perfect mentors for my middle school kids. I quickly sent an email to former students and all week, I have had several grade nine students work with the grade seven students as secondary sources and sounding boards. It has been a fantastic opportunity for both groups.

In closing, I wanted to share my gratitude to finally work at a school that puts its money where its mouth is. The examples I shared are just a few episodes that happened to me this week. I am sure there are many such expereinces happening everyday, everywhere in our school. So often we get so lost in the bureaucracy of school administration that we forget how powerful a school should be.

UWCSEA is a special place not only because I can share my quirky liberal values, but because I am sure that my daughter is the recipient of a plethora of conflicting ideas as well.

Final note– I am excited because I can write about my ideas without the fear that an administrator might “find me out.” Instead, I will email this post to our leadership team confident that they too will be proud of the community we are building here at East.

How does your school work? Do you have open channels for an exchange of ideas? Are you doing anything to promote cross-divisional sharing and learning? If so what are you doing? What are some frustrations that you face being yourself?