Catching the morning star!

Image: Torie Roman

“Going through challenging things can teach you a lot, and they also make you appreciate the times that aren’t so challenging.”

Carrie Fisher

The school year has a few more weeks to run. You can be certain that teachers and school leaders are just as busy this week as anytime during the year! There is little time to look forward into 2025! End of year reports, assemblies, professional learning, parent-teacher meetings and performance reviews can feel like a fast forward to the days that slip into February 2025.

The importance of social, cultural and family celebrations should not be understated. These events are the bonds that endure and enable personal growth, and success. It can be hard to demark the distinction between success at work and home. In the same way, personal growth can be difficult to measure and more often hard to recognise.

The adage that ‘policies are there to guide us and protect us’ does not always ring true, especially in the buzz of school days. It could be argued that while the policies swirling around ministerial and departmental offices read well, these policies are often lost in the time between playground duty and staff meetings. Notwithstanding, teachers and school leaders must walk the talk of policies, all the time while keeping their feet firmly planted in the reality of the core business of education.

A casual observer might form the view that some policies are not used in good faith, applied as a crude tool to manage competing demands, taking teachers and school leaders away from the classroom. In fact, not all policies are equal. Some are thrown at teachers like a hand grenade, and others are written to comply with legislation with the requirement of the employer to manage the work, health and safety of teachers.

The annual review of performance and development is one such policy that reads well, can be useful and engage teachers and school leaders in learning that grows their capacity as professionals. There can be no doubt that teaching is dynamic, no two days alike; the complexity of schools and the demands that teachers face racing toward the morning star!

Reflective practices can bridge the gap between policy and performance. Finding the minute to self-reflect on pedagogy, professional growth and development is part of the mix that teachers need to find the energy to engage with. The planet Venus outshines other celestial bodies and is known as both the ‘morning’ star and the ‘evening’ star. Teachers and school leaders need to catch a moment, between home and school. In the effort to catch that moment, you can get lost in the evening skies that are filled with a lights and beacons of life beyond the classroom.

Taking the moment to reflect on the challenges that you have overcome during the year will help you to gain insight into your practice, and fuel you toward 2025!