Writer's Block

I have writer's block!!

I haven't posted on this blog since October last year.  

Since then I have changed jobs - and after an expected initial hesitance I am loving the change even though it has been very busy!

I have been trying to get myself into the right headspace to blog - and stop making excuses but I really do have writer's block! I have started that many posts... but every time I don't seem to be able to finish them.

However a couple of things have happened this week that have got me thinking I just need to get on with it.

- I have encouraged all staff members to have a blog and reflect often about their practice - I have been reading some very reflective posts this week and have been really encouraged by the level of thinking and reflection that is going on.

- Today I listened to a podcast on the way to and on the way home from work today entitled Reflective Teachers are More Effective: Improvement Doesn't Happen by Accident. 

"On this episode of the Whole Child Podcast, we explore how to develop and grow our capacity for success through self-reflection and its impact on student learning, the quality of our schools, and the state of our profession."                              (retrieved from www.wholechildeducation.org) 

A lot of what was on this podcast resonated with me and reminded me of why I began to blog in the first place. The Podcast could easily have been named Reflective Principals or Leaders are More Effective: Improvement doesn't happen by Accident. If we are truly trying to build a culture of continuous improvement we need to continually reflect on what we do ... or how we can possibly improve or "do it better next time". 

One of the educators on the podcast talks about how one year the staff at her school were given thinking journals and were expected to write reflections - her initial thoughts were that she wasn't going to do that however she talks about the transformation for her once she started doing so. She also talked about using twitter and other social media as part of her reflection process. This reminded me of the transformation for me when I was blogging prior to my writer's block!

On the podcast they discuss making reflection a habit - it's something you get better at with practice so I definitely need to set some time aside for this to happen each week - this is something we ask our students to do all the time. Effective self reflection is a habit - spending time reflecting can really propel us forward and have an impact on  student learning, the quality of our school, and the state of our profession.

Lastly a quote from the podcast that has left me thinking - effective reflection can help us move teachers from focusing on the science of teaching to the art of ensuring learning...

Good thinking doesn't happen without practice. What are your habits of reflection?