Hidden+Agenda+File

You may have noticed that we have no ads. i appied for and was successful in getting a K-12 exemption. M

This is just as idea as a space to resolve any personal issues that may crop up throughout the semester. My proposal is that everything that is put up here is said __without prejudice__ and is inadmissable in the weekly meeting.

I had a discussion with my brother (a group work veteran) and he didn't like it until i provided him with this example.

"Say i have a disagreement with Paul about an issue, this space gives us a chance to 'have it out' in an environment that leaves a paper trail. it would also mean that the group can see what is upsetting or worrying its members and little things can be nipped in the bud early."

This is also a place where small grievances can be brought out into the open and resolved. e.g. if i were to say something that offended you and you find it continuing to bother you when you get home (or even the next day, week, etc) you can post it here to let me (and the rest of the group know) that a line has been crossed. I like to think of it as tranparent self regulation.

This is also something that i would like discussed as part of the first Agenda.

Matt i really like this idea. If things get heated it should be on this page, not on individual wiki pages. I reckon we mostly get on pretty well, but this would be a good forum to try to resolve disputes and disagreements in a professional manner. Perhaps make this an agenda item for the next meeting? Amy 23/6.

27/08/09 Hey guys. at this stage its probably not a priority to be consulting the hidden agenda as we seem to have a clear path forward and the deadline approaches. Nonetheless it is useful to have a forum for venting about stuff to do with the course and stuff in general. So sitting here listening to eminem and trawling through the same material that i trawled through last night and the night before i am growing angry with frustrating terms like "satisfactory completion", "supplementary assesement", requirement... appropriate ...unit 1...2...3...4 or none of the above not excluding requirement listed in section 3a of page 42... I am frustrated by the lack of definition for education, teaching, curriculum or learning. Just what are we doing here? Who are teachers and what do they do anyway? Is there a core/unifying/fundamental role/theory/aspect that can cut through all the shit that government hands down and requires of us and motivate and release us as teachers to focus on what it is we came here for? I think not, but accessing all of this info/requirements/policy/requirements has brought me to think seiously about what it is that brought me here in the first place and what it is that I can do when I go from "teacher" to "teacher with permission to teach". I blame Eminem...who blames a bunch of other people ad infinitum... Andrew

Hi Andrew. I am sitting on my couch late at night and watching a movie while studying, It does melt your brain! Anywho, I thought I'd share my idea on the above with you. Once you have the experience of rounds and fieldwork this may become clearer for you. I'm not at all trying to be condescending here, its just teaching is also like other jobs in some ways, IE the stated policy versus the reality of the everyday, the need to learn through doing and observing those who are more experienced as much as reading the work practice guidelines or rules about how to. It seems that regulating/prescribing/policy making for something that involves the deepest levles of human experiences will inevitably never get it all. We all know that love, hope, faith, anger, and other such ephemeral, emotional concepts can never be defined or described with just words...teaching, in my opinion, is a combination of planning, intellect, goodwill, faith and alchemy. For me, the most enjoyable and rewarding parts of this whole thing have been making new connections with people: students, mentors, you fine folks, tutors, the people at the bar and coffee shop. Wow, i am tired. Hope that helps in some way mate! Amy-30/08

hey guys,

look im really sorry you feel disappointed about my not attending/contributing to the last meeting (or whatever contributions you feel i am or am not making to the group), i really am. It must be frustrating, i know. Coz anytime i am in a group and people dont appear to be participating I feel annoyed. i do feel though, in this instance, that i have stated on a few occasions that nights are no good for me unless meetings are held late. The other side of it is that we had originally agreed to meet tuesday mornings, which i have kept open and so far i have been there each week as agreed upon. Tuesday mornings is the only meeting time we have officially agreed to meet at (look at our minutes from our first meeting). The minutes are the official document and what we agreed to do. I was under the impression that that is why we kept minutes and are running formal meetings. I have been there every single week at the agreed upon time. I am not sure if my microphone malfunction at our other skype meeting meant u guys didnt know I wouldnt be at the tuesday night meeting, but i did say i could not come tuesday night. so im sorry if there was misunderstanding about that. As far as the next meeting goes, I will be there tomorrow morning - but will anyone else? Probably not. so who should be frustrated? its all perspective really. Im not annoyed, just think we should be clear about this. and if i missed an invite or a posting about when the last meeting was, im sorry. i didnt see it until it was too late.

on the work side of things i have been looking things up and have lots of ideas. I am sorry i havent been posting them. That is my fault and I am sure it has contributed to your frustration, for which I am sorry. Though I do think we are wasting time posting lots of stuff. We have been given specific tasks for a reason, if not, why do we have them? I think if we just write our policy drafts and then we cross check them to see if they sound good and fit with our school we will feel more is getting done and feel less frustrated. I think we are overly worried about starting (I could be very wrong about this point, I just know how I am feeling). If skype isnt working then I think we should meet in person. Using mobile phones and directly communicating is much more effective. I hope this doesnt make anyone feel they need to get on the defensive. I am not trying to have a go at anyone, I am just stating what I thought was the agreements and what I see as being some issues. I hope it is taken in this way and apologise if anyone feels attacked. I mean no harm or offense with my straightforwardness. I love you guys:) hope to chat with you all soon, and I'll post some stuff and I hope it helps,

reuben

This is exactly the kind of things that i put this part of the wiki up for. As i have been in a position where i have had to neglect the wiki and the meetings also, I have been gathering a bit of a file of cocurricular ideas that do not seem to be useful on their own but i feel that they will come togethers. I have not been able to do mornings as i am working full time in school at the moment, evenings are no t great either as i'm earning my keep by looking after small children.

M

Point taken and apologies for prematurely voicing disapproval. If its any consolation, the meeting at which disappointment was voiced consisted only of 2 members so in essentially its null and void. Moving on. Skype, both chat and voice seem to be a reasonable way of conducting meetings. Meeting in person would help us to see each other but co-coordinating a time would be just as difficult. The assignments calls for meeting minutes once a week during semester time with agenda and minutes to be published to the wiki. Having progress posted to the wiki is crucial both for creating points of discussion at meeting time as well as ensuring we are all on the same page. If we all worked independently of each other we would have a fairly disjointed set of policies. It also allows for us to comment on and complement each other with the work we are focussed on. Reuben it sucks that you felt out of the loop and its only fair that you are forgiven for not attending but the fact remains that we are faced with the task of coordinating meetings that work for everyone. Any suggestions from members?

I have set up a system under "manage wiki" in which i recieve email updates on all pages edited on the wiki. This helps stay in touch with whats going on but it is impractical if you are unable to access a computer at all times. Sms or phonecalls would help co-ordinate a meeting time too. Andrew

hey thanks guys. I appreciate ur comments and im sorry for my part in the miscommunications. And its not u guys fault i feel out of the loop. It just happened - dont sweat it about the disapproving comments. Seriously, I would have been saying the same thing to let others know how im feeling. i realise it doesnt always reflect the reality but it gets the ball rolling again. I LOVE honesty so thanks for saying it. I dont blame anyone at all. I gotta do beta too. And i still love you guys:) Yeah i know its monumentally important to have meetings. Thanks for the words of clarity andrew and yes mat this page is a great idea!!! Are saturday mornings out? If we can schedule night meetings well in advance, say wednesday nights for example, then i could plan ahead and cancel other stuff - work etc. Coz I am willing to put this ahead of other stuff to make it easier for everyone. Monday nights? Are all nights bad for mat? how bout everyone else? Im sorry i feel like i have been making this hard for you guys i dont mean to be a painful group member. I will try to conform to majority vote (i just have one request only and ask that sundays are left out of this please. I will try to be there any other day/time for you guys). Maybe we should do wat andrew said and do a ring around and find a suitable time. U want me to? i dont mind making weekly phone calls to set up the time if that helps. i could be our meeting co-ordinator? and fair enough about the policy thing you said andrew. I will chuck some stuff up tomorrow for you guys to peruse...hahaha love that word (if that's how its spelt)!!

Reuben

Hey guys, great to see feedback and discussion going on, good stuff. We had discussed and agreed to Tuesdays, especially mornings across this break time, which are still fine with me, however I cannot commit to anything on weekends, I have to be free to work for money sometime! During semester its cool coz we have regularly scheduled class times and will be meeting then. Reuben, somehow your not being able to attend the meeting on the 14th had not gotten throught to me otherwise I would have noted you as an apology for that meeting, but hey, its cool, I'm not troubled.

I've had some good stuff come across my desk so to speak, including some copies of the policies that actual schools are using for this stuff, which helps me get an handle on exaclty what we are supposed to be creating here (see the link on important documents page), and also has made me realise that this task may not be as huge as it seems coz most of the policies are quite short (ie 1-2 pages at most, dot points etc). I'm very happy to see that we do not have to produce a timetable/class grid, coz that would suck! I have paper copies which I am happy to scan up and send on request if anyone wants em. Also, I've borrowed a heap of academic texts on curriculum and are wading thought them slowly, will have more ideas to bring as I read up, stay tuned.

I just noted that Matt is essentially incommunicado for this fieldwork time...can we/should we be meeting without him? I've tried to get some clarification on LMS about if we are being expected to produce agenda/minutes etc during this fieldwork break, but no reply so far. Should we email Janeeden do you think? Additionally, I agree with Reuben's idea of getting along and producing a __draft__ document for our policy areas to bring to a future meeting. We are collaborating here on the wiki, and it will help us to get further along for the next time we do meet. Eveyone knows and can see the Aim High values and etc to base policy on, and with the problems we're encountering with meeting times, I would be happeir to know that everyone is getting on with something indivudually that can then be brought to the table and deliberated over in the formal meeting context. Comments? Amy- 22/7