Breaking down the walls in schools

There's a lot of physical rebuilding going on in schools at the moment. This post from Euan McIntosh describes one experience of rebuilding the way a school works. I've been taking photographs for an LTL project called Hearts and Minds to encourage secondary school pupils to discover their heritage in school, and to encourage teachers to find creative ways to link heritage to many different school subjects. One of the things we've found is that the fragmented school day makes it next to impossible to support collaboration and integrated learning. It's on 'suspended curriculum' days that the H&M projects could really start to reach their potential. Or in smaller schools, and special needs schools, where closer team working and integrated curriculum planning seems to be more common and easier. Reading about this example from Norway was inspiring.

The work life balance

Balance is a cunning term when you get in close.

You've got balance in the sense of scales - scales of justice, weighing scales;



you've got those sort of mathematical summary balances, like the balance of payments;


and you've got the balance of power type balances - you know half a dozen powers pulling in different directions, and the balance of power being where they end up. Maybe this last one is the moste organic analogy, more like an ecosystem.


So what type of balance is the work life balance? At the moment it feels like a balance of power, an overall characteristic of many different forces pulling in different directions. This is what adds to the spice of life, its diversity and interest. And creates the conditions for links, innovative connections and synergy.



But like many natural systems and cycles, you need some dormant time, when a lot of the stimulation can be assimilated, digested and re-worked. Like leaf mould. Or a compost heap. Or that creative phase called by some 'incubation'.

My next spot of incubation is approaching. And I'm looking forward to it. Just a couple of weeks I think this time. And then it's on with the next spot of river-rafting ...