Leading with Values

Through working with the children on my research I found a tension, a living contradiction (Whitehead, 2014) between the National Curriculum requirements, Statutory Attainment Tests and preparation and the learning I wanted in my classroom. The more the children and I explored our learning, ourselves as learners and as a person, the more aware of the living contradiction I became for myself and for the children.

We created a communal space each and every one of us could hold open. We all contributed, felt valued and had a clear voice. We explored our learning skills, attributes, beliefs and popular learning theories. Whilst also spending time understanding ourselves. The more we reflected and explored our learning, the more I felt we needed a way to hold that space open within ourselves, to carry it with us as an inner understanding and resilience. Thus the beginning of Spirals began and has continued to evolve.

Spiral’s is a personal living archive.  It can be in a form of choice. For my class, it was A5 ring binders, pockets, wallets, coloured paper, card etc.