An Elevated Summer Conference

A previous colleague of mine, Guemundur Hegner Jónsson , set out an ambition to create the kindest school in the universe.? At our Elevate Conference on Friday 13th September, I challenged our school in Luxembourg to become exactly that. I believe that there is no better ambition. In an ever changing world, with evolving challenges, with exam boards, politicians and inspection bodies all having their input, I believe we need to focus on creating schools that are genuinely kind, that genuinely empower all students regardless of their starting points, that ensure all young people are as prepared as possible to deal with the difficulties life throws at each and every one of us. But creating a kind school takes everybody. It takes everybody in the school taking deliberate steps to be kind.? In the words of Matthew Savage “…kindness is never random. It is intentional. We make a conscious choice to be kind, or, conversely, not to be.”[1].

Last Friday saw us welcome 140 colleagues into 21 different workshops that presented on a wealth of different teaching and learning topics. Our community had the chance to question, challenge, discuss, consider and get excited about Retrieval Practice, Project Based Learning in Modern Foreign Languages and Social and Emotional Learning in the classroom (see the full list at the end? of the article) . The genuinely positive buzz was almost tangible and the profession needs, and deserves, more of these positive moments.? Once again, we had the chance to reposition our teachers as experts in their fields. We had the chance to stimulate intellectual curiosity, and we had the chance to celebrate teaching and learning.

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Nearly two years ago my colleague Laura White created Elevate a collaborative body determined to elevate discourse in teaching and learning and to ensure that time was set aside for teachers to explore and discover their profession.? Friday`s Elevate Summer Conference did exactly this and the conferences are now becoming a well-supported tradition here in Luxembourg. Over the two years we have begun to develop what is on offer for teacher professional development in Luxembourg.? From school-wide access to the World Education Summit, to Lunch&Learns, to summer conferences, to keynote speakers such as Dylan Wiliam , there has been a significant increase in the choice teachers have as they pursue their own interests and passions as part of their professional development.

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With all of this forward momentum taking us in the right direction, I felt it was important to remind teachers of our core purpose.? Being lucky enough to deliver the keynote speech at the conference I chose to focus on the importance of kindness and relationships in education. Remind of Guemundur Hegner Jónsson `s mission I wanted to bring teachers back to why they got into teaching.? Was it to ensure a grades, grades, grades focus or was there something else?? Polling the teachers in front of me, I asked why they had stepped into teaching. The overwhelming response… to have a positive impact [on young people].? We work in a profession that is designed to have young people fail; we work in a profession where the futures of many are heavily influenced by their starting points in life; we work in a profession where many young people are “frightened of having a go for fear of looking stupid”[2]. ??But we have professionals who want more than that. We have a profession full of people who want to make a difference, I want to find a way to let them.

Twenty years ago I entered the teaching profession because I wanted to make a difference. I turned my back on a potential career in law to pursue something I passionately believed in. It wasn`t the money, it wasn`t the grades, it wasn`t the holidays that led me into teaching. I had a sense that maybe I could do something, something different.? Twenty years on, I still believe that teachers can, do and always will, make a difference. That difference, however, can be good and it can be bad.? Putting kindness at the centre of what we do is, for me at least, the best starting point and I challenge anyone reading to come up with a better one.

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So, Elevate… Well Elevate is not going to stand still we are ready for, and excited about, the next steps.? We are going to continue encouraging teachers to realise that they are the experts by providing more opportunities for teachers to engage with their educational passions. Within our own school community we are going to continue to drive our purpose to have a positive impact on young people, we are going to drive a kindness first approach, ensuring all of our community, from parents and students to teachers and site staff benefit. We are going to get excited about strategies that priortise the mental wellbeing and life chances of our young people and we want to work alongside other schools to do so.

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Next year we will run another conference. It is now a tradition at Lycée Michel Lucius (if you do something twice, it becomes a tradition).? We want to invite other schools to join us, to share good practice, to celebrate their teachers and to open up the wealth of opportunity we are creating with Elevate.? But why stop there?? We want to work with politicians, school leaders, IFEN and the University of Luxembourg to continue building on our mission.? Because what if we could create, instead of just(!) the kindest school in the universe, the kindest educational system in the universe?

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Elevate Summer Conference 2024, Workshop Titles

·?????? Best Practise for Inclusion in the Classroom - How to nurture an inclusive mindset and enhance strategies in the classroom.

·?????? Accessing prior knowledge and promoting meaningful discourse using concept cartoons.

·?????? Hope is the most powerful emotion. Be that person.

·?????? Collaborative learning environments through the implementation of the Building Thinking Classrooms.

·?????? Growth Mindset and what it means in the classroom.

·?????? Play to Learn: Game-Based Strategies in the Classroom.

·?????? Interculturality in the classroom.

·?????? Enhancing Modern Foreign Language Education through Project-Based Learning.

·?????? Creating a Project

·?????? Making Room for Impact: how to create the time you need for high quality teaching & learning.

·?????? Kick-starting Peer Observations at LML.

·?????? Towards a Kinaesthetic Classroom - Making the most of Movement.

·?????? Interkulturalitéit am schouleschen Alldag.

·?????? Maths anxiety and creating a positive mindset towards maths for all students.

·?????? Pilotprojet Observatiounen am LML.

·?????? Is Retrieval Practice the most powerful Learning Strategy you’re not using?

·?????? Using prompt enginering and generative AI tools to enhance classroom experience and personalise student learning.

·?????? Social and Emotional Learning in the Classroom

·?????? "I am not a blank slate!" : Activating Prior Knowledge.

[1] https://www.diverseeducators.co.uk/on-kindness-intentionality-deij-and-difficult-decisions/

[2] The Future of Teaching and the Myths That Hold It Back, 2021, Guy Claxton (Page 23)

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