Becoming: Episode 5 - Nate Atkinson

Um, you are someone who I know is, is sort of doing your doctorate in sort of teaching and learning and leadership, and is something that you're very passionate about, is teaching and learning as a focus.

So I was hoping for our conversation today we could probably look a little bit into that l- as a middle leader leading teaching and learning.

Um, so one of the questions I had was, a middle leader's potentially might step into being, okay, you're now head of history or, or head of English or head of maths or something in that regard.

What's the difference, do you think it-- How do you actually, rather than maybe just manage a department, which is gonna have lots of people, lots of different experience levels, year levels, you're trying to oversee a curriculum potentially seven to 12 or beyond, depending on the size of your school, and then actually leading learning within that space.

How do you think you develop that skill? 'Cause if you've-- I think sometimes, you know, I was a pastoral leader because I was good at connecting with kids, and that's how I got a pastoral role, and then I kind of had to learn on the job what that actually was.

I could imagine that an English teacher who becomes head of English, it's usually because they're incredibly good at teaching English.

Yeah.

But then where do you learn how to manage and lead people? So what-- How do you see that fitting into that, especially a de- a department head or a head of learning space?

Sure.

Look, I, I-- And, and it wasn't my early experience, can I just say.

Um, but I think, um, retrospectively, um, I find it easier to say that having a very clear idea of what the main thing is and, and, and ensuring that as a leader, you are able to keep the focus on learning-

Hmm

... and, and student, um, progress and growth in your department.

So, um, that, that means, um, and this, this is one of the reasons why I say the role of a middle leader, particularly around, um, leading learning is, is a big one.

There is the administrative element as, as one key skill to develop over time.

Um, um, then there is the, the leader of learning itself, um, the, the, the educator who is able to encourage, model, um, be, be an instructor within the department.

Um, that's, that's the crucial middle- Middle element.

And then there's the third element of being a good leader and encourager of people, the relational aspect.

So I probably break, break those two things up into three elements there.

Yeah.

Um, but, uh, but it's critical that, that learning remains the, the main thing.

So-

Mm.

Being the lead learner in, in a team is one way of actually staying focused and staying grounded-

Mm