“IT ONLY TAKES A SPARK TO GET A FIRE GOING” - Kurt Kaiser 1969.

These words from the song “It only takes a spark to get a fire going” by Kurt Kaiser are not simplistic but rather very poignant, particularly for teachers as they search for the sparks that will fire up the minds of their students or Principals as they set out to fire up their staff. For to not be able to light a spark will be a pity. Some teachers may be panicked about getting through the massive amount of work in the overcrowded curriculum and in concentrating on the volume of work may miss lighting the spark. Others may be creating to ensure they produce lessons which light the spark in their students. Volume verses Creativity.

As I sit on my tractor slashing a paddock, I’m aware of the dangers of this activity starting a fire This can occur if the slasher blades strike a stone causing a spark which ignites the grass. Once a fire starts it is pretty hard to stop - stamping on it is not going to do it. Slashing is banned on a fire ban day and at all other times an extinguisher must be carried on the tractor. As the years go on Principals have a list of problems, realised through experience, of negative, thoughtless, ill advised, or painful events. If they are wise they will use their “fire extinguisher” to put these out before they flare into major trouble. An old Principal friend of mine had the saying, if something was shaping up to be unfortunate, “that’s going to be a bag of nails.”

So, the spark can figure in both positive and negative analogies. I have found it such a useful strategy to focus on a problem via an analogy. This enables movement out of that dreadful fog of overcrowded thoughts.

An amazingly vivid and sensitive poet and singer of the 1970s was Cat Stevens. In 1973 my brother and I took about 45 adolescents from the youth group we ran to see the “Cat”. He was outstanding, so appealing and it was a privilege to see him. The fire of enthusiasm for his music was certainly sparked that night. However, the people behind me would not stop talking and the bushfire of anger was definitely lit within me.

The Cat wrote a song called “Father and Son” and these words often come to mind when considering change:

“It’s not time to make a change

Just relax and take it easy

You’re still young, that’s your fault

There’s so much you have to know”

Yesterday I started on this piece and as can happen, the words and ideas were not flowing to my satisfaction. This morning, words and ideas were bubbling all over the place. But surely it would be a waste not to use what I had done already. However I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied unless I “ditched” them and started again. As I continued to write with new ideas burning brightly in my mind, I was pleased with the action I had taken.

Principals can be reluctant to change their mind because this can be seen as a sign of weakness or indecisiveness. I think that Principals being willing to change their mind is a sign of wisdom and good leadership. Sadly history is riddled with leaders, particularly military and political leaders who failed to change their minds and sparked the fire of disaster. A leader should always be ready to re-calibrate if that seems to be the best thing to do. Good leaders are thoughtful leaders and are always ready to accept a better way if it appears.

One of the hardest jobs a Principal does and one of the most crucial is the appointment of staff. When short of staff and finding recruiting a difficulty, it is then that a principal is vulnerable. The thought that the school will be a teacher down causes that dreadful sick-feeling in the stomach and the weight of responsibility seems much heavier than normal. It can be then that a Principal will make the wrong choice because when considering someone who is perhaps not up to standard, they can hope that the person may magically, not logically, be the right choice and so they take them.

Often hope becomes the Spark the Sets a Fire Going and, to quote my old friend, they have taken on “a bag of nails” with all its ensuing heartache. Many parents will say to their children, “No means no”. A principal must never lose sight of these words unless there is a very defendable reason. NEVER APPOINT A DISASTER TO MAKE UP NUMBERS!

But back to students. If the learning spark is lit within the students, the result will be enjoyment and satisfaction for both the students and the teacher. When the students go home at night and the parents ask how school was, how positive it is for them to reply “terrific” and everyone feels satisfied.

If a teacher fails to light the fire in their class, then it is likely students will become discontented, then boredom and bad behaviour can take over. So a Principal as a fire lighter has the never ending task of inspiring teachers to be true, enthusiastic fire lighters as well. This is not the Principal’s task only at the start of term but at every reasonable opportunity. The Principal MUST set out to inspire and fire their staff and if they are able to do this the school will be successful. I’m of the firm belief that the first job of the Principal is to be the educational leader of the school. Schools where I experienced Principals who were purely administrators lacked fire and enthusiasm. I would never appoint a person to a senior position in a school if they indicated that they were “sick of teaching and wanted to get into administration.”

REMEMBER:

It only takes a Spark to get a fire going.

Avoid a bag of nails.

Teachers must be fire fighters.

Principals must be fire lighters with staff and students.

Beware of hope overtaking a good decision.

Is now the time you should make a change.

Never appoint a disaster to make up numbers.

Lack of Spark in a class leads to boredom and trouble.

A Principal is the educational leader of the school.

Never appoint someone “sick of teaching” into a position of administration.

QUOTATIONS:

“Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered. Empower yourself with a good education, then get out there and use that.”

- MICHELLE OBAMA-Former American First Lady.

“It is not good to cross the bridge before you get to it”. “I think you should take your job seriously, but not yourself-that is the best combination.”

- DAME JUDI DENCH- English Actress.

“I never want to change so much that people can’t recognise me. Just be yourself, there is no one better.”

- TAYLOR SWIFT- American Singer-Song Writer.

“One of the criticisms I’ve faced over the years is that I’m not aggressive enough or assertive enough, or somehow, because I’m empathetic, it means I’m weak. I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be both compassionate and strong.”

- JACINDA ARDERN-Former New Zealand Prime Minister.

“I don’t believe in failure. It’s not failure if you enjoyed the process.”

- OPRAH WINFREY-American Personality and TV Presenter.

“I adhere to an approach that I learnt when I was in my twenties, which is summed up by saying, “The world is run by those who show up.”

- PROFESSOR MARCIA LYNNE LANGTON-Aboriginal Australian Writer and Academic.

“Seek awe and nature daily…. show kindness; practice grace; eschew vanity; be bold; embrace friends, family, faith, and doubt, imperfection and mess; and live deliberately.”

- JULIA BAIRD- Australian Author, Journalist, TV host.

“There’s no shortcut to learning a craft; you just have to put the years in.”

- KYLIE MINOGUE- Australian Singer - Song Writer.

“It was only when I realised how actors have the power to move people that I decided to pursue acting as a career.”

- CATE BLANCHETT - Australian Actress.

“Challenges in medicine are moving from “Treat the symptoms after the house is on fire” to “Can we preserve the house intact.”

- ELIZABETH BLACKBURN - Australian Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Biochemist and Medical Researcher.

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you can’t see a shadow”.

- HELEN KELLER - American Author, Disability Rights Advocate, Political Activist and Lecture who became Blind and Deaf at 19 months.

“If I win, it’s a bonus. If I lose, the sun still comes up the next day, and it’s all good.” “My Indigenous heritage is something I hold close to my heart.”

- ASHLEIGH BARTY - Australian Champion Tennis Player

“There are four main reasons for hope: the energy of youth, the power of the human brain, the resilience of nature, and the power of social media.”

- DAME JANE GOODALL - English Primatologist and Anthropologist.

Chris Tudor

Principal Liaison & AISNT Historian