I have learnt a salient lesson today. My conscience and my HT tell me that I can no longer keep this fantastic learning medium to myself-it must be brought forth to planning meeting with the 4 colleagues in my year team and shared. We duly planned a week of literacy which incorporated some Mantle approaches, into which we could dip tentatively, or fully immerse, depending on our inclination, confidence waether conditions.

I launched in today, seconding Bio Research Labs to Australia in order to demonstrate their vetinary expertise whilst working with Australia Zoo. Their knowledge of animal physiology has been second to none today, especially during a rather difficult wallaby birth and a nasty crocodile tooth extraction.

However, my salient lesson. For once, as I had planned with my team, and vowed to support them through this week of unfamiliar delvings, I felt compelled to follow the direction of our planning and ensure that I did not deviate. How unwise! Better by far to trust my usual instinct and follow opportunity as it arose.
We had decided that we would steer the children towards producing a persuasive leaflet, when they were introduced to the problem that Australia Zoo was threatened with closure. On asking for their ideas about how to get the message of the zoo's good work to the public, did they come up with using a leaflet? Oh yes, not only that, but about 20 other equally good or better methods, from TV appearances, to posters, cereal packet promotions and picket lines.
Why did we spend time planning this, when their ideas are far better than ours? Did I leap upon these fantastic suggestions? No. And why not? Because we hadn't planned it that way and I felt constrained by what I had said we would do. I effectively killed the moment and will have to go back and ressurect it. rewind, find the point at which the energy and momentum started to flow, untap it again and go with it. I could kick myself.
I also know that this happened because I was too busy with half my mind on the literacy SATs booster class we are starting tomorrow, parent's evening tonight after school and whether I will find time to input that target tracker data.
Is there a Mantle of the Expert Universe somewhere? Beam me up...