Sleepless in Adelaide

Here it is currently 2:30am on Saturday morning and instead of sleeping like any sane person, I'm sitting up thinking about work, learning and innovation. One might suggest I need to get a life but it has reminded me that learning, thinking and reflecting knows no boundaries or time limits.

As a TAFESA lecturer who has classes from 8:00am until 5:00pm weekdays normally, it is easy to forget that it does not mean that the job is the same hours. Far from it and although I hear from time to time that some lecturers insist that because they are paid for only 35 hours per week that's all they have to do, I know very few, if any now who practice it. If that were to be the case, it would be unlikely the department could function properly. Certainly the Heavy Vehicle facility at O'Halloran Hill would not be able to. And it isn't necessarily because of the added administation or section duties alone. I'm not suggesting it's right either but it is a reality.

Most of us really do want the best for our students and even the less imaginative of us do what we think offers the best opportunities for them to be successful. But for those of us who constantly challenge the status quo it becomes more like an obsession. Combine this with a little imagination and persistence and innovation is born.

I was tossing and turning earlier thinking about next year and the workplace partnership with a major industry organisation I will be leading. I have been trying to come up with a positive solution that would allow the learners to have every opportunity to be effective and valued members of the organisation as quickly as possible without compromising the assessment critieria of the competencies they must complete. They need to do it within the employers timeframes and expectations / requirements and still provide not only a successful outcome for TAFE with all competencies completed without adding to the staff or equipment burdens but also with a financial saving as well. It seemed a difficult task and one I might not be able to juggle to everyones satisfaction but that was because I was focusing on the practical requirements such as assessments, learning materials, practical projects, recording results, managing times, etc. While necessary I'm again reminded of the value of stepping out of the box and using a little critical thinking.

This is something together with reflective practice that many lecturers, particularly trades based ones do not do very well. Admittedly this is a general statement and does not apply to all but it certainly does to me. We are often so busy trying to stay in front of our students that we can't see the forest for the trees. Since innovative practice is normally implemented by so few in any organisation, it adds weight to my arguement.

It's currently 3:10am and the solution seems so easy to me now that I can't understand why I was so worried about it. I probably need to write it all down but that would interupt the free flow of ideas that are now floating around in my head. There is a danger of losing some of it once I eventually go back to sleep but in this case I don't think so.

Now I'm thinking about other colleagues and peers within TAFESA whom I believe to be innovators, movers and shakers. There are many and I don't think the Minister, our senior management, students or the general public will ever fully comprehend. I have read that only 2.5% of any organisation's workforce are innovators and if that's true, then TAFESA does have its fair share. What hides this fact is that while we often have heard or know others of like mind; people in this category tend to stick together and gain inspiration and energy from each other, but those outside the "circle" either just don't understand or think we're a bunch of dreamers and time wasters. What most people do not understand is that what is commonplace today was once an innovative practice.

So... while I'm alone at home typing this out, I'm not really alone. Others are probably doing the same thing out there, if not now, maybe yesterday or tomorrow. Either way, our society will be all the better because of it.