My Ramblings…

Fired-up, transparent, crazy, a little unpredictable…not always the list of traits that you walk into an education interview with to describe yourself when you are wanting the result to be a new job, but after 18 months as a Curriculum Manager, based within a prison environment, these are adjectives that I wear with pride. They are the things that I lose when I am out of balance, stressed out or have lost focus. Most importantly though, they are the things that let me walk in the door each day with an energy for life and learning. Here’s a bit more about how each of these look on a daily basis.

Fired-up- Energy isn’t the default setting for young offenders. They don’t wake up early to get to the education block to change the world, so it is my role to bring this energy to the table in the morning. One of the best examples of this is my “meet & greets” in the mornings. I enjoy walking the corridors welcoming the students to a day of “absorbing knowledge and learning”. They see me as a stable fixture during their uncertain sentences and feel quite put out if I dare to have a day’s annual leave. I expel high energy first thing in the morning which is greeted by a mixture of sarcastic comments and grunts, but each student shares the same feeling of warmth and comfort which is seen through their smile as they wander into class shaking their head and muttering phrases such as “that woman is nuts”

Transparent- One of the best compliments that a teacher gave me was to tell me how much they appreciate my transparency. He said there is no guessing with you. You are totally out there. People know you as a person, a friend, and as a leader. This means people see when I’m upset, tired, angry, happy or excited. Most would say that I am an awful poker player because my emotions are at the forefront of my leadership. Early in my career this meant comments that were true, but not placed timely, but as I have honed my passion-based leadership, it means a genuine leader who can leverage change because everyone around me can trust an honest, straight forward answer.

Crazy- “You must be a little crazy to work in a prison.” This comment has been echoed over and over throughout my time within prison education departments, but in some ways, it is correct. The crazy piece though isn’t for doing the work that I do because I love every minute of shaping and caring for the young offenders and staff, but the crazy comes from a place of pure joy. It isn’t rare to hear me singing as I stroll down the corridor or to see me “making tunes” with the Music Technology students. The best example though is my announcer voice. I see a student in the corridor, and in my best public address announcer voice, I introduce them as loud as I can. “Mr Martin everyone…Mr Martin.” Students say why do you do that? I tell them that everyone likes to hear their name announced. They shake their head thinking I’m just a little crazy!

A Little Unpredictable- The routine of the prison regime has moments that feel like a hamster running on a hamster wheel, and I believe that it is the passion of the leader ignited in the department that helps to break this routine for true learning and gains. This starts for me by modelling the positive risk taking behaviours that I want my teachers and students to embrace everyday in the name of learning. This year, I agreed to organise a parents evening, for the prisoners, which at first seemed like a strange and fruitless exercise to tick an OFSTED box, however, after thinking this idea through, realised that not only would this give the students a sense of pride, it would be a great opportunity for the teachers to promote the learning taking place. Couple that with an “Urban” live music concert and a Dragons Den presentation for students to pitch their business plans to outside agencies and suddenly prison education is no longer run of the mill!

It would be easy to set a fool proof routine that works and play only the hand that you are dealt each year, but it feels great that our prison education system can be a bit unpredictable and gives me the opportunity to pull a few cards from up my sleeve.

Certainly, these aren’t the only traits of a passion-based leader, but for me, they are the ones that bring a joy to my calling. They are the way that I can operate in the world of prison education which has so many negative stories, and yes, there are times when each of these things get me in some trouble, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.