Nick Janna is currently the High School Deputy Principal at the International Community School in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. After a long tumultuous journey in education; from high school dropout himself, to teaching incarcerated youth, then ‘at-risk’ and behavioural students in non integrated classes with a public school board, to mainstream teacher and eventual administrator, Nick has always had an interesting relationship with school and education.
Through reflections of his own experiences, he received an M.Ed in Cultural Studies, and began unpacking the importance of making connections with student through relationships, music and technology.
International education is a draw for many, and Nick’s motivation was more about experiential learning, service learning and global citizenship than it was an exploration of a different teaching system. “I’m an action kind of person,” Nick declared as he explained why working on the Sustainable Development Goals in class seemed insufficient. As Nick painted the picture of the ignorance many have had about Ethiopia, I was picturing malnourished children and channelling the 80’s collaboration of, “Do they know it's’ Christmastime at all.” I felt foolish after I sang, exposing the colonial mentality that pervades my thinking, as unintentional as it is. Sometimes, the best way to open your mind and really learn is through lived experiences. Referring to the Teach SDGs vision, “The fact is we need to do action SDGs. If we want change, we have to be prepared to do something about it.” For Nick, being there helps him make a stronger and more meaningful connection to the goals and to global education.
Nick’s process for choosing the three songs for his appearance on The Personal Playlist Podcast began with a list. “I have a notebook, and I started to write out all of the bands that I could name. I wanted to start there and whittle my way down.” That made it daunting as over 2500 bands were named on the page in front of him. “To pick 3 songs was probably the hardest things that I’ve had to do in years; naming children was easier than this.” He decided to use the frame of education to give him some direction for his selections
Nick began to tell the story of how much he hated school and the challenging experiences that he had there. He referred to himself as a real disruptor, and his gratitude to this particular teacher was amplified by his history as a defiant student. Laird Evans was a Drama teacher at Hillcrest in Ottawa, and in his one section of English that he taught, he reached out to Nick and altered his perception of himself as a learner. In his quest to find connection to Nick, he asked Nick a series of questions to help personalize his learning and find a way to draw him in. After that discussion, in a milk bag with the top cut off, the bag folded over and closed with a clothespin, his teacher handed this reluctant learner the novel Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo. Nick engaged. While watching Much Music’s Pepsi Power Hour not long after reading that book, Nick was blown away to see a video interspersed with pieces of the film later made from this novel with lyrics that reflects key plot points from the novel that opened his door to the world of education. “Every single time I hear the song, it reminds me of how, 1: this man extended himself to me in connection, 2: how much I love Metallica, and 3: it opened up my interest of reading.” Nick was able to transport himself into a book and point to a human being as his catalyst. As a result, Nick’s nostalgic song is one that alludes to a catalyst for his educational journey and a seed that was planted to one day become and educator. Here is Metallica’s One:
Nick’s journey to see what education was and what it needed to be was born through relationships and music. Even though Nick left school for a time, he was driven back to finishing his learning and learning to “play the game” of school. Nick was self taught and went on to do a Masters degree because he was able to find meaning through building relationships with kids. “I really wanted to focus on troubled and at risk youth to find ways to make connections to those kids.” With anger can often come the music that fuels that fire. Like his own turn around, Nick’s identity song is a song with aggressive energy that comes from a very optimistic band. “There is no question that this changed the direction of that music that I listened to...and it also changed by brain capacity to be full-fledge PMA; PMA all day.” Nick’s concept of a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) actually originated from a book by Andrew Carnegie published at the turn of the century. PMA is so important to him that it became his life’s vision. “It’s tattooed on me, I made stickers...changing the neurotransmitters in your brain by taking it in as a personal philosophy.” Here is Bad Brains with Attitude:
Nick’s pick-me-up song has an “Africana vibe”. When he hears this song, Nick sees how people respond and feels the joyful energy. “That's the beautiful thing about being in Ethiopia. It’s such the house of reggae.” Nick spoke about Haile Selassie, born Ras Tafari, who began a faith called Rastafarianism. Haile Selassie was viewed as a messianic figure who to lead his people to peace, righteousness, and prosperity. Though his reign as emperor of Ethiopia ended in 1973 because of the famine there, the music that he inspires plays on. The artist of Nick's’ selected song has been called the “embodiment of modern day Africa”. Nick says that, “When that song goes on, everybody around here is dancing and unwinding.” Here is Mr Eazi with Leg Over:
All three of the songs in Nick’s P3 (link to come) tell a story about his life. “These are definitely the songs that validate me and really highlight where I'm at in my life right now.” Nick was an NTIP (New Teacher Induction Program) trainer and mentor in Ontario , presenting on the impact and importance of relationship creation to drive Classroom Leadership (formerly known as Classroom Management). He has presented internationally on the importance of intentional and positive relationships building to improve student success. If you want to reach our, ask questions and/or engage with Nick, Twitter is a great place to start. You can find him at @teachmrj. Currently, his passions lie in personalization for students, supporting meaningful risk-taking and servant leadership. Hear more on his perspectives from his MAD PD Presentation: