What can we do to fill the days?

As we approach this Christmas Season I have rewritten a previous blog with some recommendations for what you can do to keep your children’s brains ticking over while you all enjoy yourselves during the holiday season.

In the past I have referred to maths games, listening games and reading skills. However, for real family time why not turn your thoughts to history and geography?  There are many great places for family visits, such as Hampton Court Palace, museums in London (free admission to those), and art galleries. Websites will inform you of special exhibitions and of discount events, and travelling on the train often gives you two for one offers on prices – pick up the leaflets in the station to see what is available at low cost.  

To make the experience particularly educational don’t focus on the event, instead over-involve your children in the planning. Train schedules, car parks, ticket prices, choice of visit, maps of venues and making a timetable for the day can all be worked out together. Children love to be trusted to organise events and will be proud to show you their skills. Learning experiences work best in the shape of an enjoyable experiences; counting cash and sorting change on a shopping trip is the point of learning mathematics – it is what number work is for, so gather a bag of coins to use on the day (in my family we lovingly call this the purse of gold!).

Allowing children to choose and make decisions is also developing an essential skill. Buying them books is not quite the experience that being allowed to browse and choose them is. Don’t forget the public library either, a great cheap and fruitful outing. Direct your children to the non-fiction sections of the library, children love history and will be fascinated by how other lived. I remember spending hours learning about ancient Egyptians, just for fun, during one Christmas – my poor mother had to take me back to the library every two days to swap the books as I swallowed them whole. Maps are also a great source of discussion… plan a walk using a local area map, or see if you have a local heritage trail… and keep talking as you go because discussion helps children to understand more than they will take in for themselves. There are good apps to help – I use viewranger, which has all the paths marked for my local common and lots more. And there is great joy to be found in an unfolded OS map. Even a walk in the park (walking allows for far more observation than a car journey) or around the neighbourhood can be filled with discussions about what can be seen. Can you and your children name and recognise 5 types of trees or breeds of dog? Which Christmas decorations do they like as they pass them? This is especially lovely after tea at this time of year once it is dark and lights are twinkling – and the added bonus of technology free time to talk to your children.

If you have lots of children and the possibility of childcare, try making an individual plan for a special and different day out for each child – children like few things more than a day of their parent’s undivided attention. My own mother took me to see the Tutankhamen exhibition on my own because of my Egyptian obsession and I have never forgotten the pleasure of that exhibition or the delight of a day out with her by myself. She recently admitted to me that she remembered every minute of that day, it was one of her most treasured memories too. 

So keep busy - and Christmas blessings to you all.

Why are children so demanding?

Last week I listened to a short article on the radio about biological imperatives. This explained that human children are genetically programmed to want, desire and demand far more than they need. This was due to the fact that human parents in past eras had to divide their offerings among many children and to face difficult circumstances, including lack of food and material belongings. Thus the ‘survival of the fittest’ in human terms meant a genetic requirement to seek to have more of the share of what the family had to offer - to always want more that can be on offer. Therefore making increasing demands, regardless of what is given, is inbuilt in the child’s DNA.

In the year 2014 this nature continues, and children will make demands based on their needs, but also their desires and in our global world, what they perceive others might have. This is their human nature. To learn to be great human adults they will have to learn at some point that their expectations are higher than can be reasonably met and that it is fine to want something they can’t have – it is part of life. However,  the problem has been somewhat turned on its heads by a culture that creates guilt in parents who feel they need to keep up with demands, or at least with the neighbours, and offer more and more to their children. Biology tells us that the demands will never end, so we need to find ways to manage expectations and realise that the most important word a child can hear in the right context is NO.

During Christmas the fever of expectation can reach a peak – so a few suggestions to help: enable your child to desire something for someone else – let them choose presents with you for other people. Give them the responsibility, a budget and a hint list, and encourage them to keep within its boundaries. Help your child to manage delayed gratification – let them want something they cannot have immediately, perhaps they have to save up for it, or do tasks to earn it. Make your promises realistic too – children will love your time, and if you can organise it then it can be given freely – without the need for bought entertainment. Most children would love a walk around the park with you listening to them, and an ice cream or a hot chocolate if they can choose. Even a library visit can prove useful by ticking the educational box at the same time. Above all, when you say no, mean it. Demanding children will in time become demanding teenagers (rude) and demanding adults (lonely) – the power is in your hands!

Advice for the future learner :from a Head Teacher.

This was my address to Year 6 girls and their parents this week at the Ceremony of Achievement - our prize giving, reflection, final assembly and celebration. 

Today is a special and emotional and exciting occasion for our lovely Year 6 girls and parents who are moving on to the next step in the educational world. For me, and for all of the teachers, this is a poignant and bittersweet occasion too, as we see those we have cherished and nurtured leaving our nest, and spreading their wings. I am not sure whether or not I should be saying "despite all they have achieved these girls are just 10 and 11", or that I should marvel and say that "I am surprised they they are already 10 and 11". Whichever it is, this is my moment to say how proud I am of each and every one.

My message to the girls today comes in many parts, but the first request is to use your humanity wisely. I thank God for my colleagues and my friends, and for each one of you every day, and I try always to remember that the good that has come into my life is a gift to me, and I pause, often, to remember that. In this wide world few people have what we have here, and it is right that we should be grateful and to ask what we can do to stretch out our hand to others who need our help.

To become a Head Teacher I studied hard, collected some qualifications and served many years as class and a subject teacher. I have given many hours, endured more than a few sleepless nights and had lots of ideas: some brilliant and some just mad, alongside a brilliant and committed team of talented people to teach the children in our care.

I have sat through some very dull meetings and on the other hand been part of many exciting projects. I have also listened to people who were good at what I wanted to do, and learned from them. I have tried to understand what is just and fair, and I have stuck to it, even when it has seemed difficult or I have been challenged.

I have respected great role models: Sr Christina who was my own headmistress and who always had time for everyone, my mother who is always calm, philosophical and kind, St Jeanne who picked herself up after many setbacks, failures even, in order to achieve her vision, and most recently even Mr Plummer.

I have always 'put my hand up' to do jobs that no one else wanted to do. I have cleaned up a lot of rubbish. I have put out and put away literally thousands of chairs and I have even cleared up too many nasty puddles. I don't wait to be asked. 

I have soothed people who were angry, cried with some in great sorrow, listened to the troubled and laughed with as many people as possible. These things do not take qualifications, they take kindness, humility and integrity – things I hope and pray you have learnt here at Notre Dame, and can take into the world with you. Using your gifts to improve the world is what a true education is for, so if you have only learnt how to pass exams then you have not learnt much. 

Because I believe that your parents chose this school to give you an edge in the world – something to put you onto the path to success. And I believe that the academic, physical and creative education is a start – but the special thing I hope you have learnt is that you are a unique, cherished, talented, recognised child of God who calls you into this world by name, and has surrounded you with the love of friends, family and this community to give you life to its fullest abundance, and to provide the foundation for your lives from this point – lives that you are now ready to take some responsibility for as you head forward into the next stage of your educational life, lives you can choose to use for good.

So here is my advice for your future:

1.   Share everything. Collaboration is a great key to success. Work together; be in a team, a choir, a group. Value your colleagues and friends, combine your talents with the talents of others. Combine their knowledge with yours, however limited. Credit everyone with what they have offered to the process. Not only can you achieve more together but also you have more people for the celebrations afterwards.

2.   Recreation is important. And I do mean play. But I also mean re-creation, time to recharge, reassess, redesign, most importantly to reflect. You will achieve significantly more if you take time to do that! And your attitude makes a difference too: treat every day as if it was a busy holiday and you should enjoy it to the full.

3.   Learn things, even boring things, because they will be useful. Think about what you have learned. Think about how you have learned it. Make connections. Ask questions. Accept that you don’t know everything and think about where you can find out what you need to know...

4.   Be gentle. Be the best person you can be: don’t react to other people, instead respond to them. Be compassionate. Give people the most valuable thing you have, no, not your expertise, give them your time and your friendship.

5.   Wonder is important. Mysteries are not all for solving. The creation of this beautiful world was God’s gift to us and we can scarcely guess at the variety within it. I heard recently that ‘life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but the number of moments that take our breath away.’ Appreciate those moments.

6.   Take care to tell the truth. Do this with kindness. If it is better not said then just don’t say it, or find words to express what you mean that will be heard and are meant in the right spirit. And don’t lie to get yourself out of trouble – it will get you in a mess that will become more tangled over time. Don’t lose yourself in that tangle.

7.   Always stick with your commitments. The people we want to know and the people we trust are the ones who do what they say they will do.

8.   Treat others equally, no matter how you feel about them. Being polite, smiling back and giving people another chance is what we all deserve.

9.   Never be afraid of failure. We learn best when we can review and improve on our mistakes. We all fail sometimes, if you haven’t yet, then you will: you will make a slip, a mistake, an error or you might get something really wrong. You will, because you are just not that different from everyone else. What marks you out is your ability to pick yourself up and to challenge yourself to go on, to get it right, or sometimes to start again.

10.      Finally – advice that my father gave to me: remember that nobody gains anything unless they put in hard work. A wonderful, happy and successful life is not free, but nor can you, nor your parents, pay for it with money – the exchange you make is the effort, good humour and the humanity you put in. And the measure of that success is not position or wealth or belongings, it is happiness, wisdom and fulfilment.

I ask God to bless you children, and all of us, as we leave here today with renewed hope and energy for a bright and blessed future.

What should I look for in a quality education?

Every parent wants a quality school for their child; a school offering high academic attainment, excellent pastoral care, outstanding facilities, and opportunities for each child to stand out from the crowd. Searching for a school therefore becomes a quest for the Holy Grail, where glossy prospectuses and league tables become the artificial, and somewhat unreliable, lens through which schools are examined. However, long experience as an educator has taught me that unequivocal lifelong success is dependent upon good teaching, great relationships between pupils and dedicated and capable teachers and an emphasis by the whole school on creating learning experiences that challenge and shape the pupils. These things matter far more than former pupils’ exam results or the presence of a school golf course! What every parent is right to want is success on real terms, and I have learnt that success for children comes from the development of a number of personal qualities, which advance academic skills, and allow for good judgement, creativity, compassion, problem solving and determination, and result in a kind, self-motivated, reliable, wise adult.   

Good schools understand this, and offer vibrant education in depth, the quality of which is evident in the range of subjects and activities, but comes into its own by developing the sort of excitement, abilities and skills that enable children to succeed at anything and everything, or at least to have a very good attempt in any sphere, with confidence, perseverance and enthusiasm. Children who have benefited from the best education have a prime advantage in life, as they succeed at the transformation from pupil to professional - not just from child to examination candidate.  Schools are the stepping stone to a future in which learning will be ongoing; one where knowledge, skills and creativity form the backbone of effective work, but where rationality, creativity, imagination and confidence are already well established. The work place of the future is by no means a predictable place, and transferable, flexible skills and a firm underpinning in how to find the necessary information will be far more use than rote learned or regurgitated correct answers. In my own school, Notre Dame, I place a strong emphasis in the primary phase on cross curricular teaching, which we call TASK, to strengthen the connections between skills and knowledge that enable pupils to make concrete sense of the world. Teaching in this ‘all girls’ setting also takes account of the way the female brain works, and encourages an engagement with risk and failure, both of which are a valuable part of any rich and effective learning process.

If I were looking for a good school to undertake the vital process of educating a child for the future I would look for the following two points as priorities:

·         An emphasis on learning rather than attaining: a joyful disregard for failure is essential if children are to become independent and confident learners.  Too many children are crippled by fear of failure, especially girls, and they need the support to know that clever thinking, wild ideas and imagination are as important as finding the right answer. In my life as a Head Teacher I am often asked to be wise in a crisis – wisdom comes from encountering failure, untangling complex issues and making judgements through rational and moral critical thinking tempered by human warmth and kindness.  I want all of my children to become wise.

·         A commitment to collaboration: recognising ability and effort through collaborative and team activity allows children to develop self-belief, to recognise relative strengths and weaknesses, and to strive to offer the best of themselves. All too often parents tell me that their children need more praise to improve their self-esteem before they can succeed. This is a false premise: children need to know that they have a valuable place in life and that their contribution and participation is valued. Self-esteem grows when children recognise how their own individual effort contributes to the success of the whole. Personal achievement follows easily when children feel that they belong, that they have a share in working alongside others and that their talents and gifts are recognised, useful and valued. Friendship and happiness rely on collaboration. In the modern world collaborative working is considered the norm, so all to the good if children have proper experience of it in their learning.

Why should I read?

Reading is the most important educational skill any child can have. Throughout history and across many cultures, to be able to read is to be educated. Furthermore, to access a school curriculum, the child’s functional reading ability should be at least at the same level as their chronological age. “Benefits include an increased breadth of vocabulary, pleasure in reading in later life, a better understanding of other cultures, better general knowledge and even a greater insight into human nature.” (Reading for Pleasure, a research overview, National Literacy Trust 2006)

Good schools have a coherent policy on reading for all pupils, such as ‘drop everything and read’ lessons, support for weaker readers including shared reading and additional individual sessions, and reading aloud by teachers to children as often as possible.  “In successful schools teachers read, talk with enthusiasm and recommend books, the results of which are seen not only in test results but also in an enthusiasm for reading which extends beyond the classroom.” (OFSTED, Excellence in English 2011).

In terms of rankings across the globe, children who read more for pleasure are the ones who achieve significantly better than their peers. Furthermore reading ability in the primary school is the highest indicator of success in public examinations, according to research carried out by the Institute of Education at the University of London.  This is true across all subjects, and true regardless of the social or economic group of the families involved. It is also clear that maths and science cannot be taught effectively if reading ability at the appropriate level is limited. Human beings think using language, and information is generated, stored and communicated in written forms as a matter of course in schools, therefore without good reading ability, managing independently as soon as possible, success in written school subjects will be severely hampered.  

All of this is unequivocal – if children can read well they will do well. Thus at Notre Dame, the focus on reading has been highlighted by a number of regular initiatives reflective of the research findings above, and by occasional events such as World Book Day.

Reading aloud to the child is one strategy that has been demonstrated through research as particularly useful. This should go on for as many years as possible, certainly throughout the prep years, but probably into secondary. The School Library Association, at the cutting edge of reading research, highlights the fact that reading aloud to children at the end of the day goes far beyond entertainment. “It is the most effective means of enabling children to become confident, motivated readers.” (Prue Goodwin, University of Reading).

Much of what children learn is what they experience from us. Therefore we need to be critically aware that we must model reading behaviour as often as possible. Sending a child to bed to read, without your interest or support, will make it appear something unimportant and unworthy of sharing. Additionally, although we all enjoy reading for pleasure at the end of a day, a child may be worn out, and it is not a great time for a learning challenge – reading at the end of the day should be strictly an extra pleasure. For tired children listening to a parent reading is a deeply personal and pleasurable bonding experience, worth fitting in as often as possible.

Do not be fooled by a lively reading expression. Your child will learn to do this very early on, with no regard to the content. Words may be skipped, invented or changed, and you will never know because they sound bright and aware. Sharing the text is vital, and so is discussing with the child what they have read. Teachers are all too familiar with competent well expressed decoding from the children, without any apparent understanding of the context, the plot, or the content. On more than one occasion a child has said to me that she didn’t know what was happening in the story, because she wasn’t listening as she was reading.  The Rose Report in 2006 (National Report on success in the curriculum) called it ‘barking at print’ when decoding phonics cannot help the child sufficiently unravel the meaning of a piece of writing.  This lack of understanding of the written word becomes particularly tricky when it relates to school activities such as comprehension, research or maths problem solving. Success is impossible if the child cannot read, interpret, internalise and respond. Unfortunately it is very common for children to be pushed too fast through reading schemes in a competitive way, which means they are never allowed to develop skills and vocabulary at their own pace. This is the same as building without foundations. Most children will flounder if they are not encouraged to make reading part of a daily routine. Similarly they may well be mystified why they are doing badly in class when they are working as hard as they can, without realising that the tools they have at their disposal simply aren’t fit for the job.

What schools are doing to help:

• ·         Weekly lessons of reading in class
• ·         Weekly visits to the library
• ·         Library at lunchtime club
• ·         Class readers for shared reading aloud
• ·         Teachers reading to the classes weekly
• ·         Accelerated reader programme to motivate and support most and least able readers in the Juniors
• ·         Regular testing and monitoring to ensure reading progress
• ·         Personal encouragement by teachers and the librarian, to develop reading choices and interest in different genres
• ·         Individual reading sessions at least weekly throughout Pre-prep and lower juniors
• ·         Reading for pleasure promotional activities such as theme days and author visits
•  

What you can do to help:

• ·         Promote and highlight reading through modelling your own reading behaviour
• ·         Read aloud to your child as often as possible
• ·         Share the reading books that your child brings home without distraction
• ·         Place the focus on reading for pleasure, not on attaining the next level
• ·         Try to choose books of the right interest level, avoiding anything that will put your child off (use retold classics, not originals)
• ·         Visit the local library regularly and make use of their holiday activities
• ·         Let your child choose her own books alongside ones she is given or recommended
• ·         Don’t be afraid of big print books, picture books and comics – these are all valid reading materials and all extend ability (for reluctant readers these are particularly useful)
• ·         Make reading a regular part of daily life, not an extended session once a week
• ·         Use the holidays as a focus time for more reading activities
• ·         E-readers, iPads and Kindles are great for presenting books for some children, but try to mix and match. Handling beautiful books is a pleasure to be shared.

 Happy reading!

Why shouldn't I quit?

“Oh, I’ve quit,” is one of the most disheartening, and sadly one of the most common things that teachers have to hear from their pupils. Usually it is in regard to a voluntary club or activity, which the teacher has given up time to organise, and which the child is at liberty to join or to leave at will, but sometimes it is about reading a book, undertaking a project or belonging to a group. No child would be pushed into continuing indefinitely with an activity (especially if causing misery or proving to be too difficult) but the casualness of taking activities on that become superseded by other ones on a shifting and regular basis needs careful thought and management. We live in an era of choices, of trying things for size and of changing our minds based on a whim. Whilst it may not be wise to take on things such as learning an expensive instrument untried, there is a balance, and all of life cannot be simply based on what we feel like doing today, and not doing tomorrow. This is also important if we are to have due regard and respect for the other people involved in the activity, and the leader or coach who spends time and effort organising it, and putting aside time for others rather than putting themselves first.

On the radio this morning I heard about a cathedral that was cutting its professional choir by a third to save money. As I know something about music I realised before the presenter did that the choir would be unable to perform adequately and would soon be thought of as something that was not successful enough to warrant existing at all. It set me off thinking about commitment, because keeping up any activities in the school where I am Head is a juggling act of keeping pupils focused and on task, enjoying themselves and understanding their contribution to the whole. Not every second can be fun, but the collaboration, co-operation and learning that takes place in these activities is second to none, and is indeed often better training for being successful in the future than working under direction in lessons. Added to which orchestras, drama clubs, choirs, sports squads, training clubs, reading circles and even my own philosophy club cannot continue when each week another child sends a curt message saying: “I’ve quit”. New joiners are always welcome, but they cannot be encouraged and developed if the rest of the group fluctuates and there is a sliding scale of popularity week by week affecting whether the club is required or desired at all.

In my opinion commitment is one of the most important values we can share in life. Commitment holds the key to so many relationships in life: to our nearest and dearest, to the organisations we join and continue to support, to the jobs we undertake, to our work ethic, our interests, and to all of the other people we accompany on our day to day journeys. Some commitments are about obligation – tax returns and bills are commitments we cannot avoid – others are about the way we take our place in life, balancing the needs of the many societies and people with whom we circulate each day – and other commitments about our own choices and preferences. Commitment engenders trust and achievement, and this is something that makes life feel worthwhile. Commitment is the thing that enables belonging, purpose and friendship. It also plays a pivotal role in how other people view, judge and value us.

In my school the teachers have a commitment to the education of the children. They exercise this commitment in front of their classes, but also into the late hours spent planning, marking and organising for their lessons and in liaison with others for the purpose of sharing good practice and developing expertise. They develop committed relationships with the children in their care, on the one hand instructing, guiding and teaching and on the other the essential social and spiritual nurturing, and accompanying that helps children to grow. They create partnerships with parents so that children’s learning is holistic and backed up at home for consolidation. Beyond this each teacher has a commitment to the wellbeing of the children in the whole school and the care of each other. All staff run extra-curricular clubs (often several) to extend the educational experiences of the pupils, and all share in the daily duties in care of the children. They remain committed to the Mission of the school and to the future of each of the young people, regardless of how long or short lived that relationship might be. If it sounds grand and idealistic that is unapologetic: a commitment to a school and its pupils, especially in a faith environment, is not a light 8.30am – 4.10pm workday-only commitment in line with payment and contract, it is far more, encompassing heartfelt responsibility, generosity, compassion and sense of purpose. The teachers take great joy, pride and care in what they do.

Hopefully, with this level of care and commitment, and the love they receive in their families, children will grow up to understand that commitment is partly about duty, partly about contribution and partly about pleasure and enjoyment (often from the collaboration and team effort as much as from the thing itself).  Sometimes there is a great requirement for personal commitment in order to feed back into the activity, such as music practice or word learning, and although this may not be as much fun it is part of the whole. Thus doggedness, resilience, self-motivation, desire to complete things and a sense of personal achievement can all be earned and enhanced by developing an understanding of commitment.

So I cannot help but worry when I see so many children who believe that success means seeing results immediately, and thus failure is also instantaneous, and prefer to avoid commitment in case it should not bear fruit, or because it has not borne fruit soon enough. Many children want to participate in activities until it impacts on their social lives, so children “quit for this week” simply because they don’t fancy being included that day (a disaster for longer term goals that take week on week rehearsal such as concerts or matches). Other children only want to participate if the activity carries some kudos, so that a first team place is snatched with glee, but a place in squad is declined as unimportant, despite the fact that teams can only be made up from those who learn and improve through practising. Elite activities are good eventually, but nobody can become Leader of the Orchestra without years of training individually and in the back rows. 

I believe that loving conversations are the best way to help children understand their need to be committed, to discriminate between natural selfishness and proper decision making. Alongside this they need help to consider respect for others involved with them in their activities and the people who strive for their enjoyment and fulfilment by organising events for them. An extra week before “quitting” or being expected to speak to the person in charge themselves, to say why they wish to give up are also good ways to develop good manners and a sensible approach to participation. I probably suffer from an overdeveloped sense of duty, but with it has come deep satisfaction with having joined and benefited from many clubs and activities, including working through the boring or sticky patches and being able to participate happily even when I haven’t really been particularly good at whatever it is. I have also experienced great joy in wholehearted participation in many things, and the sense of camaraderie, achievement and friendship that has grown through trusting relationships is truly life enhancing. That is a life lesson for happiness I would dearly love to share with all of our children. Instead of, “I’ve quit it”, I would love to hear the children say, “I’ll stick with it!”

Why should I be a brave learner?

After speaking to the children at assembly for several weeks about bravery, I was delighted to have a return match from a class who shared their own stories of bravery with us all, and were clearly pleased with their courage and success. Much overdue, I thought this was worth considering in a little more detail.

Being brave is something which was, in all likelihood, introduced to us as toddlers as a negative concept. We were expected to be brave about things that seemed frightening, painful or unknown, like spiders, grazes or vaccinations, and the fearful feelings that being brave gave us will have been difficult to shake ever since. It is therefore human nature to protect ourselves from activities that go beyond our confidence, comfort or enjoyment. It is trained into us from very young that being brave should always to be considered in the light of possible harmful outcome, pain or failure.

However, we also know that our own success is likely to be limited if we don’t shake ourselves from our comfort zone, embrace things we are not certain about and make ourselves have a go. Very few people have the ability to take risks comfortably. Some do however, and I must say, it is with great admiration that I watch people undertaking extreme sports, pressurised challenges or developing inventive or even crazy ideas. For most of us, bravery means having a go at something small, measured and slightly unfamiliar. We live in a world of due diligence, calculated risk and critical evaluation. It is no wonder that our children would expect to be provided with solid answers and proven paths rather than have to think for themselves, or be challenged to create new knowledge, and that we, in our own insecurity, urge them to follow our paths and not their own. 

In fact, giving praise only for producing correct and accurate work has become so endemic in our education process that we have effectively side-lined real creative thinking and getting things right by getting them wrong. We no longer prize working concepts through, or having mad ideas. We have eschewed inspiration, wild imagining and unlikely connections made in lightning flashes, for more prosaic standard ‘correct’ answers, with the onus on the teacher to cover and inculcate every possibility rather than allowing the child to explore. I fear for children who cannot see past the need to be taught the right answer, who choose not to be brave in their learning, who are afraid to have a go or to face the possibility of short term failure up as one of the options for what might happen – and cope with that. I worry that we, as teachers and parents, reinforce these fears (perhaps because of our own training), despite the fact that we probably know that real independence, valuable learning and true entrepreneurship comes from being brave, striking out independently and doing something, or even thinking something, that might be seen as different. Bravery allows that leap of faith into the unknown, into the world of potential success and into that essential place where we can, as human learners, really come to know ourselves and  our strengths and see what needs to be overcome. Only by being brave and by experiencing the consequences with courage, can we develop into whole and incredible people. 

I’m not speaking here of foolhardiness, of wanton danger, or of misplaced confidence, I’m simply talking about opening the mind to something new, rather than closing it due to inexperience, or by placing too much store on outward success by only attempting what can easily be achieved. In terms of learning behaviour it is sadly all too common to see children hang back, to say they are not sure when asked a question, or to be coy when expected to express an opinion, rather than having the courage to have a go. often a teacher knows full well that a child has the ability and intellect to do more, and it is a real sadness when that child is waiting for one of her peers to answer instead. 

So for the future, it is worth considering doing something that requires brave learning behaviour. Make or find some opportunities to do something which you wouldn’t usually do, or accept a learning challenge that feels a little bit mad. You could embark on this experience with your child, or just quietly on your own. I spoke to a mum this week who is attempting her first marathon, to a teacher who has agreed to prepare and lead the staff prayers although she has never done such a thing before, to members of staff who have signed up to the staff choir to learn to sing together for a public performance with no previous music reading ability, and to a child about to go to her first ski school with a great fear of heights. In the classroom I listened to six year olds trying to reply to their teacher in Spanish amid much hilarity and some fabulous accents - real bravery in action, especially from a new girl who had only attended one lesson and wanted to take her turn. I was shamed from my position as wallflower and had a go - and although my accent was not as good as the children's, they applauded me, and I was delighted that I had left my anxiety on the side to show my nerve. What these people have in common isn’t just wilful bravery; it is the anticipation of great enjoyment, satisfaction and confidence in themselves, and a fantastic learning experience.

Good luck to you all in your next courageous learning step – remember that failure is a helpful learning option, that it will be a challenge, that success is often better if it is surprising - and who knows, you might even enjoy yourself!

Why is it important to be bored?

“A spirited mind never stops within itself; it is always aspiring” Michel de Montaigne

There have been many articles in the popular press this week about allowing children to be bored. I thought it might be useful for us as educators and parents to have a chance to consider the educational reasons why allowing children unstructured time is not only important, but essential.  

Firstly, we all know the adage that ‘necessity is the mother of invention’. This may well be true, but invention and indeed all of human endeavour is only possibly if it can be imagined. Imagination is something that we can feed with ideas and technical understanding, but imagination is only truly possible in the spaces when we can be openly reflective. Imagination is an active internal process which connects concrete ideas, past experience, diverse inspiration and personal creativity, to create something new. It takes perseverance, time and self-motivation. In truth, imagination is the mother of invention. It is a critical faculty for learning and for success in life. The best time for imagination is not the pressure of requiring a solution, it is the time you have nothing else to do.

As human beings we inhabit many spheres, but it is useful in this case to imagine the difference between an inner creative thinking and imagining life, and a world of external learning stimuli, activities and experiences. It is the relationship between the two that creates a whole person. However, we have become accustomed to listening to the noise of that external world as if it holds all the keys to life, and rejecting the internal voice. How many of us put on music or television to stave off those moments when we might have to engage with our inner selves and run the risk of feeling bored? Two seconds of relative peace and we take out a phone to check, or to text or to chat with someone else. We have become so afraid of boredom that we frantically fill all of our time, and feel guilty if we don’t. We also want to save our own children from boredom, and in doing so we are stealing away their inner lives and their vital connections to themselves. If we fear that without external activities they may in fact become nothing, then we will be impelled to fill their lives for them and we will be creating in them a greater fear of being alone and being unoccupied, and of being unable to cope with just thinking and being themselves. We will have made them dependent and in fact we may even have enabled them to become lonely, unfulfilled and unhappy in later life.

Dr Laura Markham refers to the need for unstructured time, because children have so many activities to complete, often one or two on each night of the week after a full structured day at school, plus homework. She explains how structured time closes off the imagination and the ability to be self-determining, it makes them lack confidence in their own abilities and unable to be independent. The result of keeping children fully immersed in set activities  is that it  models to them that they can only succeed, or have fun, in structured ways, where they have little control and not much need of self-motivation, other than to compete (hopefully successfully) against the other children placed there to do the same. Whilst it can of course promote skills and team spirit, there needs to be a balance if that same child is ever going to have the imagination to develop strategic play or to be able to transfer skills to other situations. Being always involved in structured activity and games can stifle individuality and reinforces the need to comply rather than to innovate.

Boredom is a creative state. Dr Teresa Belton writing for the BBC admits that boredom can initially feel like an uncomfortable state, especially as modern life makes us unused to it. But by giving in to that feeling (in the same way as we give in to that extra chocolate or to any other unhealthy habit) we take a further step away from developing the creativity we would all love to have, through a quick fix. It is far more honest to accept that we all find certain things boring, even necessary things, but we have to develop inner resources to cope. I am sure many of you will agree that there are many chores we have to just get on and do despite very low interest level – I often long for a Sunday night without ironing!

It is easy to fall into that trap of feeling guilty about not doing enough for your child and therefore planning activities and events to ensure they are fully occupied in all of their free time. Filling the house with music and noise equally provides a (welcome?) distraction from one’s own thoughts. It is no wonder then, that screen time (of every sort) has become a useful filler for those empty seconds of the day and the evening. As a teacher with 28 years’ experience I would say that children in general have shorter attention spans and more requirements to be helped, supported and constantly stimulated than ever before. Imagination is undervalued and children expect constant attention and reinforcement even to get on with what they can easily achieve alone. When faced with anything they don’t understand or feel to be hard work they say they are bored. This is one of the results of constant stimulation, it becomes an addiction, alongside an underlying nagging tiredness that creeps into children’s lives when they don’t have time for adequate reflection, rest and recreation.

Maria Montessori wrote about free play (which modern children often claim is boring) enabling children to become active and in an alert and receptive frame of mine, and she demonstrated that children are adept at self-regulating and managing their own rules, and that they performed better in all areas if they were allowed the full scope of their imagination. Children who can play without intervention, and manage their own time, are calmer, more thoughtful and are able to be more articulate as they have time to rehearse ideas and to think things through. They are able to make their own positive decisions and are far less reliant on adult approval before moving on or turning the next page over. Montessori went so far as to say that play is a child’s work.

Finally, children say they are bored for many reasons, but an important one to note is that they would actually like a little of your attention. When is the last time, for no real reason other than just for the joy of being together, you danced with your child?