Moving On

This week I made an address at the Ceremony of Achievement that marks the last days of our Year 6 girls as they leave for their Senior Schools. Several people asked me if I could put it here on my blog site to be re-read:

“I am sure many of you have read Harry Potter, or seen the films and remember the mirror of Erised. This mirror doesn’t show what is standing in front of it, nor does it show in some magic way what the future will hold, or who is the fairest of them all, this mirror just shows what is desired most by the person looking in.

Professor Dumbledore warns Harry, that lives are wasted by staring into a future that is based on desire for what that person just wants. These are wise words, not because we shouldn’t desire good things, or want to offer the best of ourselves in life, but because we would be fools to think that life will open its doors and happiness and riches to us just because we want it to.

All of you in our leaving class have many God given talents and gifts. We have celebrated some of these this morning, but many of you can only glimpse at what you might achieve in later life, what might become ‘your thing’, or what you may come to love. Some of you, with your limited experience of life will not have any idea of what wonders are to come, or what you could achieve. I spend much of my free time singing with choirs or composing music, but had no idea I could sing until I was 29 years old!

I know that most of you will have watched those Saturday night programmes where people with not much talent beg to be allowed one more chance to become famous … because they really REALLY want it, or because it was a dying grandmother’s greatest wish. If you model your life on something that does not take account of what you can do, backed up by hard work, by finding your way, and by gently and happily allowing life to unfold around you each day, with all of the joys and terrors that can bring, then you may never find yourself or the happiness you deserve. You may find yourself staring into that mirror of desire and wondering what happened.

So here is my parting advice to you as Head Teacher:

·         Make a friend by being a friend.

·         Remember what it might be like to be someone else’s shoes and don’t lose sight of the fact that they are a person with feelings just like you

·         Do what you say you will do – be honest, have integrity.

·         Don’t give up too easily – success is rarely instant.

·         Don’t wait for opportunities to be created for you – make them yourself. (I am friends with a world class organist who was turned down lessons with one of the best teachers. So he turned pages for the organist in the local church and built his great success by helping someone else, in the right place at the right time.)

·         Follow your plans and your talents not just your dreams. Be realistic, hardworking and smart, and never think that life comes to you while you sleep.

·         Lastly, always in the tradition of St Jeanne remember to stretch out a hand to others, as it is in giving to others that we ourselves are made whole and wonderful people

Girls, I do hope you have been happy in your earliest years at Notre Dame School. You have each of you been a credit to us and to your families. I pray that this continues wherever you go, near or far and that you always remember the friends, teachers, Sisters and community that brought you to this place, ready to jump off  into the world of the big school.

Parents, Godparents and friends, I thank you for all you do for these lucky girls, and trust that with your support and guidance they will find that some of their dreams are able to be realised not just through good fortune and chance but through their own efforts and determination to build on the firm foundations they have developed here at Notre Dame School and in your homes. I know you want the best for these children and that you want them to be the best they can be – let them guide you too and allow them to become the person God intended, to become who they truly are.”

Why is learning a musical instrument good for the brain?

Today’s blog was written as a report for me by Julie Shaw, Head of Music in the Prep section at Notre Dame School, and it is so good I thought I would share it with you all.

At this time of the year at Notre Dame School a wonderful little crop of afternoon Soirees and Lunchtime concerts is harvested from amongst the instrumentalists and singers in the Prep School who have been working hard all year with their individual teachers and at home practising to develop their musical skills.  It is wonderful to see these pupils flourishing and gaining confidence as they perform solos to their parents and peers – children as young as Year 1 right up to Year 6 standing up in public and really showing what they are made of.  As they take their bow at the end of their piece, flushed and proud to receive their applause, all those hard hours and minutes of practising seem worthwhile.

Much has been made in the press of the so-called ‘Mozart Effect’ – the effect on intelligence and on core subject skills such as literacy and numeracy of children learning an instrument or playing in an ensemble.  Some claims are high flown and geared towards parting caring parents with their cash – there are for example CD players on the market fitted with special speakers to play Mozart to the unborn child in the womb.  Amidst all the other activities available to enhance your child’s progress, this is another one fighting for your money and your child’s time.  So what research is there to support these claims? 

Many studies have reported positive associations between music education and increased abilities in non-musical (e.g. linguistic, mathematical, and spatial) domains in children and here we have only room for a few examples.  Studies have been carried out in Canada, where - in one case - researchers found musically trained children (aged four to six) performed better in memory tests than those who had no instrument lessons over the course of the year-long programme. In America a study of 237 second grade children used piano keyboard training and newly designed math software to demonstrate improvement in math skills. The piano group scored 27% higher on proportional math and fractions tests than children that used only the math software.  Data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 showed that music participants received more academic honors and awards than non-music students, and that the percentage of music participants receiving As and Bs was higher than the percentage of non- participants receiving those grades.  Students who participated in arts programs in selected elementary and middle schools in New York City showed significant increases in self-esteem and thinking skills.

I am sometimes approached by parents who are worried that taking their child out of English or Maths every few weeks on a carousel for their instrumental lesson will have a detrimental effect on their progress.  I am able to reassure them that there is a balancing effect of learning an instrument which is to support these core skills and improve them.  Not only this, but learning an instrument also improves all sorts of other skills and abilities.  Children learning an instrument practice courage, resilience and patience, they learn delayed gratification and the value of daily study in small amounts, their brains become involved in pattern making and matching, they develop abstract language skills in learning to read music notation, and they practice fine and gross motor skills with their bodies.  Most importantly of all, they learn to listen, and not just to hear and process but to finely discern and tune in to fine-grained detail.  Delightfully, many of them develop a joyful and beneficial relationship with their individual teacher which can last a lifetime.

How can you decide on an instrument for your child?  The piano is often a first instrument of choice for many parents, and is a brilliant instrument for children to learn as it helps to get to grips with music theory, but although it seems obvious it is not always the best one to start with.  Some children struggle with reading two lines of music at once.  Children with learning difficulties who may benefit considerably from this different form of learning often find two line or two handed instruments difficult and would benefit from perhaps a brass instrument or at least one with a solo written line rather than chords. Many young children cannot sit still for the required length of time and need an instrument that allows physical movement such as the violin.  Temperament can also play a part – a quiet child may prefer the flute to the saxophone, and a child with a lot of energy may do better with the drums than with the recorder.  Development is important, for instance (with wind instruments) when children may not have all their front teeth or when they may not be big enough to get their arms around a double bass.  There are books available which will help you, for example ‘The Right Instrument for Your Child’ by Arah Ben-Tovim and Douglas Boyd which is available from Amazon and on Kindle. 

Most important of all is your child’s preference.  If they hate the sound of the saxophone they will not commit to learning it.  If they really want to learn the trumpet they may not take kindly to the piano, and “learn the instrument I want you to play and when you pass grade 1 you can do the one you have chosen,” will likely put them off both! Take your children to concerts and have them listen to a range of music styles including classical music on the radio and see what excites them.  Allow them to try out instruments in music shops or get them a trial lesson on an instrument they have been interested in.  The great Hungarian musician Zoltan Kodaly said that ‘Children learn best that which they already know’.  If they have been nagging you for two years to learn the harp take a deep breath and hire one for a month.  If you can’t pull them away from it, get saving.  You may have a harpist in the making.

There are other reasons for children to learn orchestral, jazz or rock instruments other than the piano, and that is the benefit of being able to play them in an ensemble, an activity which is only really available to advanced pianists.  Ensemble playing is a highly social and sociable activity which gets children working together collaboratively rather than competitively and can be begun from the very first term that the child begins the instrument.  One person in an ensemble is only a tiny part of a whole picture which only the whole ensemble can produce.  Concentration, listening skills, forbearance with other children working at more or less advanced levels, timing, co-operation and an understanding of gradual progression are all benefits of involvement in an orchestra, choir or band.  Musically it benefits the child in every possible way, giving them a strong sense of pulse, pitch, dynamics, structure, articulation, tempo, musical style and performance convention and it also makes sense of their instrument in context.  Lastly the buzz of performing in concert with many other musicians is something that can only really be understood once tried – a memorable, exhilarating and uplifting experience.

Why is education for girls important?

One of the aims of global education is to improve the lives of all who are touched by greater and wider learning. For many this brings the chance of more fulfilled lives and can open opportunity for greater prosperity. In the view of the UN this means improving access to education, world over, for women and girls. This has been the aim of the foundation of the Company of Mary Our Lady for over 400 years, ever since their foundress in Bordeaux in the late sixteenth century realised that to educate society meant educating mothers, sisters and aunts, as that would have the biggest influence over the development of families, and create an educated culture for children to grow into. Opportunities for work come from academic and vocational studies. Appreciation and understanding of others comes from engagement with literature and written materials that extend far beyond personal experience. Moral education is enhanced by understanding the rights of all to take an equal place in society, including women.

The aim of this week’s blog isn’t to repeat a whole set of points regarding single sex education (see my blog from Thursday 17 January 2013) but in considering the rights of women to be educated I thought it worth sharing a further thought from some literature I came across this week: Jacqueline Granleese writes about girls educated in both single sex and co-educational schools in Northern Ireland. She discovered through her research that girls’ attainment and achievement is strongly affected by their self-image. She discovered that within single-sex settings girls’ view of their own abilities and success are influenced by how they behave and attain more than how they look or perceive that they are being viewed, by others, whereas girls in co-ed settings are more likely to base their sense of self on how they look and how their appearance may be judged. Although this seems a small difference, the impact on attainment and studies can be quiet dramatic. Students’ view of themselves quickly extends to their expectations and to their own engagement with the environment in which they are taught. It seems fatuous to think pretty girls, or at least those who seem attractive to certain boys, do better, but that in essence is what girls can quickly come to believe and it deeply affects their own self-esteem and therefore their progress, regardless of their abilities (we are talking about teenagers here…).

Professor Chris Holligan points out that this has a knock on effect to the perception that certain subjects in a co-ed school take on the subconscious subtext that they are for boys (physics and mathematics) or for girls (languages and creative subjects) and become quickly stigmatised. Girls in these settings become wary that they will appear more masculine by choosing technical or science subjects. Dr Leonard Sax also flags up the point that for many adolescents the presence in the classrooms of the opposite sex causes a distraction that makes full attention difficult, especially in view of the idea that a sense of self-worth can be related to physical appearance rather than to academic success.

In the light of the struggle to educate women worldwide, and in order to create more equable societies it seems incongruous that positive discrimination is what is needed here in the UK to enable women to have the equality they require in education settings. However for many, it does seem that positive single sex discrimination is the most effective way to educate young women for the future.  

What use is a forest school?

It was my privilege last week to spend some time outside with 3 and 4 year old pupils at Notre Dame Forest School. This initiative, guided by Forest School Leader Ms Stephens, and the rest of the Owls Team, allows our BlueBelles Nursery pupils to spend time in the environment learning not only new skills and concepts, but developing their relationship with the world. This chimed with my blog last week about the importance of using guided experiences to allow us to grow as whole people.

The little children I joined were happy, fully engaged, interested, inquisitive and bubbling with enthusiasm. They commandeered me to paint mud onto the trees with them and showed me the bugs they had swept up, gently into cups to examine. I was surprised at their sophistication, gathering tiny fragments from around them to make fairy houses, and their ability to explain what they were doing. I felt a pull from my own happy childhood, where I learned to be creative through a freedom to explore. These children are lucky indeed.

Most children spend a great deal of their educational lives indoors, only being allowed out to ‘play’. This is appropriate if we believe that learning can only take place under certain conditions, if we think that a teacher has to push knowledge into a child in a sterile environment. However, we now understand far more about the growth of children’s brains, and are beginning to understand that intelligence develops through activity, making connections, creative inspiration and rehearsal. Creativity is never nurtured best in confined conditions, and inspiration rarely strikes if prescribed outcomes are valued above great ideas. Connections certainly cannot be made for them, instead of by then, if they are to have real meaning, and it is only possible to rehearse what is already understood. That is not to say that class based learning is outdated, it still plays the major part, and much can be taught and learnt by conventional means, but there is more…..and practical activities such as camping, forest skills, Duke of Edinburgh awards and environmental studies can extend potential by "encouraging and inspiring individuals through positive outdoor experiences" as the Forest Schools do.

In the future school leaders will increasingly accept that creativity is vital to the formation of human beings and to the future of society, and that it is generated not by the training of fixed outcomes but by open ended experiences. None of us can be sure what the future will hold, nor what will happen to the shape of examinations in the next ten years, nor to the world of work or even to society in general, but those children who have developed resilience, interest, inspiration and independence, outside, in the beauty and complexity of creation, will have the advantage over the rest of us.

Now put down this computer and go outside for a walk.

Why are Feast Days important?

In common with many other faith schools, Notre Dame School has a feast day to celebrate its foundation, in this case on the 15 May, the anniversary of the sainthood of St Jeanne de Lestonnac who opened her first school in 1607. My own friends often talk about Feast Days or Founders Days from their own childhoods, and when I say I’ve had a great day at school they often laughingly ask: “Was it a Feast Day?”

However, in these busy times, when performance and attainment are uppermost in people’s minds and the fear of lesson time wasted or ill used for entertainment is a prevalent fear, I believe it is time for us to remind ourselves again about the importance of Feast Days.

For me, excellent education is a holistic affair. Children need to become rounded, moral, thinking, spiritual beings in order to be fulfilled in life and to contribute to society. These dispositions do not happen by accident, and although their own families are the first best educators, it is the experiences shared in common with their peers and their role models that really help them to develop. Experiences provided by the school shape and form an individual far more than the taught concepts. Living life and learning to manage it, with all the complexity of social interaction and the ability to understand what contributes to happiness and self-satisfaction, is far more likely to make a positive difference to success in life than an extra hour of maths and English.

So my school reorganises the day, to allow for most of the usual lessons to be fitted in, but making space for the whole school to come together for a service of celebration and thanksgiving and for shared lunch where all of the age-groups mix to make new friends and ‘big’ or ‘little sisters’. Aside from the social aspects, the bigger girls are role models for the younger. Their tenderness with the youngsters is touching to see, and a valuable part of life.

The Feast Day for me also focuses attention on a shared celebration that touches this whole community. Unlike any other event it does not reward the success of the few, it does not rely on competition, and it is not more applicable to some than others. A Feast Day simply offers itself as a shared celebration in common with whole community, much as a birthday or Christmas celebration might in the family home. School spirit, something that translates itself through life into family spirit, community spirit, or even a willing or tireless work ethic begins here, and cannot be created by lessons alone. Character is not the result of audited academic success. Being part of a community and being able to celebrate that 'belonging' is also an essential part of personal happiness.

On other days beyond the norm, for house competitions, rehearsals, concerts, assemblies, music ensembles, sports activities and the like, children are given opportunities to contribute to the community in a way that does not simply benefit them or lead to personal success. I firmly believe that understanding the contribution that one can make to the whole is an essential discipline. Work in the twenty first century is more than likely to involve collaboration, presentation, self-discipline, ability to listen (Apprentice candidates take note!), and discernment about one’s place in the group and judgement about who to imitate and follow. All of these are learned more effectively through activities and experiences beyond the classroom. For pupils that cannot be happily involved beyond the limelight, who are not trained to watch and join in on cue, who don’t know that there are strengths and rewards in being an anonymous part of a celebrating community, who do not turn up to events after hours if their parents are not going to be in the audience, who cannot feel motivated if there is no reward, life will be deeply frustrating, puzzling and hard grind.

So happy Feast Day to you all, whenever that day may be for you. 

What is the point of an all through school?

Notre Dame School Cobham, of which I have recently become the Prep Head, has embarked on a new era by becoming one school for pupils aged 2 to 18. We are now taking girls straight through one school from Nursery to University. Although there have been two schools on this site for over fifty years the schools have this year merged to make fuller use of resources, expertise and leadership in depth.

By happy coincidence in today’s Guardian there is an article about partnerships between primary and secondary schools http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/may/08/collaboration-primary-secondary-schools-working-together?CMP=twt_gu which underlines the benefits of primary and secondary practitioners working alongside each other for the good of pupils.

The first obvious benefit is the use of shared facilities, which for us has been possible for some time as we share one beautiful site, but now will be timetabled together by the Heads to allow for greater flexibility. Introduction of new subjects such as food technology for older juniors also becomes possible through shared staff, and can also offer an early start to senior school languages and other subjects where cross phase teaching becomes available.

One of the greatest benefits is the community of practice that can develop when teachers working with different age groups can come together to discuss issues and solutions to teaching conundrums – and also help to develop schemes of work and models of good learning for, and with, each other. Trust in a learning community always engenders better experiences for pupils, especially when the style and history of education, curricula and learning objectives are fully open and understood as the child passes into each new phase. Training for staff can be geared to the needs of subjects, departments or to the whole school as pupils are enabled to build upon their primary school foundations and to achieve greater success in their futures. Resources and buildings can be utilised to the maximum and older and younger pupils can benefit from learning alongside each other for particular projects, such as reading to a class or sharing a celebration.

In some environments primary teachers believe that senior teachers are only interested in examination success in their subjects and don’t have a holistic view of education. In some schools secondary teachers believe that primary teachers play all day and that education proper begins aged eleven. Not so in my own school where collaboration and shared understanding are beginning to lead to better planning across the whole school and to create dialogue between clever and reflective professionals. This will have a positive impact on achievement for all pupils, who can be known and valued as they grow and develop throughout their school careers. 

  

Of course this all takes time and energy; however a good school will easily understand that this shared endeavour, which in our case is underpinned by 400 years of good practice (as part of a worldwide foundation) and an educational project that is uncompromising in seeking the best for all of our pupils, is worthwhile. Joining two into one, like a thoughtful and loving marriage, or even a sword and ploughshare, certainly creates something for our pupils which is far greater than the sum of its parts.  

Why is it important to fail?

There are many things we do in life that make us feel rather overawed, or even afraid. Not because they are life changing or will make a real difference in the sum of human endeavour, but simply because we are afraid that we might not do as well as we hoped, or as well as someone else. This often means that we cannot really do our best, that we are made jittery with nerves or that we simply opt out.

Courage in what we do sounds perfectly reasonable. It is easy to think of being brave, taking a leap or running a risk, but the truth is we are often held back by the simple notion that we might fail. Children are no different. If they are under pressure always to succeed, and encouraged or helped to do so, then they learn that failure is a bad, sad or dangerous thing. In turn this makes each task laden with fear that things might not go according to plan. Pressure ironically causes this fear of failure to be reflected in underachieving. Most of the underachieving children I discuss with anxious parents are under fearful pressure, a pressure that creates failure through fear rather than drives achievement. Parental anxiety is the child’s best indicator that they are not succeeding sufficiently, so beware of the signals you give out. Sometimes, “Let’s not worry, is there something I can help you with for next time,” will help to break the panic and pressure cycle.

I was reminded of this when discussing an examination result this week with a parent of a bright and lively junior pupil. The child works hard, achieves very good class and homework results, but recently has not done so well in assessment tests. Her mum was terribly worried about this, and so was the child. I asked the mum what she thought would happen if the child really failed, (as I did not see this as a failure) and I had to hand out tissues. The child said she worried about failing because it meant she was letting her family down and she would fail her exams in the senior school and not get into university. This child is nine years old. I believe very firmly that this lovely girl is not really underachieving, nor failing, nor destined for disaster – unless her fear of failure is allowed to develop further. Wanting to do our best need not equate to being anxious about the opposite, especially if it is actually going to make things worse – our best should always be good enough.

So think very carefully about the messages you give to your children when they come home with a less than excellent result. Failing allows us to take stock, to see that the sky doesn’t fall in, that something needs changing. It can allow children who have relied on too much help to begin to take responsibility. Some children will never be good at certain things and that is OK. Failure is a life lesson. It is a useful reminder that we need to do our best, but with no fear. If failure is one of the possible outcomes we can look at squarely then the fear of failure doesn’t need to impede our efforts.