Schools of the future

Some time back I wrote a blog entitled the University of Life. This next chapter is somewhat related. Both this and the earlier piece refer to a number of people with whom I've spoken, as well as many others whom I know have empathy with this view.

It's possible that had our interest been more stimulated during lessons at school rather than by what was going on outside the window, our future (or present) may have become something a little different. Perhaps we'd have gone on to become doctors. I personally would've liked to have become a doctor! But again personally speaking, the alternative has taken me far and on some real adventures. (life is supposed to be an adventure) But why is it that for many of us, we waited until we'd left school for our enterprising juices to start flowing. Why didn't school spark our imagination for learning?

When I was at school the education system was most definitely geared towards collectively teaching the masses. "They'll all learn the same way", like robots! How wrong could they be? We definitely do not all learn the same way. Every child is unique or as they now say 'Every Child Matters'.

A survey was carried out. 100 teachers were asked - what was the most common method of teaching children? Something like 75% of those asked said that they had the kids copy from a black board or a white board or an interactive board or from a book. That same surveyor asked a group of kids which teaching practice they liked least of all - no prizes for guessing. The group all said that copying down as described was the single most boring and least effective way of learning anything. I can see it now - as the copying starts, auto pilot kicks in, the eyes glaze over and off to a place more entertaining. The next time those notes are seen will be to revise for a test.

School is now a very different environment to 10 years ago. Life is far more complex, kids grow up quicker. The peer pressures they are under are huge. The choices they now have are massive and the material to learn in terms of technology alone has grown tenfold.

It's now recognised that kids cannot be educated as though they are robots. They in fact all learn in a variety of different ways. So, rather than focusing on how to teach on mass, it's now a case of teachers 'learning' the science of learning. It seems to me, and this is important - that until the science of learning is understood, there's little chance of getting the science of teaching right.

Terms like Pedagogy, Transformational Learning and Pupil Led Learning are just some of the buzz terms that relate to the science of learning. It stands to reason, if you want to get the best out of anyone, then you must surely encourage them by appealing to their strengths. This most definitely applies to young people in school and not just where you'd expect to find this old cliche - in the work place. Fulfilment as well as hard work leads to success. So when we hear about staple subjects such as History being moved outside of what we would consider the traditional curriculum to make room for others, its not that there is no longer importance placed upon them, but moreover a case of re structuring to suit different priorities in learning for a modern society.

If we get this right, i.e. we put the emphasis on how the people learn rather than how teachers teach, this should be a huge step in the right direction for all concerned. Let's encourage young people to open up with their individuality by offering them less conventional facilities to do so. Often real talent hides and needs to be coaxed out. Allow it to be uncovered in a constructive environment such as a school. Some of the new methods employed in schools may seem peculiar to some, as they are diverting away from conventionality (err... that's called change - we hate change remember!) But it is about time.

So here's the link: Those of us that gained our qualifications by baptism in the good old University of Life will see a welcome break from old convention - techniques being introduced to schools to cater for and to capture the imagination of those that may otherwise have slipped under the radar of the old system, only to leave school uninspired.

Well it's a start anyway.

Someone needs re-branding

I don’t know who gets paid what and quite frankly I couldn't care less. This just isn't about money. I’m not one to take the moral high ground, but certain moral codes are based on simple decency. How’s it right for our society to preach the message of and to expect common courtesy and respect on one hand, whilst at the same time conveying the complete opposite to millions of listeners on BBC radio 2?

How many times do we hear? “The kids now days have got no respect” OK, some haven’t. But neither have some adults. Maybe it’s about time we look a little closer to home, and then ask why on earth should kids? We have role models advocating (at least by their actions) abusive malicious law breaking behaviour as the way forward. The way forward for whom or for what exactly? It seems for their professional careers. If that’s right then what a very sad state of affairs.

Who remembers happy slapping? Someone becomes the unfortunate victim of a prank (mostly violent) recorded on the video player of a mobile phone, occasionally turning up on YouTube. Sound familiar? Not nice and not nice being played out on the radio either. Don't we have laws to protect us against that kind of thing? Err, yes we do!

As for bringing back old school core values etc; old school or new school, what’s the difference? It’s not that hard to refrain from being utterly offensive to people around us; and surely lessons in respect are not exclusive to kids. Jonathan Ross is 47 years old. Russell Brand is in his early 30's. They could certainly do with a crash course on how to win friends and influence people.

It's a great shame; Jonathan's got a cheeky style that does sometimes work. But he's certainly dropped the ball on this one - as though he’s reverted to being twelve years old, egged on by his little buddy in the playground.

Russell Brand doesn't take himself too seriously. That's pretty evident. He obviously doesn't have that much respect for himself either. The way I see it, if anyone goes that far to cause so much offense and upset to others, then they probably don’t have or even wish any respect in return. After all, we get back what we put out, even Russell Brand. He'll know all too well from his own dark past what it means to cause real pain to people around him. Maybe he's also regressed, at least emotionally. Maybe he has a really low opinion of himself. Either way, he needs to stop playing out his sick thinking to a nationwide audience. It’s not just his life at stake. It's wrong that anyone in such a privileged position should be permitted to influence so many others in such a negative way.

Do as I do - Not very complex is it? But nonetheless fundamental to role models, mentors and mentees everywhere.

Can't do right for doing wrong?

You know the saying - can't do right for doing wrong! Could that be what the torrent of bad press feels like to the younger generation on the receiving end?

Reports of knife and other violent crime seem to overwhelmingly effect the young, thus leaving everyone else with a fearful view of today's youth culture. But can that be right? Does crime really stop at age 30?

One 'popular' view amongst the 'slightly older' is that we're all dammed. Because if that's the generation coming up behind us, there's really no hope! A bit dramatic isn't it! We should remember it's sensationalism that sells newspapers. They certainly aren't there to help foster good relations.

There's no denying the reality of the horror in these attacks and the damage done to lives and families as they occur. I just think that the overwhelming level of reported violence has gone so far, it's tarnished the reputation of an entire section of society. Maybe it's to be expected. The fear that's felt is real. After all nobody wishes to imagine a brother or sister or one of our kids falling victim to these heinous crimes.

But wouldn't it make more sense to have as many positive stories being dished out as there are negative ones. There doesn't seem to be any balance, it's all one way traffic. Every thing in life should have balance, otherwise it breaks down.

How about a 'Good News' paper or a 'Good News' TV channel - only uplifting news stories permitted. I don't think it would fly would it? We're all too morbid. Maybe the press are just giving us what we want in order to satisfy our insatiable appetite for shock horror.

Well it's not doing us any good! Here's a quick analogy: We watch horror movies scaring us silly. We watch too many and we end up with bad nerves. So what's the difference? The effect has been the same. We've all got bad nerves. And it's no surprise, it's all very frightening. We need a good comedy to make us feel better. Or in this case, uplifting, re-assuring, encouraging news, to restore the balance. It is there, it just needs reporting.

Are you one of the abundance of talented hungry and undiscovered individuals out there? You must feel sick. It's not as though you haven't got enough to cope with. You seem by default to be caught up in it even if you're not caught up in it.

There aren't many guarantees in life. I can think of 3, tax, death and this - as the whole of society grows older, the young will continue to come through to take up positions - no matter what we think, the young will inherit this country.

So why don't we start shouting about the good that our young already do, as well as encouraging their hopes and dreams for their future. After all, this isn't a horror movie. We're not all going to hell in a hand kart. It's real life and the great bits (of which there are many) need reporting too.

If it's real, then listen up...

A Degree from the University of Life is surely one of the most highly regarded qualifications out there.

However, if you’d like to become a Doctor, then get to school and study!

That said, real life experience is one of the most valuable natural commodities, not just in terms of selling books, but in passing on experience and inspiration to others.

We all know that some cheat by exaggerating exam results. Remember Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s recent press conference views on cheating – cheating by TV show contestants on Alan Sugar’s The Apprentice.

And what about those that concoct stories of total desperation, reaching rock bottom, how drugs or alcohol almost ruined them; how Bi-Polar disorder has tormented their every waking moment. My empathy and compassion go to all genuine sufferers however there are a lot of ‘fiction writers’ out there.

Why is it now fashionable for people to self diagnose and promote themselves as victims of such horrendous circumstance. Maybe some feel that their lives are so empty that they resort to elaborate tales to make them seem more interesting. Those bona fide personal biographies are an interesting and valuable resource, especially when they've been written by those who have decided to channel their experience where by constructively passing on positive energy.

Whether it is given or just taken, the only way you ever receive anything from another, is when there’s actually something to give - no matter what it is, and that includes positive energy. But if it’s not real in the first place, then it can’t be worth much, can it? It stands to reason, that kind of inspirational stuff isn’t put there, it’s just there.

Not all gifts come wrapped

A quick analogy…

So you’re an enterprising, dynamic ambitious individual. Imagine that you're bursting with enthusiasm for a new course or an idea for a venture that you've been dreaming about putting into action.

Now imagine that you’ve just received a ‘gift’ - Dyslexia, immensely frustrating and inhibiting Dyslexia. All of a sudden you seem unable to negotiate turning the very thoughts from your mind into reality. Remember, this gift has come out of no where and dropped into your lap. It may feel like one of those unexplained memory black outs that we all get from time to time; you know the ones - one minute you’re sitting down watching television, you get up during an interval of your favorite TV program, only to return during the Ad break completely and inexplicably unable to remember what you were watching two minutes earlier.

Dyslexia has been responsible in some cases for holding back sufferers by causing what can only be described as a stunting of their development as far back as Key Stage 1. In many cases the total lack of recognition and understanding of the condition has led to collapse in self confidence – made worse by teachers and parents who did not understand and quite simply thought those kids were stupid.

Years ago it wasn’t so easy to diagnose a 4 year old who wouldn't after all be expected to grasp spelling and literacy at such a young age. But that's certainly no consolation to an adult whose current status may well have stemmed from difficulties in learning coupled with little or no support back in their formative school years. Thankfully, there are now methods of diagnosing the different causes early on. Obviously once Dyslexia or any number of similar conditions has been diagnosed, it’s then down to creative teaching skills to ensure that kids are not only protected from being left behind, but are encouraged to fulfil their vast potential.

Individuals with Dyslexia tend to be extremely bright, in the same way that people that suffer with Bi-Polar disorder are said to be artistically creative. Hence the reason I call it a gift. Far from being in some way deficient, it has nothing whatsoever to do with a lack of intelligence - it's quite the opposite. Dyslexic minds are said to be able to perceive an alternative reality to the one they see in the real world. It's easy to see how unchecked or controlled this could cause problems in the school setting. But with self awareness and training there would seem to be no limit to the height of achievement potentially reached by some that are 'blessed' with Dyslexia. Isn't it interesting that those of us that have no choice but to battle to overcome adversity tend also to be naturally astute, sharp or creative soles.

With so many of these conditions now recognized to create countless bright a gifted people, it's good news that there’s now more available knowledge and understanding. But doesn’t this create something of a dilemma for today’s teachers? There simply cannot be one standard method of teaching large numbers of children. It's not feasible to continue to allow so much talent to slip by. The old systems of teaching simply don’t work in today’s society.

The list of talented and accomplished people with the ‘gift’ is very long. It includes people such as Richard Branson of the Virgin Group, Henry Ford of Ford Motor Company and William Hewlett of Hewlett Packard.

So if you have the gift, you're in good company.

Reporting for Duty

Hi I'm back, and it feels great!

OK so there's a pretty big gap between this and the previous entry. For the last 18 months I've been busy taking care of family matters. You know what they say about spreading yourself too thin, so I decided to concentrate on one area at a time.

I've been looking forward to picking things up again, and that's precisely what I'm in the process of doing. Thanks for all the emails of encouragement that I've received. If there were any that weren't responded to, I do apologise for that.

Keep an eye out......