The idea of a career appears to be dead yet we are in a world dominated by narrow expertise, we have a shortage of engineers and no idea what industries and skills we will need twenty years from now- or even ten. How can the business community of today define the ‘gold standard’ subjects that we should be teaching? Of course core knowledge is essential but how narrow or how broad is certainly up for debate. Antony Seldon has taken this issue head on and was campaigning strongly for the broader potential of the International Baccalaureate and the relevance of teaching all eight aptitudes from Howard Gardner’s model of multiple intelligences, as well as the ability to be silent and mindful. Teaching how to use knowledge, as much as what knowledge children receive, seemed to be the thread.
I am struck by a big discussion in the ted group on LinkedIn that is asking ‘Our educational system is failing to help students understand their passions and prepare for the right career. How many years did it take for you to find the right career and feel engaged at work? Is there a way to avoid the sometimes 20 year detour to career happiness??
I am surprised this is not in a coaching or positive psychology group and it is quite a pet subject for me for many reasons- my own school experience and the number of midlife clients I get who realise they followed what they thought they should do rather than their heart and passions. There is no wrong and right here, we change as we mature and experience all that life throws at us, good and bad. It is often not the career path per se that is wrong but the way people are interpreting and valuing what they do. I am not sure if this is an education or a general social issue?
I left school at 16 because my expensive school did not see any potential in me and I was slightly dyslexic. I apprenticed as a cook and rated myself through the schools eyes. I changed my thinking, went back to school and discovered as an adult many things I should have found years earlier. I am still learning and discovering what my passions and skills are. Perhaps it is because I am such an adult learner that I care so much about people realising and discovering their own potential rather than living other people’s lives. I was lucky; I had the opportunity to go back to school. I was also lucky because I learnt most of the important soft skills at home.
Many children are not so advantaged, not just because they are poor but because they don’t even get basic emotional and social skills. The Education Festival again and again raised the point that reaching the most difficult and disengaged children was in everyone’s interest. Engaging with children who have experienced the difficulties and trauma that is the sad reality of many children’s lives- not least children born to children- is essential. The statistics of future expense and problems if we don’t is there to read. In Jamie Oliver’s dream school he sought out such children and appeared to encounter many of the issues that are the meat and potatoes of coaching and the ‘good’ ideas within positive psychology. Changing perspectives, learning practical resilience and coping skills, becoming emotionally aware and finding something that engages and challenges, as well as taking responsibility for your life, are some of the core elements to emotional and psychological wellbeing and happiness. These elements are also at the heart of knowing who you are and building self-efficacy.
Knowing who you are –being- comes before knowing what you want to do. When you know who you really are you can more easily develop meaningful goals for a fulfilling life. (For some lucky people they know what they want to do because ‘who they are’ is the same as ‘what they do’, and is evident from childhood, but most of us don’t know)
One of the presentations was by Lord Richard Layard who has evidence of the efficacy of a number of models used in schools that are incorporating the findings from positive psychology. I know one lovely girl teaching in an east London school who has had a dramatic effect by introducing just a few principles taken from positive psychology, and other people who are positively affecting the lives of alcoholic teenagers using a strengths based approach. Co- active coaches have been working in prisons for some years and the new charity Action for Happiness www.actionforhappiness.org is connecting the hundreds of small community initiatives that are out there. DIY Happiness www.diyhappiness.co.uk and How to Thrive- www.howtothrive.org an organisation teaching 11-13 year olds emotional awareness and resilience are just two examples of many. Teachers are everywhere, not just in school. Education is a lifetime’s journey and it happens when we are engaged, the important thing is that it happens.
The quality of teachers matters, not as instillers of facts but as instillers of the joy of learning and discovery. Whether teaching a subject or aptitude, a great teacher has both knowledge and skill to excite and engage.
With difficult and hard to teach children it starts with someone who takes the time to engage and offer small practical ways that can literally change perspectives and change lives. What does ‘engage with’ mean? What skills tools and actions work? Everybody working in this field has something to contribute, especially with children who are disenfranchised for whatever reason.
· Setting boundaries, adapting boundaries and holding them.
· Not judging but not colluding in victim mentality either
· Able to be present and create a ‘good’ present- Hold the space.
· See potential.
· Facilitate community support
· Expect, demand, challenge and reward.
· Teach discernable skills both practical and emotional.
Creating a good environment for learning is not rocket science but certainly in some instances requires specialist skills as well as adapting to a fast changing world. Some teachers are able to do the above, others cannot. Teaching is not just knowledge expertise; it is an expertise in itself. Some skills cannot be taught or legislated for- they are the skills of leadership and wisdom. The biggest issue appeared to be whether schools should be doing more than just educating children to pass exams for employment and how to provide the best opportunity to develop and grow into their potential; educating children to live valuable, happy and purposeful lives as well as being equipped to face challenges as yet unknown.
Bob Geldof literally blew us away. He was the most articulate informed and passionate (in a good way) speaker at the festival. School failed him. Although he knew his father had worked hard for his education he only took a love of poetry from the experience. This was enough for his creative spirit to flourish, and perhaps fuelled his emotional response to the world. He has a passion, responsibility and sense of purpose and knows who he is enough to follow his heart totally and has been of more benefit globally than can be measured. A sense of who he is – at his core- is shown in the integrity of spirit with which he spoke about not breaking a promise to the poor (compassion in action). His knowledge and intellect was powerfully displayed in his clear reasoning on how it is in our own interest to educate and help the poor. There is no question that poverty creates terrorists, civil unrest and war, but it is his authentic passion, not his intellect, that we responded to, and it is his authentic passion that has enabled him to move mountains.
The people, who educate and inspire the young to learn both knowledge and what to do with it, are the real creators of our future. Mostly these people have a passion. People respond to authentic passion and children spot a fake a mile away. If passion awakes passion how can we keep our teachers inspired and passionate?
There is a movement developing- Ken Robinson is getting heard and Anthony Seldon is inspirational on the subject and believes if he can show the effect in the private sector the public sector will have to take notice. He is one of countless people and teachers who want the next generation to know more than facts.
If I took anything from the weekend it is that passion and inspiration matters. Coaches in schools would be wonderful.
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