Not All Skills Are Measured By Grade

“Many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers. Many people of average intelligence are skilled thinkers. The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven.” - Edward de Bono

It’s September at last, which means across the country thousands of young people are heading back into school for a new year. Over the summer, I have worked with many students who were concerned that their grades weren’t good enough. Some received their GCSE and A Level results and were disappointed (especially with the smug A* faces waiting in the crowd desperate to rub it in). Some were about to start the journey to those exams and thought a C wasn’t good enough, and that they would fail in life because of it. But I have a message for every single child, teenager or even adult struggling with those thoughts – you don’t know how wrong you are.

I want to share with you an extract from a letter a teacher sent to pupils sitting their SAT’s last May:

‘The SATs tests do not assess all of what makes each of you special and unique. The people who create these tests and score them do not know each of you the way that we do and certainly not in the way that your families do. They do not know that some of you speak two or more languages or that you love to sing or draw. They have not seen your natural talent for football or playing a musical instrument. They do not know that your friends can count on you to be there for them; that your laughter can brighten the darkest day or that your face turns red when you feel shy. They do not know that you participate in sports or are fascinated by space, or that sometimes you help your mum with your little brother or sister before school. They do now know that you are kind, trustworthy and thoughtful and that every day you try to be your very best.’

I love this woman. She has summed up everything I believe in far better words than I ever could. At school we are taught that getting good grades is the key to success. If you can fill up that exam sheet with A*’s, you are guaranteed a great life. But if you don’t manage that, then you will be a looser forever. This is absolute rubbish. While how you do in school might be your immediate concern, it’s your passion, drive and other non-academic talents that can really take you places, no matter what’s on your results sheet. To prove it, let’s take a look at a few successful people who didn’t do well at school:

•  2-time world champion wrestler Mark Schultz was born with severe dyslexia and consistently achieved low grades in English.

•  Richard Branson dropped out of school at 15 and went on to start over 500 successful companies.

•     Alan Sugar left school at 16 without a single qualification. He is now worth £900m.

•      John Snow (the Channel 4 newsreader, not the guy from Game of Thrones, sorry!) got a C, D and E in his A Levels.

•  Benedict Cumberbatch admitted to ‘spectacularly blowing’ his GCSE’s due to discovering girls, despite his teachers expecting ‘Oxbridge levels of brilliance’ from him.

•     Thomas Edison (the man who brought us the electric lightbulb) was told by his teachers that he was ‘too stupid to learn anything’. 

•     And finally, world renowned loudmouth Jeremy Clarkson tweeted that ‘If your A Level results aren’t great be cheered by the fact that I got a C and two Us. And I’m currently sitting in a villa in St Tropez.’

So this year instead of focusing on your grades as if they are the be all and end all of your life, try to relax and do something you enjoy. Take the time to practice your musical instrument or play that game of football. Never forget that life’s achievements and success aren’t always measured by A*’s. Some of the most successful people in our world today don’t have a single qualification to their name, but they do have other skills that are just as important. Determination, motivation, the ability to try or the ability to learn from your mistakes are incredibly important to the success and happiness of your life. You academic achievements may matter, but the nonacademic achievements and qualities are what make you unique and will allow you to make your mark on the world with or without good grades.  So yes, try hard at school and aim for the best grades you can. But if you don’t quite manage it, remember that your exam results don’t determine your success in life.

For more information or to book a session to talk about your exam worries, get in touch via my website let’s work together to achieve brilliance in your own way. 

10 Things To Consider When Picking A Secondary School

September is a really hard time to be a parent. For a lot of us it’s time to send the kids off to uni, or to school for a brand new year full of new challenges. But for some of us with children in year 6, we face the daunting task of picking which secondary school we want out child to go to. Now you might have already decided or be limited to just one school, but we are all given the impression that we can choose. All the local schools put on open evenings or open their doors for the day to show off what they can offer – which can be really confusing and overwhelming for us parents. Having been through the process once before (with my eldest just starting year 9) I am now about to embark on the same journey again with my youngest child.  So for all the first time or veteran parent starting the process again, here’s my top 10 tips for picking your secondary school from both my professional and personal experience.

 

      1.     Go And Visit All Your Potential Schools

This might seem obvious, but don’t be persuaded to pick a school based on what everyone else says. This goes double for schools that are deemed to be ‘outstanding’ or failing. These views can skew our perspective when it comes to choosing schools and stop us giving them a real chance. Make sure you visit the open evening or go to the school during an open day to get a first-hand feel for how the school is run and how happy and engaged the students are. That’s where the real truth is.

      2.     Take Your Children With You

I know this is another obvious one, but many parents don’t take their children with them to visit the schools they are looking at. At the end of the day your child will be spending 5 days a week for at least 5 years in this environment, so they should at least be visiting with you. I’ve worked with a surprising number of teenagers who didn’t visit the schools they now attend – their parents chose for them. There is potential for disaster here.

      3.     Ask How The School Handles Year 7 Transitions

All secondary schools work hard on the transition to year 7, but they all handle it differently. Generally, year 7’s will start a day earlier than the rest of the school, and some even prepare residential trips so the children can make friends before they start. Ask the question of all your schools and consider what approach will work best for your child.

      4.     Friends, Friends, Friends!

Never underestimate the value of current friends for your children. Yesterday my younger son came home and told me that most of his friends won’t be going to the same school as him. Now he is an independent boy who is very self-sufficient, but for some children this news and the schoolyard gossip can really affect the way your child feels about secondary school. How will this change affect your child’s current friendships?

      5.     Single Sex Or Mixed Schooling?

If this is an option it’s another minefield for parents. I’ll be honest I wasn’t keen on single-sex schooling, but my son is much happier in that environment than the mixed sex school he started in (more on that later). So keep an open mind and prepare to be surprised.

     

6.    Does It Offer The Right Subjects?

I know it sounds early, but subject options are an important part of your child’s future so should be considered at the beginning. Does the school offer all the artistic or creative subjects your child might want? Is there a choice of fresh, modern topics or are they more traditional? For example, I’m working with a teenager now who is very creative, but has just discovered she can only take one creative subject. Children tend to flourish and achieve more if they are able to do subjects they love, so make sure the school is right for your child.

   

     7.   How Will Your Children Get There?

Can they walk, cycle or take the bus, or will you need to transport them yourself? Is your child ready for independent travel or are you still going to be doing the school run for a while? If so, is there a possibility of carpooling? It’s a small thing, but it will make a big difference to your life, and your child’s.

     8 . Your Child’s Opinion Matters!

Don’t follow your natural instinct of ‘I know what’s best for my child’. Really listen to them and what they want. Discuss the options with them, take them with you and open their eyes to things they won’t have even thought of. They have to spend the next 5 years there after all!

     9.   Always Have A Backup

Once you’ve settled on your first choice, make sure you have a second and a third as well. The amount of heartache that can be avoided by having those different options ready is worth the pre-planning, and remember that there is an appeal process.

And finally…

     10. We Might Make The Wrong Choice

We all work really hard to get our children into good schools and hope that this will lead to a good life. But after one term you see your happy, confident child become withdrawn, distant and dreading going to school. I say this with sadness because it happened to us – my younger son just didn’t fit into the academic model of his firsts secondary school and it wasn’t working. But we were able to move him almost instantly and the new school fits him like a glove. So listen to your instincts – there’s ‘settling in’ and there’s ‘it’s not working’. Don’t be hard on yourself, just do something about it!

Good luck to you all, and hopefully I’ll see you at some open evenings soon!

What Kind Of Learner Are You?

For many of us, our learning style was something we only really thought about when it came time to revise for our exams at school. We would find out whether we were a visual, kinaesthetic or auditory learner and be told 1 of 2 things – if we were visual or kinaesthetic we should make flashcards, and if we were auditory we should record ourselves speaking the material and listen back – or have someone else say it to us. This approach to learning styles in school is thankfully now evolving, but it does mean that there are people out there who aren’t sure what kind of learner they are, and how much influence their preferred methods of learning can have on their everyday lives.

Visual

Some key features for visual learners:

     - Visual learners are all about imagery.

        -  Prefer to use images, pictures, colours and maps to organise information and communicate.

      - Will often draw diagrams or mind maps to help explain ideas.

        - Very good at deciphering visual data like maps or graphs

    To help visual learners retain information:

      - Use images colours and other visual media.

       - Highlight important points in the text.

      -  Replace words with colours and images where possible.

      - Turn data and information into charts, graphs, timelines and infographics.

Some visual learners do have some kinaesthetic traits as well, making them very good at visualising 3D objects from 2D drawings and assessing if they will fit into a space.

Kinaesthetic

You can identify kinaesthetic learners because:

       - Kinaesthetic learners are always moving or doing something with their hands.

       - Very physical learners who retain information best when their bodies are involved.

   - They prefer creating things, moving around, acting or taking things apart and putting them back together.

To help kinaesthetic learners retain information:

      - Do activities while learning or revising – like walking, riding a stationary bike or jogging.

      - Involve them in acting out or role playing the subject matter.

      - Creative interactive activities for learning.

Tonal 

Some key indicators for tonal leaners:

       - The complete opposite of the visual learner, focussed on sound instead of images.

       - Tend to have a good memory for conversations, enjoy debates and discussions.

      -  Often have musical talents and can usually pick up tones, notes and rhythms easily.

  - On the downside, tonal learners can find it hard to interpret complex graphs as well as facial expressions and gestures.

To help tonal learners retain information:

       - Discuss the material and read it aloud.

       - Audiobooks are a big hit with tonal leaners.

       - If audiobooks aren’t available, record yourself speaking the material and let them listen back.

      -  Play music then revising or learning.

      -  Write jingles or use mnemonic devices for complex ideas.

Audio Digital

The last learning type to discuss is one that’s often left out, especially at the school level. Most people know about the visual, physical and tonal learning styles, but draw a blank when I mention audio visual. Despite its name, audio digital learners are not particularly stimulated by sound, or in fact any of the senses.

Instead, audio digital learners will:

       - Use phrases like ‘that makes sense’ ‘that fits the specifications’ or ‘that sounds logical’.

      -  Audio digital learners are skilled at mathematical and logical reasoning.

   - Usually, audio digital learners be gifted at maths (but not always) with an ability to work with complicated or abstract information.

      - They love to classify information by making lists, agendas or itineraries.

To help audio digital learners retain information:

      -  Encourage exploration and discovery of the methodologies and theories behind ideas.

      - Use organised lists and groupings.

      - Turn material into strategic mind games or challenges.

Of course, no one brain is the same and everyone learns in slightly different ways. Some people are a combination of visual and kinaesthetic, or tonal and audio digital.

Another way of thinking about your learning style and preferred thinking methods is in terms of the left-brain, right-brain and whole-brain. We don’t have time to go into this right now, but I do have another post planned soon about the different parts of the brain and how they relate to learning, so stay tuned for that! If you aren’t sure what type of learner you are or need some help understanding your learning style and how to embrace it, get in touch and I’ll be happy to help.

The Importance Of Learning Through Play

A disturbing trend has been growing within our education system, one that is starting to bleed through into our home lives. Children are being focussed on academia and traditional learning at an increasingly early age, cutting down on the time they have to play and enjoy being children. The tension between play and direct instruction during the preschool years is as puzzling as it is very real. In the face of increased pressure for children to excel academically – in particular in maths and literacy – parents and officials are expecting pre-school and nursery programs to look like classrooms for older children. They believe that direct instruction is the best way to meet those expectations, with play falling into the ‘non-educational category’. But for children (and adults) play forms a fundamental part of our ability to learn about the world around us and comprehend complex issues and concepts.

Learning Through Play – Children

For children, their first experience of learning is through exploring and playing with their environment. Even babies have an inbuilt need to learn, and play nurtures this need and helps them make sense of the world. At this stage play can range from playing peekaboo with mum, shaking a rattle or sending cars flying down ramps. In the latter example, the child is learning that objects fall to the floor when they are dropped. In other words, they are learning about gravity. They might not know what it’s called at this point, but they are understanding the concept that things fall. You may see them experimenting with different objects, throwing them off the table to see how fast they fall. Through play children can practice physical movement, learn how to build structures and solve problems.  

Play also lays the foundation for direct learning later on in life. At an early age children learn to make and practice new sounds, trying out their vocabulary with their friends and telling stories. Playing encourages them to communicate with other children and builds up those social skills essential for later life. Allowing your child to play in a variety of ways encourages choice (how do I pick which toy to play with?) and creativity (just because you think that truck should roll along the floor doesn’t mean it isn’t a great stacking toy) – skills they will need when they are older. In study into the effect of play on children’s learning, Lester and Russell concluded that ‘play creates a brain that has increased flexibility and improved potential for learning later in life.’ By encouraging children to think creatively and explore concepts only possible in play, you are in fact setting the foundation for a well-adjusted and flexible mind, capable of learning more than non-playing peers.

 Learning Through Play – Adults

We are quick to think of children when we talk about learning through play, but it’s just as important for adults. In our adult lives, we focus so heavily on work and family commitments that we never seem to have time for pure fun – somewhere along the line we stopped playing. When we do carve out some leisure time, we’re more likely to opt for the TV or computer instead of engaging in rejuvenating play like we did as children. For adults, play has been proven to relieve stress, improve brain function, stimulate creativity and keep you feeling young.  Adults do take part in some forms of play, even if they don’t realise it.  Take team building exercises. Many of these ‘days away’ involve executives playing games or completing challenges in order to build or repair relationships with others and learn new skills, which they can then incorporate into their lives. This is just one example of adults learning through play.

If you have a child, this presents adults with a chance to learn to play again, incorporating themselves into their child’s imaginary world. It allows the adults to learn and understand their child’s body language and development, allowing them to give support where needed. But most importantly, playing with children as an adult teaches patience and understanding. The adult must learn when to take part, how to involve themselves and not to impose their understanding of the world onto the child, who is still trying to make sense of it. These skills can be transferred into everyday life, giving you a new perspective on your relationships.

The role of play in children’s learning is incredibly complex and there is still a lot we don’t know – but what we do know is that play works in concert with other factors to support children’s early development. As adults, play allows us to break down preconceptions, forge new relationships and learn new skills. Interacting with children’s play as an adult is just as important