In the same way that Bono suggested ‘Sunday B***** Sunday’ was not a protest song, this is not an anti-school blog.
Schools are judged on results, right? League tables have upped the ante to the point where SATs and/or GCSEs are soooo important that teachers are whipping extra effort out of each child in the quest to attain their maximum grade. Because when we crawl (exhaustedly) over July’s finishing line, the child will be able to wave that piece of paper in their hand. ‘A *, whoo-hoo, get in. Let’s celebrate and be happy!’
Controversial, I know, but what if that’s pretty much exactly the wrong strategy?
I’m not arguing against the ‘working incredibly hard’ bit. That’s a given. But cramming every after school and lunchtime with extra revision is tough for the kids and teachers. Thinking aloud, what if there was a better way?
Rewind to when your kids were born. You held your child for the first time and came over all emotional. What was your greatest wish for your child? Was it, ‘I hope she gets a decent academic grounding and has working knowledge of at least one Shakespeare play. Oh, and I’d really like her to understand how ox-bow lakes are formed.’
I doubt it? More likely, ‘I hope my child is happy.’ That’s pretty much all you ever want for your children.
This insight is important because ‘happiness’ is the key to everything. If you’ve ever attended an ‘Art of Being Brilliant’ workshop you’ll know that we talk about happiness as the starting point rather than the end point. So, for example, what if being happy after you achieved the A* was the wrong way around – and being happy every day in school was the crucial bit. Indeed, what if it’s the happiest kids who over-perform at school?
We have a crack team of trainers who can run you some superb ‘revision’ sessions for your school or your child’s school. But we reckon you’d be much better off booking an Art of Being Brilliant session and not mentioning ‘exams’ at all.
Get them inspired to be their best selves… and amazing results will follow.