This was said to me a while ago on a school governors' training day. The speaker was talking about including all staff in training, particularly referring to part-time staff such as lunch-time supervisors.
The blog by @jillberry102, read it here: http://www.capita-independent.co.uk/resources/blog/are-character-and-thinking-skills-important-knowledge-and-understanding ,
on what should be the primary focus of schools made me think of this advice.
And I am not at all sure I can separate the teaching of knowledge and understanding from the wider "softer" (by which I might mean immeasurable) qualities such as self-awareness, independence and resilience.
I might think I am simply focussing on building children's knowledge, but the way I work and the way I speak to learners, the time (or not) I allow for discussion, the value I place on independence are all there, in the background and can be read from the shape of each lesson. Do I jump in often when a pupil says they have a problem or they don't understand? Do I ask them what they think and see as well as telling them what I do? How much time do I allow for simply 'wallowing' in a maths problem? and do I alter tomorrow's plans because of what I have seen today ... and tell them why I have?
These qualities will be 'taught', just maybe not in the way I may want. Just as well to be explicit about it.
Thanks, Helen - and I'm sure you're right. HOW we teach and what we model is as instructive as the content of what we cover, and through our actions and how we behave and treat each other I think we can create the conditions within which 'character' (if that's the word we choose to use to cover the 'softer' skills) can thrive. I think this is what I was getting at in the post when I talked about how I didn't see the two things in tension.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts!