Jul 16

What success really means for our young people – and us

Although term ended over a week ago, and it was a week before that that we celebrated our great Founders’ Day at school, I find myself still reflecting deeply on the day. Partly this is because it was my tenth and last at St Mary’s Calne, and so was very special indeed, but more importantly, it was a real opportunity to recognise true success, and we had an amazing, fabulous day. Days like this remain imprinted on our minds, and it is right that we should keep them alive in our minds.

Success is, of course, on all our minds this year in particular. 2012 has marked the Diamond Jubilee of our great Queen Elizabeth II, and we await in eager anticipation the London Olympics in the summer. It was fitting, therefore, that we chose as our focal image this year for our Founders’ Day the depiction of the Greek Goddess Nike, the personification of victory, who will grace each of the Olympic medals awarded in London in August.

In this image, variations of which have appeared on the Olympic medals since the Amsterdam games of 1928, Nike is usually shown carrying a palm and a wreath, symbols of victory. It is a strong female image; she is striding out, moving forward, propelled by an inner and spiritual force which encapsulates the power and symbolism of the Olympic Games. The arena of these Games, where the best athletes in the whole world meet and compete, is a place where we see and know that talent and interest are not enough to succeed. A great athlete is one who is highly motivated, who is inspired to work hard – so hard – in preparation and training, and who is utterly dedicated to the ultimate goal of success.

Great athletes, great human beings, are like gladiators, who get up again and again, whatever the setbacks they encounter, for it is in how they deal with adversity, as well as success, that defines their characters. To be equally gracious, equally magnanimous, equally focused on the next goal, in victory and in defeat, is what marks out great human beings, and it is this greatness in the arena of life that I firmly believe is sparked at school.

Greatness is more than an individual, however. The Olympic Games draw peoples of the world together in an arena where they may be competing as individuals but they are ultimately, collectively, representative not only of their nations, but of the human race. They are indeed striving to be the best for themselves, to push themselves to the limit, but they are also doing this for, and are inspired and given impetus and energy by, the millions of others who are supporting them and willing them to succeed.

When we see, before us, extraordinary feats of human endurance, then even national loyalties fade into insignificance compared to the shared sense of wonder and pride in what human beings can achieve. We are all in this together – in this world, in this time, at this point in history, and the Olympic Games remind us of this. We are many peoples with many viewpoints, but we are also one world. We have many varied and different perspectives on life, but we are one human race. We share in our destiny.

My travels abroad over the past couple of years, connecting the school internationally, have really brought this home to me. And I know that we have real work to do to help make the world a better, more unified, more harmonious, more understanding and understood place. Yet this is within our grasp if we are motivated, resilient, ambitious for others and prepared to think creatively and audaciously.

This is what we are really preparing our young people for: to lead good lives – great lives – in which they will make the most of themselves and will contribute – genuinely contribute – to improving the world in which we, and they, and the generations who will come after them, live. As I say often to the girls at school, it is their substance and their character that will ensure that they make a difference in this world. Cast superficiality aside, and move forward with the real business of living.

When they achieve this, with the help of all of us, this is what success will really mean. And the world will benefit.

 

Jul 13

Biography, change and two inspiring women

Founders’ Day at school was a great affair, and this was in no small part down to the two guest speakers we had: the Very Reverend June Osborne, Dean of Salisbury, in the morning, in our annual church service, and Miss Amy Williams MBE, GB Gold Medal winner at the 2010 Winter Olympics, in the afternoon, in the school marquee as part of our annual prizegiving.

After graduating in Social Sciences from Manchester University, the Very Reverend June Osborne went on to train in the Church’s ministry at St John’s College, Nottingham and Wycliffe Hall in Oxford. In 1980, she took up the post of Deaconess at St Martin-in-the-Bullring in Birmingham, moving on to the East London Old Ford parishes in 1984. In 1994, she was one of the first group of women to be ordained into the priesthood and moved to Salisbury in 1995, as one of the Cathedral’s three residentiary canons. In February 2004, she was appointed Dean of Salisbury, making her the Church of England’s most senior woman priest. In June 2009 she was appointed by The Archbishops of Canterbury and York to join a panel of clergy to help select and elect new Deans. She has recently led a delegation of the Church of England to South Africa to an Anglican Communion conference addressing the issues of global poverty and inequality, and is playing a key role in the Communion’s commitment to implementing the Millennium Development Goals. She is also a Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire.  On 8th March 2008, she gave an uplifting Address at the School’s Thanksgiving Service at Salisbury Cathedral, in celebration of the 135th anniversary of St Mary’s Calne, when over 800 pupils, parents, old girls and staff attended, so she knew her audience.

For Miss Williams, too, this was a return visit to the school, as she had come as a surprise guest to our annual Sports Presentation dinner in April 2011. She lent a distinctive Olympian theme to the day; it will not of course surprise you to know that the focus on success and achievement was closely bound up with the impending London 2012 Olympics. Originally a runner, Miss Williams began competing in skeleton racing in 2002, after first trying the sport on a push-start track at the University of Bath.  Although unable to qualify for the 2006 Winter Olympics, she went on to win Silver at the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid. She then qualified for Team GB at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where she won the gold medal in the women’s skeleton racing, breaking the track record twice along the way, and winning by more than a half a second.

These two women were very different – different ages, different achievements, different life experiences and different life directions – but as they told their stories, they both communicated similar messages: the importance of not being afraid to work hard, to strive to change for the better, and to make the most of life. Both had a determination about them, a resolve to look forwards, and a deep joy that comes from the satisfaction of knowing that they had done their best, coupled with the knowledge that their path will take them on other, changing, seas of adventure in the future. Their stories are far from over; there is much more to be written on their tapestries, and I predict that what we will see there in a few years’ time will be still more spectacular. But their stories so faras told to the girls, were already inspirational, and I thank them for this on behalf of the girls and our community.

We learn a lot from people’s lives, if only we listen to what they have to say. Founders’ Day was a great, great day in this respect.

 

 

Jul 10

A lesson in Chinese culture and history – and a lesson in life

Well, my visit to China – to Shanghai and to Beijing as part of the annual symposium and conference of the World Leading Schools Association – was excellent. I met many outstanding educators and was able to share with them, and learn from them, in a way that only ever happens when people come together with a common purpose, which in this case was clearly defined: to seek to improve cultural and educational relationships across our diverse world. With an especial focus on China, this was a particularly instructive first visit from my perspective, and I learned a tremendous amount about the Chinese education system, coming away with a deeper understanding of where its excellence lies, and where it is planning to develop and grow.

I learned, too, about Chinese culture and history in a way which, again, can only really be done by immersing oneself in the place and moment. This is a lesson in itself, which we would do well to remember – the students in our classes need to be brought into that place and moment in order that their imaginations are captured and their thinking stimulated. Whenever we can, we need to transport them – figuratively, if not always literally – to these points where their learning can take off.

Top of my reading for the summer: the sayings of Confucius. Confucius really is everywhere in China, underpinning vast swathes of thought and understanding, that I sense we must, if we want to understand this great and ancient country – and its very modern incarnation – make an effort to read and appreciate the thinkings of one of the world’s great philosophers.

And here are some thoughts, just to get us started:

Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous.

Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a mind without moon and star.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.

They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.

 

Happy reading and thinking this summer …

Jun 30

A visit to China: Taking Educational and Cultural Exchanges to the next level

Tomorrow I am headed for a week to China, first to Shanghai and then to Beijing, to participate in the annual conference of the World Leading Schools Association. I feel very privileged to be able to attend – partly because it is my first visit to China, and partly because it is always a privilege to be able to discuss with fellow educators how we can push the boundaries of what we currently do in schools in order to give our young people an even better springboard to leading a great life.

I shall be speaking as part of a panel on ‘Taking Educational and Cultural Exchanges to the next level’; school exchanges (whether as part of a group, or more individual) bring with them enormous benefits, and we need to discuss, together, how to develop them further. Every child who has ever been on an exchange will testify to these benefits: a greater understanding of self, of others and of a different culture; and a greater appreciation of self, of others, and of a different culture. Going abroad, living with others for an extended period of time, and immersing oneself in how other people do things, all add a real and deep diversity to life.

Why, though, are these experiences so important? My understanding of the world as an educator has two key elements: first, schools have a responsibility to educate about the world. Schools are designated by society as the place where our children learn about others and the world; they are there to impart the values of our society too: about being part of a whole, not just an individual. Secondly, this is a changing world, connected in ways that were not possible even a decade ago. Travel is easier than ever before. The possibilities for our young people to be able to connect and learn from one another are numerous. We – and they, especially – need to learn that this is a world of diversity – a world of many and varied cultures. So … it is important that we bring these together. Young people need to see and understand the world beyond their own four walls, their own towns, cities and nations. They need to meet other people, and understand from the inside what it means to be part of another culture. They need to walk in someone else’s shoes.

There is an enormous amount of injustice and inequality in the world. There is an enormous amount of poverty too. We have limited physical resources as a world, but this is compensated for by our unlimited capacity as a human race to think creatively in order to solve the problems of the world – the conflict, the disease, the cruelties and unkindnesses. All this is much more likely to happen if we can work effectively together, and this starts with understanding others. It is incredibly important for schools to ensure that our students have this opportunity, and that they are able as a result to help change the world for the better.

Long live the educational and cultural exchange.

 

Jun 28

A handshake, a smile and a thank you … and they were on their way

Ever since our annual Founders’ Day at St Mary’s Calne on Saturday 23rd June – my last at the school before I head to Australia in December – I have been reflecting on the departure of our UVI Formers. There were many special moments during the day – the service in the morning, the speeches in the afternoon, the Lily Ball in the evening – but one of the most special for me was the moment at the end of the prizegiving, after the Head Girl’s speech, when each of these young women came up to the stage to receive a final gift to mark the school’s appreciation of all that they had given to the school during their years here, and I shook each one by the hand before they walked down the steps, and on, out of the marquee. It was a symbolic moment, but also a beautiful one. To a young woman, they all smiled and looked me confidently in the eye; many said thank you, and with many we had a quick laugh at the realisation that they had – finally – made it!

I spoke in the marquee – and in the final service at the end of the day – about how wonderful they were, and how their futures stretched ahead of them, but I do not think that I said enough about what really defines them: their warmth, and the affection which they have for others and for the school, as well as the regard the school has for them. They are all, of course, marvellous, very different, individuals, and, as is to be expected, they are all only human, which means that they are gloriously imperfect, although they came pretty close to perfection on that Saturday, in every respect, and I am proud of them for that! What they share, however, is a strong bond, a togetherness, and an understanding of themselves and of the fact that they have a valuable role to play in the world. They could not have a better starting point for the rest of their lives.

Ahead of them lie many different paths – not all of them easy, and few of them entirely predictable. They will have many hurdles, but they know what these are, and the Head Girl herself reminded them – most topically and most humorously(!) – not to succumb to the lures of an airbrushed celebrity culture. These girls are more than equal to the task ahead of them, however, and I wish them the very, very best for the future. I really do hope, as I said to them all, that they will find happiness and fulfilment in their lives, their careers, their relationships and their families in due course. There is a lot to be done in the world, and it begins with each of us, and each of them. I am so very proud of them.

This was of course my last Founders’ Day, and next year I will be in Sydney, forging new relationships with girls from another great school, which is to become my new home for a while. I am looking forward to it tremendously. But I shall never forget the girls of St Mary’s Calne, and the leavers of 2012. If you are reading this, girls, I wish you the very, very best of luck. Go for it in life, and be the people you are meant to be. Onwards …

You are amazing.

 

Jun 25

A Manifesto for Young Women by Janet Street Porter. Some thoughts.

In today’s Daily Mail, Janet Street-Porter has written a great article outlining her ‘manifesto for young women’, which ends by saying that young women need to believe in themselves. She has some excellent advice, including ‘work like hell at school’, ‘hold your head high’, ‘set your goals’, ‘swap telly trash and internet twaddle for books, exhibitions and live events’. And she reminds us of the evidence from a recent survey that young people today have similar values to those of their parents, valuing marriage and children above wealth and possessions. This is all tremendously encouraging, and I agree with her – our young people are full of natural good sense and have immense potential to lead good lives and to make a hugely positive impact on the world.

I do wish, though, that she wouldn’t dismiss so readily the pervasive influence of the two aspects of modern society about which I have spoken out this week – our focus on a celebrity culture, and the prevalence of sexualised images which effectively objectify women. These aspects form, overwhelmingly, the backdrop to the lives of young people; they linger at every corner, on practically every magazine cover, and young people are bombarded by them online. Celebrities make the news, and images of semi-naked women, posing provocatively, have become so commonplace that we take them completely for granted. They have entered the mainstream, and we are surprised – and not a little put out and critical – when women in the public eye do not conform. (Witness the furore when Hillary Clinton, on a recent visit to Bangladesh, led meetings without make-up, and with her hair simply scraped back.)

The effect of this backdrop is pernicious, and mitigates against the very messages that Miss Street-Porter is communicating. She is quite right – young people do need to believe in themselves now more than ever. But this is hard to do when you are being asked to measure yourself constantly – consciously and subconsciously – against images of female ‘perfection’. Jo Swinson’s Parliamentary Report on Body Confidence, published at the end of May, and which regrettably did not achieve nearly as much media coverage as my comments last week on that one symbolic photo of Kim Kardashian on the front of Zoo magazine, revealed that half of the public suffer from negative body image. The Report pointed out that girls as young as five now worry about their size and appearance, half of girls and one quarter of boys believe their peers have body image problems, and appearance is the largest cause of bullying in schools. It reported that media (43.5%), advertising (16.8%) and celebrity culture (12.5%) together account for almost three quarters of the influence on body image in society, yet the ‘ideal body’ that they typically present is estimated to not be physically achievable by nearly 95% of the population.

It is commonsense that girls – and boys – who worry about their body image, who feel inadequate, and who lack self-confidence as a result, are not in a position to believe in themselves as they could be. They have a major psychological hurdle to overcome, and this is a hurdle which as a society we are not tackling sufficiently strongly, despite the clear and unequivocal messages of last year’s Bailey Report and a growing unease amongst parents and educators about the effect of our laissez-faire approach to the images that our young people encounter. People in the public eye – ‘celebrities’ of every ilk – have a responsibility to make sure that they are helping young people become truly themselves, and it is not good enough simply to point to their admirable financial astuteness to excuse the overall effect of their actions.

We have an opportunity to do something about the oppressive weight of this culture on our young people. We all need to step up to the mark.

 

Jun 24

What sort of schools do we need? Reflections on a debate at the Wellington College Festival of Education

What a stimulating day! It was a pleasure to discuss wide-ranging educational issues at the Wellington College Festival of Education; I sat on a panel debating the question: What sort of schools do we need? For me, the answer is simple – we need great schools. There are, I believe, three main elements to this greatness: schools need responsiveness, outstanding educators, and a strong social and moral purpose.

What do I mean when I say that schools must be responsive? In short, it is that they must recognise that they are educating unique individuals, and while they are right to focus on core skills, enabling all their students to access and operate in society, they also need to spend time identifying and releasing the potential of individuals. Schools in effect need the freedom to be able to create a radically different curriculum, and radically different working practices, to be able to inspire young people and tap into their potential. Schools need to be able to build meaningful relationships between teachers and students, which is an argument for small schools, or at least small units within larger schools; moreover, schools need to be able to offer real choice for parents and young people –different strands of education, multiple opportunities, with ease of movement between them – opportunities for gender-specific groups, and non-age-related groups, for instance – and all of these must be equally and genuinely valued.

Secondly, great schools will be run by outstanding educators. Educators and leaders need to be liberated to pursue their passion and vision for education for young people. How do you grow and develop outstanding educators? Well, you inspire them, you pay them really well, you give them autonomy, you value and you trust them. There is still far too much suspicion about the profession, and we need to move right beyond this.

Finally, schools need to have a strong social and moral purpose. Why else have we created a huge educational structure other than as because as a society we believe in schools? I think we often forget that schools have a community and social role, not just a role for individuals to develop themselves. When a child is born we – as a society – enter into a social contract with them which is actually lifelong, whereby we undertake to give them what they need to be successful in society, and they in turn will learn how to give back. All too often, we are afraid to state these expectations of our schools and young people. Schools are meant to educate to change the world for the better. They are meant to have a strong moral purpose

It  goes without saying, that schools also need to be well-funded and free of political interference … a whole other debate resides in this. Essentially, however, we are an intelligent people with the scope for great educators and great schools; let’s just find a way to let them be great.

A simple answer to a simple question … and while the solution will not be so simple to find, if we are strongly motivated by the kind of consensus and determination which I witnessed at the Festival, then we have a pretty good chance of getting there eventually.

 

Jun 20

Aung San Suu Kyi at Oxford: a moment in history

This may be the week of our school Founders’ Day, but I had an important appointment today in Oxford, at the Sheldonian, to watch part of the University’s annual Encaenia celebrations. Each year, a number of distinguished people are honoured at the Encaenia ceremony with an honorary doctorate in their field, and this year was particularly special, for one of the honorands was no less than the Burmese politician, Aung San Suu Kyi, who until recently spent many years under house arrest while Burma – Myanmar – was under military rule. The daughter of Aung San, the assassinated hero of the Burmese independence struggle, she studied at Oxford in the 1960’s, where she met and married her late husband Michael Aris, with whom she had two sons. She has universally been recognised as courageous in her leadership of the Burmese National League for Democracy, especially during her many years of house arrest, during which, in 1991, she won the Nobel Peace Prize “for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights”. Now a newly elected member of the Burmese Parliament, she has become a symbol for positive political change.

Up close, Aung San Suu Kyi has all of the quiet, calm, strong presence we have come to expect of her by reputation. She is tremendously inspiring – she spoke beautifully and with conviction after her award, and I had the huge, huge privilege of exchanging a few words with her at St Hugh’s afterwards, in and amongst the crowds. I told her that I was the Head of a girls’ school and that I taught my girls to change the world; she said that women in Burma are strong, but often hang back. She told me to keep doing what I was doing; I told her she was inspirational, and I thanked her. Moments in the presence of a great person create remarkable memories.

And she is a remarkable woman, to have such serenity and yet such determination after her years in captivity, standing in quiet opposition to a political situation which she felt was wrong and which she knew through her sense of duty it was her responsibility to oppose. It is easy to feel in awe of her – and quite right to do so. Her noble political stance has impacted, of course, on her family; she was unable to leave the country to be with her husband in his dying days, for fear that she would not be allowed to return, and she has become estranged from her two sons. Hard though this may have been, we can see and recognise the wider picture: it was for the greater good of her country that she did as she did, and it is for this that she has been honoured, including at today’s Encaenia in Oxford.

Fairytale endings are rare in politics, however. Aung San Suu Kyi may have won a seat in Myanmar’s parliament in April, but it would be a mistake to assume that this marks a fresh, new, sweet beginning to a brand new future for the country. Sectarian violence – clashes between Buddhists and Muslims – has broken out, and the government still has many embedded links to the military. Aung San Suu Kyi has already warned world business leaders, meeting in Thailand earlier this month, against “reckless optimism”, and her message to the hall in Oslo on 16th June, where she formally accepted in person her Nobel Prize, was that the hard work of political reform in Myanmar has only just begun. Tomorrow, she will speak to our Houses of Parliament, and her message is expected to be similar. Transformation does not take place overnight, and there is a fine line between opposition and compromise – a line which Aung San Suu Kyi must tread, trying to effect change without alienating either her supporters or a government which, for all its faults, has demonstrated its willingness to move forward.

She has an enormous task ahead of her. But she is a magnificent example already of what can be done when we hold true to our values.  She more than deserved her honour today.

 

Jun 18

Founders’ Day and the importance of valuing our history

At the end of this week – on Saturday 23rd June – we celebrate our annual Founders’ Day at St Mary’s Calne. For me – for us all – it is arguably the most important day in the school;s calendar: a day when we remember the Founders of the school, and value their legacy. We are indebted to the men and women who had the vision that led to the creation of the school back in 1873, and who have contributed to the leadership and vision of the school since. None of the education for which the school has become known would have happened without the foresight of the original Founders and Governors of the school, who set out with the express intention of developing a school which provided an excellent education for girls. We owe them a debt of gratitude – without them this fine school simply would not exist – and this is why we honour them on Founders’ Day each year.

The day is a very full one, with a Church service, Leavers’ Concert, champagne receptions, a special lunch, our annual prizegiving and a special afternoon tea, followed by an emotional Leavers’ Service and – this year, for the first time – a farewell tea for leaving staff. The Lily Ball, for leavers, their parents and their guests, will round off the day. Whatever the weather, the day is normally an amazing one. It is an opportunity to congratulate our Year 13 Leavers, and to honour their achievements, as well as for all of us to take visible, obvious pride in the school. Moreover, we allow all of those connected with the school to feel the privilege that we feel to be part of this great school.

I remind the girls each year that we should never take Founders’ Day for granted, or see it is just simply another school event. Founders’ Day is extremely important for the school for two reasons: firstly, it is a day on which we celebrate achievement – our many achievements, individual and collective; second, it is an important occasion for the whole school to be together, to do things together, and to remember that we are an important and strong community – the whole is stronger than the sum of its parts. In the Founders’ Day church service, there is a section towards the end when the whole school stands and we pledge ourselves – we make a commitment to do the right thing, to be honourable and to carry out the intentions of our Founders, namely to respond to their goals for a real education, for the stretching of the individual, and for learning and preparation for a successful life. We say all that together because it is important to say it all together. We need this occasion in the year just to remind us that we do not work, or live or play in isolation. We do it as a school – a great school which has stood the test of time and which has a great, great history.

I am looking forward to Saturday.

Jun 16

Madwomen or mothers of invention?

My eye alighted on this letter in last week’s Sunday Times, addressed to the Editor from Lynnea Shrief, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire:

“Your article “When mums go mad” (Style, last week) contained out-of-date information about me and my children. Furthermore, I understood it would be about my placenta encapsulation business, not about my mothering skills or preferences. It portrays me and other mothers like madwomen. But if everyone stayed average all the time, never questioned the norm and had a “go with the flow” attitude, methods in science, mothering, birth, schooling and so on would never improve and the human race would never evolve. I find it ridiculous how car makers and pharmaceutical companies get praised and awarded for coming up with new and innovative ideas and designs, or vaccines and drugs. Yet when a mother comes up with a different way of raising her children, she is criticised and made a mockery of.”

You can read the original article (if you subscribe to The Times online). Its title, “When mums go mad” should give you a clue to the tone taken by the journalist, and while it is fair to say that some of the approaches adopted by the mothers discussed in the article would not suit others, it is surely entirely wrong to condemn them out of hand. Our society is very quick to criticise those who do not conform; it is even quicker to lambast mothers, whatever their choices in parenting and mothering. Mothers are often caught in an impossible place in what they choose to do – open one of our tabloid newspapers and you will see them criticised for not remaining at home with their children; open another, and you will see them criticised for not bringing enough stimulation into the home by working.

Ms Shrief – who has also posted a long and revealing comment online about how she felt she and her family were treated by the journalist and photographer who visited her – feels, quite clearly, betrayed by those who interviewed her. Reading the article carefully, I can imagine very easily that the conversations reported were actually considerably longer and more balanced, and I can certainly see no evidence of neglect of children, or abuse; on the contrary, the mothers presented seem genuinely and honestly to be forging paths dedicated to doing the very best for their children. If this is so, then why are we criticising her, rather than holding her up as an example (one of many, many examples) of how to go about the very complex – and hugely important – task of parenting?

Whether you agree with Ms Shrief or not, she has the right to her opinions, and the right to be valued for her strong motivation to do the best for her family. She is also spot-on in her comment about progress: if everyone stayed the same, then the human race would indeed never evolve. Let us value diversity.