In this week's Roundup:
Head's Welcome | Your Ideas | Interesting Question | Staff Spotlight | Week Ahead | Key Term Dates | Photo of the Week
Nursery & Junior | Senior | Work of the Week | Alumni Football Tournament | Noticeboard
A message from
Rich Jones, Head.
I have an utterly entitled teenager in my house…most of the time.
The endless demands for food, the continuous and unapologetic mithering for entertainment and the consistent burden of attention-seeking behaviour, at times, seems relentless. However, our dog Boo, is still very much part of our family dynamic and fits snugly into our lifestyle.
As I walked Boo yesterday evening, I was thankful, of course, that she doesn’t reside in Springfield Ohio where, according to the former president of the USA, she would have been swiftly stolen and gobbled up as an evening snack. Whilst the assertions in this week’s presidential debate seemed peculiar, to say the least, it did get me thinking about the notion of truth in a faster, speedier, hyperlinked and ultra-processed world. How are our young people going to be able to discern truth, or at the least, be able to see the nuance of what is presented as it is? Where are the signposts for veracity?
The BBC now has an entire department devoted to fact-checking, and ‘BBC Verify’ is busier than ever and a vital part of their product. In an increasingly polarised world experts are split on whether the coming years will see a reduction in false and misleading narratives online or that things will just get worse. Those forecasting improvements place their hopes in technological fixes and in societal solutions. Others think the dark side of human nature is aided more than stifled by technology.
For me, educators and parents have a role to play here. The days when kids sat at desks and ‘learn’ the dates, the theorem, the argument, with a textbook as a careful backstop to further enquiries are over. If you want to find out how the First World War started or why we have tidal shifts, we all just ‘Google it’. Today, with information and knowledge at our fingertips, it is worryingly easy to be lazy and get your answer without fact-checking its authenticity.
From a young age, we are all forced to make decisions and choices that have consequences, sometimes without awareness at all. How many of those unconscious choices have affected our lives without us knowing it? What drove those conclusions and were we ever conscious of the potential outcomes? What gives strength to our values? It is an interesting question to pose.
In the Senior School, we have brought in critical thinking as a subject for all students in I to III Group (Years 7 to 9). I am really pleased that this has taken place. Essentially, critical thinking is learning the ability to think clearly and rationally, understanding the logical connection between ideas and the ability to use evidence to support reasoned conclusions. Critical thinking is important for so many subjects and disciplines – in science and engineering, as well as the arts and humanities. The types of evidence used to develop arguments may be very different but the processes and techniques tend to be quite similar.
With this developing heightened awareness, critical thinking allows us to make fewer decisions “in the dark” and support our young people in being active participants in the decision-making process.
An important component of a St Chris education is providing students with the best tools and methods available to enable them to form independent critical judgments about many things, including their beliefs. Critical thinking and its application to those parts of us where they test our values and beliefs are important as surely we want our young people to make bold and reasoned ideas?
The writer Professor Adam Grant said “We shouldn’t see our views and opinions as cherished possessions. We should treat them like everyday clothes. Look at the views in your closet that were once trendy. Discard the ones that look silly to you now. Wear ideas fully but be ready to outgrow them at some point.”
I think this can only happen when we can be constructively critical and thoughtful about ideas and values that we hold dear.
St Chris prides itself on supporting and embracing independent thought and ideas and I am really pleased that we are providing space for our students to explore the very notions of those practices.
Right, I’m just going to check on Boo the dog….just in case.
Answer this week's Interesting Question
Staff Spotlight.
Lucy Pinkstone,
Teaching Assistant
Lucy's career began when, after leaving school, she worked in a day nursery while studying childcare at college.
Since the very beginning of her career, Lucy has been with St Chris, joining the Monte (Nursery) here after working at the day nursery. Now, having worked across every year group in the Junior School, Lucy has progressed to be an integral member of our staff team and an absolutely fantastic Teaching Assistant.
Day-to-day, Lucy works with students in class, particularly in helping with subject-specific learning. She helps students with a plethora of different learning activities, depending on the student's requirements.
Amongst everything she does, Lucy looks forward to "helping children, particularly those who learn in a different style and have hit blocks in their previous school. We find ways around that so that we can help them learn in the way that is right for them."
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