Missing Links

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Question: What is the key missing ingredient in our education system?

Answer: Faith. The faith to remove the constraining safety harness of systematisation sometimes; the faith to be bouyed by the warm currents of naturally occuring meaning and connections between siloed disciplines. Free-fall is easy when you have a safety-net, and we do.

Indra’s Net: Hindu tradition refers to the magical jewelled net of the mythical god Indra. The net represents the threads of life and existence, for everything in the universe is said to be connected and part of a whole. We call that whole ‘God’. At every joint in the net is a precious jewel that reflects all the other jewels in the net including their reflections of that jewel itself.

We see that connectedness in maths with the Mandelbrot set, in long range weather forecasting with the butterfly effect (where a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon effects weather systems in Europe), in religions which constantly remind us that God is One and that everything is made by God and is part of God. We see it in the Jewish saying that whoever saves a single person saves all of humanity. We see it in the Chinese proverb ‘if you cut a blade of grass you shake the entire universe’. We see it in Freud’s psychoanalytic theory where all of human history is present in every human being.

In fact, the ‘holistic’ net-like nature of our ‘all-connected’ ‘joined-up’ universe reveals itself to us every day in a million different ways. Who has not experienced strange coincidence in their life and been struck by the sense of grace that accompanies it? The practice of pattern recognition and event-linkages is a useful learning skill that also enhances emotional sensibility. They can be applied in geography, history, maths, you name it.

Imagine a geography lesson about Wales using this example of North Wales shipwrecks:

- In December 5th 1664 a ship sank in the Menai Straight off the coast of North Wales. 180 passengers drowned. There was just one survivor, named Hugh Williams.
- On December 5th 1785 another ship sank there, 59 passengers drowned, again there was just one survivor, named Hugh Williams.
- On Augsut 5th 1820 yet another ship sank there, drowning 19 people; just one man survived, his name … Hugh Williams.
(cf Cliffe, Charles Frederick. The Book of North Wales, p. 155. London: Hamilton, Adams & Co., 1851 and Coghlan, Francis. Guide to North Wales, p. 69. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1860.)

Imagine a history lesson on US Presidents using this example of Lincoln and Kennedy:

- Both concerned with civil rights
- Lincoln elected 1860, Kennedy elected 1960
- Both killed beside their wives on a Friday, both shot in the head from behind
- Both Presidents had children who died at the Whitehouse
- John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in a theatre and ran to a warehouse
- Lee Harvey Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and ran to a theatre
- Lincoln’s secretary, Kennedy, advised Lincoln not to the theatre
- Kennedy’s secretary, Lincoln, advised Kennedy not to go to Dallas
- Both succeeded by southern democrat senators named Johnson
- Andrew Johnson born 1808, Lyndon Johnson born 1908
- John Wilkes Booth born in 1839, Lee Harvey Oswald born 1939
- The names Lincoln and Kennedy both contain seven letters
- Andrew Johnson and Lyndon Johnson both contain 13 letters
- John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald both contain 15 letters
- Both assassins were killed before going to trial

Or imagine a maths lesson containing these examples of number pattern:

1x8+1=9
12x8+2=98
123x8+3=987
1234x8+4=9876
12345x8+5=98765
123456x8+6=987654
1234567x8+7=9876543
12345678x8+8=98765432
123456789x8+9=987654321

Or
1x9+2=11
12x9+3=111
123x9+4=1111
1234x9+5=11111
12345x9+6=111111
123456x9+7=1111111
1234567x9+8=11111111
12345678x9+9=111111111
123456789x9+10=1111111111

(I could offer many more examples here, some truly astounding, but I’ll save the best for later.)

I am not suggesting that we make anything like superstition part of our curriculum or pedagogy. But I am suggesting that we engage learner’s minds with issues of pattern, linkage and meaning in order to inspire a sense of wonder, a hunger for knowledge, a sense of the connectedness of all things which is the essence of spirituality, a sense of faith in the purposive and meaningful nature of the universe, and a love of learning. How better to address the growth of nihilism among our young? What better way to teach our young people to ‘think with feelings in their muscles’ as Einstein put it. How better to show the depth of humility and humanity that we need to foster in our young, the depth to admit of meaning beyond our ability to explain or systematize. And how better to show the wisdom of our faith in its goodness? Or would we rather continue to demonstrate our inhumanity, our conceit and our foolishness?

If we have faith, as Christians, Jews, Moslems, Sikhs, Rasta, Humanists, Hindu, Bahai, Buddhists, socialists, capitalists, anarchists or whatever, perhaps we should remember the story of Indra’s net and try to release the stranglehold of systematization that is choking our young people and killing our future. Our over-reliance on the safety harness of systematisation is like frightened rabbits caught in the headlights of looming chaos. Sartre’s dictum that there is nothing to fear but fear itself was never truer.

I have recently been asked by a high school to serve as a resident ‘wizard’ to inculcate this sort of approach across the whole curriculum, showing the students how to make meaningful links across boundaries and silos. My hope for the New Year is that more schools will catch on and show that they are truly worthy of the faith they demand from their communities, not just to get more exam passes but to provide a fully rounded education fit for human beings.

The Heart of 21st Century Schooling

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Notions of heart seldom rate more than a nominal nod in the agendas of most UK high schools. At best such sentimental notions are reserved for nursery/kindergarten and primary/junior schools where the focus is more evenly balanced between pastoral and academic development.

There are issues here about our perception of maturity and of what it means to be a person in society. In nursery school (kindergarten) we expect the importance of children’s feelings to weigh more than the importance of their academic achievement, say 70/30. At primary/junior school the balance is expected to be roughly 50/50. By high school there seems to be an expectation that academic achievement is much more important than pastoral wellbeing, and the balance shifts to roughly 80/20 in that direction. The kid gloves are off it’s down to the hard business of learning and passing exams – welcome to the ‘real’ world.

Obviously, emotional balance is an important basis for academic achievement, as reflected in current initiatives designed to enhance emotional literacy and wellbeing in UK high schools. Most high schools satisfy themselves with policy documents that show, on paper, that these priorities are being met. This is usually regardless of the integrity of actual practice in that regard. Everyone knows that, and this inconsistency eats away at the integrity of the schools’ mission, spelling an element of bad faith which our teenagers often intuit and respond to emotionally, even unconsciously, and frequently negatively (e.g. alienation, poor behaviour, lack of motivation, lack of respect, etc.)

Incidentally, wearing my storyteller hat, it is noticeable that the importance of story for teenagers is not generally perceived to be as high as for the younger years. Story can be dismissed as pointless fairy tales and seen as a childish indulgence by the hard nosed. Its use in terms of exploring narratives of learning and social and personal development to enhance critical awareness, thinking skills, independent learning and curricular integration cannot be denied. But it can be overlooked by those whose creativity has been too long constrained by systemic priorities or by those who prefer coasting comfortably along inside their reality tunnels without the challenge of opening up to other realities.

What all this suggests is that although society as a whole recognises the importance of emotional wellbeing for everyone, and of story too for that matter, in practice we do not actually prioritise it as much as we say we need to. And this is a contributing factor in many social problems.

Yes, it costs money to deliver a quality pastoral program, delivered by quality staff and supported by quality training and resources, but any such spend is a saving in the long run; kids who don’t grow as straight as they otherwise might often end up costing society a lot more – a stitch in time as they say.

A useful indicator is the fact that pastoral training for high school teachers receives a miniscule budget by comparison with academic and behaviour management training.

Of course some schools are lucky and have very gifted pastoral teams, while others do not (it’s not just luck, but good judgement in appointing the right people), while some schools’ pastoral teams are more of a mixed bag. Ultimately, the pastoral ethos of a school is defined and led by the head teacher or principal. There is a tendency for heads to be seen as business managers, finance fixers. This late 20th century view is actually putting the cart before the horse. Business and finance is meant to be a means to an end, the desired goal being a happy healthy school where pupils can achieve their potential because they have a clear orientation and all is right with them emotionally.

Two examples from the many schools I know:

One is a primary/junior school (which shall remain nameless) where I recently asked a cross section of staff about the school ethos. Not a single staff member knew what I was talking about. The school has no ethos, their ship no rudder. Little wonder, perhaps, that the pupils there are underachieving. The school has slipped into the relegation zone, close to failing, and spends a lot of money on consultants to keep it afloat. A heart patient with a prosthetic pump to keep it alive.

The other is Pimlico Academy, a high school where the pastoral ethos is very strong. Under its new head it has moved up from failing to good/excellent in the space of a single year. They do not have a team of consultants keeping them afloat in reactive response to any shortfalls in achievement. I have worked as a consultant there for the past three months, a proactive 'stitch in time’ to reinforce the pastoral system and academic specialism. My brief is too complex and varied to detail here, but it includes working with individuals at risk of diversion by gang culture. One boy, who displays dangerous behaviour, was excluded from school and sent to a special unit for a week. The school actually paid me to go that unit and spend time working with him. I was no little astounded and quite some impressed. I have never heard of such commitment; this school really cares about its pupils, it doesn’t just hide behind fooey policy documents. There is a lot that is special about this school. I was a trainee teacher there in the early 90’s and it has always had a uniquely mixed intake, from the children of cabinet ministers to members of street gangs. (The school is quite close to parliament in the heart of London.)

Not only is Pimlico in the heart of London, it is, in some ways, at the heart of London too. If they can get it right here London will be a better place, and the signs are hopeful.

Notions of heart are not on any political agendas and academics shy away from anything below the head and what it can weigh, measure and classify. Academics and politicians are not generally known for excellence in matters of heart any more than are high schools. This is part of the problem with today’s academic culture and the materialist values that govern its funding. Let us not forget that truly great minds are also of admirable heart. People like Einstein, Bohr, Churchill, Gandhi, MLK, Mandela and Malcolm X have shown this in the past, and people like Obama keep alight the spark of that notion. Not for nothing was the final work of Paulo Freire, the 20th Century’s greatest educationist, entitled ‘Pedagogy of the Heart’.

If 21st Century education means anything it must mean aspiration to honour the value of heart in learning and teaching for all. That is true aspiration to excellence and ultimately to social wellbeing. If we are serious about progress we should accept nothing less. Parents will be hard pushed to find a school that takes this view more seriously than Pimlico Academy. I work at scores of schools, but this is one of only two that I would class as truly outstanding.