Education | ED06 | Summer 2019

ducating
Ethe whole child
A
radical and exciting revolution is taking place in
education and it’s one guaranteed to produce happier
children, more fulfilled young people and more
capable and cheerful adults.
If this sounds too good to be true, it’s worth knowing that
this revolution is long overdue and that while its full results
have yet to be seen – education is a slow business, it grows at
exactly the same rate as the young human being – everyone
involved in it is confident of success.
This revolution is both absurdly simple, yet also subtle and
complex. It involves seeing all children as the individuals they
truly are and then offering them an education that encourages
every aspect of themselves to flourish and grow.
It’s also an idea that has its roots in ancient ideas, right back
to ancient Rome, when the poet Juvenal coined the phrase
mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy mind in a healthy body).
English philosopher John Locke’s influential work Some
Thoughts Concerning Education of 1693
proposed a similar theory, that education
must address three areas: a healthy body,
a virtuous character and an appropriate
academic curriculum.
Now, ‘educating the whole child’ is an
idea that has spread rapidly across all schools
in recent years, first taking off when the
innovative headmaster Anthony Seldon took
over Wellington School and introduced hippy-style ‘happiness
lessons’ into an institution that had until then been mainly
known for its links with the military.
‘Schools,’ he explained, ‘should open the minds, as well
as the hearts, of the young. It is vital that they do this as
many adults possess neither open minds nor open hearts.
Our young should learn how to think and how fully to feel.
Education is their greatest chance to learn how to live.’
Since then, the revolution has galloped ahead and virtually
all schools now say they aim to offer an all-round education.
This is clearly visible in the way they reach out to potential
new parents. Test and exam results are still important,
but they no longer fill the whole stage. Instead schools
emphasize that their pupils play in the mud, sprawl on
their boarding house beds, laugh a lot, make music,
dress up, help others and do lots of hands-on learning.
Of course, schools have always offered arts and
Our education writer Hilary Wilce explains
the new – and ancient – philosophy which is
coming back to the fore in British schools
sports and after-school clubs, but one of the fundamental
underpinnings of this new style education is the recognition
that great academic results spring out of personal happiness
and fulfillment, not the other way round.
The revolution has been driven by forward-looking heads,
but also by parents who wanted to find ways their children
could avoid the distress of ‘exam treadmill’ schooling.
Now, say schools, parents actively seek out a rich and
happy school experience, asking probing questions about
the provision of emotional and social learning alongside the
academic curriculum.
Significantly, one of the most popular schools in London at
present, with a long waiting list, is an alternative forest school
that educates its children entirely outdoors in all weathers.
So what does educating the whole child actually involve?
Of course, pupils still get regular lessons, but these are
increasingly tailored to meet the different learning styles
of the children in class. Factory-style
“Factory-style rote
learning is long gone
and pupils are offered
opportunities to develop
their creative side”
‘Logic will get you
from A to B.
Imagination will
take you everywhere.’
Albert Einstein
rote learning is long gone. Pupils are
offered opportunities to develop their
creative side, through drama, art and
music, their adventurous side through
outdoor play and exploration, and their
leadership and teamwork skills through
group projects.
In addition, many schools now
emphasise serving others through charity and community
work. And underpinning all this is a whole new focus on
character education and the importance of developing
students’ inner strengths such as resilience,
tenacity, kindness and empathy. They
may be encouraged to take risks,
set goals, make mistakes and
review their actions.
‘Intelligence plus
character – that
is the goal of true
education.’
Martin Luther King
‘Educating the mind
without educating
the heart is no
education at all.’
Aristotle
11 wealdentimes.co.uk