Surrey Homes | SH109 | February 2024 | Education Supplement inside

The Priceless Education Supplement
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Try to
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How to Fail
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Great
from
time
last
you
should
be
proud of
this!
→
point!
Good
More of
this!
❤
you
CAN
do
better
improving!
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One of the most beguiling images of science
fiction comes in The Matrix – Keanu Reeves’
character can have a whole library of skills
uploaded at the touch of a button. With
trademark eloquence, he declares ‘I know
kung fu’. What a super power that would be,
to click one’s fingers and
all at once be a master of
martial arts – or crochet,
trombone or calligraphy
for that matter.
Longacre School’s headteacher, Matthew Bryan,
gives insight into developing resilience
“Let children
see us fail,
or not know
things”
One of the most
common questions I am
asked as a headteacher
goes along the lines of
‘How can you give my
child more confidence?’
Confidence is a feeling
of security, of faith in oneself and one’s
abilities, or indeed in others. That confidence
which parents seek for their children appears
in two forms: firstly, an innate happiness and
spark, a sense that things are likely to work
out well. Secondly, and crucially, it is the secret
ingredient in making sure that we don’t give
up – or see the learning opportunities – when
things go wrong. Michael Jordan, the great
basketball player, is a trove of inspirational
quotations and Instagram memes on the
subject of failure and its integral role in
success. But to keep failing, to learn to hit
obstacles head on: that requires resilience,
and lots of it.
Would instant mastery of complex skills and
hobbies really be such a good thing? Without
the pride that comes with overcoming
adversity, knowing the hours invested and how
we grow in character through that process,
would our favourite pastimes actually be so
much fun? In education, it’s so often the
process which teaches us the valuable skill,
rather than the outcome itself. How else can
we explain the need to learn the quadratic
formula?! At my school we try actively to
use language of failure, that we want to see
the ‘purple pens of progress’ correcting or
65
improving our own work – not a simple page
of ticks. FAIL itself should stand for ‘first
attempt in learning’. We have some 85 clubs
and activities at the time of writing, because
we want children to try things out, lean into
what they are good at and find ways to stretch
themselves further, have
a go at activities which
might seem unpromising
at first, but could light an
unexpected fire. In my
experience, the majority
of children are inherently
conservative and risk-averse.
They like praise and the
feeling of doing things well.
To do best by children,
to help them explore and
realise their potential, we
have to find ways of encouraging them to step
out of their comfort zones.
At home and at school, whether we like
basketball or not, we can all take much from
the words of the great Michael Jordan: “I’ve
missed more than 9,000 shots in my career.
I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been
trusted to take the game winning shot and
missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again
in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Role modelling is hugely powerful, whether
for good or bad. Parents can help children to
develop resilience just as much as teachers.
Let children see us fail, or not know things.
They won’t lose respect for us, but they might
give themselves an easier time to see that any
time we are less than perfect gives us scope to
improve. Let’s prepare children for the road,
not flatten out the road for the children. Let’s
not steal the struggle from them, the struggle
which they need to develop inner confidence
and grit. And let’s give them a kind, forgiving
and generous environment in which to
experiment, a sandbox where mistakes can be
erased, but the learning remains.
longacre.surrey.sch.uk
How can we
improve?
Brilliant
start!
belive
yourself
in
{
⁄—
step
Try
out
to
comfort
of your
zone
Keep
going!
This
potential
shows
again
Try
Strong
first
attempt
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