The Roundup - Edition 42

A message from 
Rich Jones, Head.

Presenting in front of people is very much part of the everyday job as a teacher and a Head. There are times when you do feel the odd flutter of nerves and apprehension but as the years go on, like most things, you become more comfortable and at ease with a sea of staring faces and peculiar questions.  

However.  

There is one part that still gives me a little air of trepidation and that is presenting a Morning Talk in the Junior School…but why?  

Well as I explained to them this morning, the juniors really listen. They probe, they ponder, they respond and they are an exacting and demanding audience – you had better bring your best!  

My first Morning Talk in the Junior School this academic year was this morning and I’m happy to report that I came away pretty unscathed. They were as expected; delightful, charming, engaged and thoughtful. As a little starter, I explained about the four famous people that I had been thinking about all this week and I wondered that if I showed them a picture of them, would they be able to guess who it was:  

1. Dobby (from Harry Potter) – my kids have been watching and reading the books this week.

2. Erling Haaland (the Viking-like footballer) – mainly as he seems intent on continuously scoring goals against teams I like.  

3. Keir Starmer – who has, unsurprisingly, been in my professional thoughts since the summer!

4. Bruce Springsteen – who is planning more concerts, which gives me great pleasure, but will destroy my credit card once again.  

Everyone knew who Dobby was. As soon as they saw the picture, there were shrieks of laughter and a few cheers. Pretty much the same with the Norwegian footballer, although there were a couple of boos too. It was a pretty impressive show of hands for Starmer although someone suggested it was Joe Biden (I explained that it was a good guess but it was someone probably half his age). Finally and bizarrely there was actually one small person who knew who Bruce was (although as one child brilliantly said, “Is it just another angry old guitarist?”) .

For me, the whole experience demonstrated to me what a privilege it is to work with really young people. Their minds buzzing and fizzing with possibility and potential, and their uncanny ability to just be, well, them, is a joy to be around. They are growing, literally, before our eyes – what an honour.  

Science tells us children’s brains have a massive growth spurt when they’re very young. By the time they’re six, their brains are already about 90-95% of adult size. The early years are a critical time for brain development, but the brain still needs a lot of remodelling before it can function as an adult brain. This first critical period of brain development begins around age two and concludes around age seven. 

This, I believe, provides those key opportunities to lay the foundations for thoughtful holistic education for our students, something we hold dear at St Chris. Fostering the importance, in generous and kind ways, of their love of learning, curiosity and exploration, the focusing on opportunity and breadth not depth, helping them to engage with emotional intelligence and regulation, and not treating education as merely a forerunner to ‘real’ learning further up the school. At St Chris, we want our young people to enjoy the process of learning instead of focusing solely on performance. That seems to leave us with confidence, excitement and the strength of possibility.  

I was, during my own schooling, not always the model student (which I imagine will come as an immense surprise to many of you) and there were often times where my transgressions were highlighted and picked out by my own teachers. Shamefully, much of it fully justified.  

However, I do remember regular collective punishments our classes received for what was classed as ‘disobedience and impudence’. This whole class punishment was always in the form of a lunchtime detention and was exacted due to individual students questioning points, asking for clarity or politely disagreeing with an idea or perceived truth. I distinctly remember the outrage I felt as a young boy when a girl in my class was scolded and we were collectively punished because she didn’t agree with a point of view about a book. The terrifying and colossal Mrs Williams said, “It doesn’t matter what you think, it matters what me and the textbook tell you. Do it.”  That stuck.  

Of course, we have moved on a lot since those days in the early 1980’s but perhaps not too much when you look at some provisions. And that is why I will always be thankful (if a little nervous) when I talk to the Junior School about angry old guitarists and Scandinavian strikers.  

Your ideas.

Welcome to our Community Board! Last week we asked the Interesting Question:

"Would you be cleverer in a different room?"

Here are your responses below:

• Noah said: "Yeah"
• Rory said: "Yes, I think that we are all influenced by our surroundings and our peers, so in a different room I might be more shy, or more gregarious or perhaps, even cleverer!"
• Maddie said: "Yes. You might not be an "expert" in medicine at a conference, but you might be considered a brilliant writer in creative spaces."