An Educated Person

As we consider the concept of an ‘educated person’ a lot of thoughts and images probably come to mind. You may think of a successful business person, a loving parent raising their child, a university graduate, someone interacting successfully with people from across the world, someone finding fulfillment in their work, someone playing in a band, someone gaining and maintaining fitness or something altogether different. Whatever image comes to mind, it seems consistent that the images are based on well roundedness or balance. They are typically images of people who have an appreciation for the world around them, a broad general knowledge and are well equipped with a range of skills.

At this week’s Parent Workshop we began by looking at what it means to be truly educated before looking at how the wide and varied educational opportunities available at Lindfield support this development.

As our boys grow up in an ever-changing world, the idea of a fixed or definitive base of knowledge or set of skills is quickly evolving. Instead, our boys will require an ability to interpret the world around them, to continue to adapt, to apply their skills to new and varied situations and most importantly continue to learn throughout their life. As a PYP school we are constantly seeking to support our boys as they develop these qualities, which are perhaps best articulated through the attributes of the IB Learner Profile; inquirers, thinkers, knowledgeable, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective.

Whilst understanding the big picture is essential, helping our boys to develop specific approaches to learning or skills is also very important. Our Class Teachers play a key role in this area as they provide specific learning opportunities to develop the boys’ literacy and mathematical skills. Beyond this is where our Specialist Teachers provide invaluable support as we seek to provide a comprehensive and well-rounded curriculum. Each week at Lindfield the boys engage in specific learning in Art, Music, Mandarin, Personal Development, Health and PE, and Religious Education. In addition to this, Library lessons provide specific opportunities to develop thinking and research skills. Our Learning Enhancement Department, consisting of Mrs James, Mr Watson, Ms Batrounian and myself, work with teachers to create a supportive and challenging learning environment for our students. These teachers also provide specific intervention for individual and small groups of boys as required throughout the remainder of the week.

The Units Of Inquiry are the final and critical component of the balanced learning program at Lindfield. These six units of work provide Classroom and Specialist Teachers with a vehicle or context for applying and further exploring the knowledge and skills developed through the other areas of the curriculum.

A good way to think about this is to consider the knowledge and skills you use on a daily basis at work or home. Next time you book a holiday or cook a meal, consider the wide variety of skills you use and the knowledge that you draw upon. I am sure that it won’t be confined to a single school discipline (e.g. Maths, English, Science, etc) but will draw on your ability to think and operate across the disciplines. This is the challenge of creating ‘an educated person’ – helping our students to understand the big picture and being able to apply a variety of specific skills and knowledge in order to solve real life problems.

Chris Wyatt