Many parents came along to our Building Learning Power (BLP) Information Sessions in Week 6. How wonderfully encouraging it is to see the amount of interest in our Wyvern learning framework – we believe it’s the right way ahead and it is heartening to know that our parent body strongly supports us on this.

I’ve had a number of parents enquire about the academic thinking underpinning our BLP foundation.  I’d like to explore this a little in this article.

In short, we all agree it is imperative that young people need school to help prepare them for an uncertain future. We know that to come out of school just with a clutch of examination certificates, is no longer ‘cutting it’ in our modern society. So what are the beliefs that underpin our BLP focus?

The Tests of Life

Art Costa, an American educator, once hit the nail on the head when he stated: “…we are preparing students not just for a life of tests but for the tests of life”. Wyvern staff firmly believe that it is our responsibility to build the emotional, mental and social resources of the boys in our care. To help them enjoy challenge and to cope well with uncertainty and complexity. We do this in a way that concurrently develops lesson content in literacy, numeracy and geography, to name a few. The new National Curriculum touches on many aspects of BLP, reinforcing to us here at Wyvern that we’re getting it right.

A Resourceful, Resilient Spirit in your Son

We believe that being resourceful and resilient lifelong learners are essential skills for all our boys, regardless of their career choices in life. Indeed, in the current economic climate, getting a job itself is proving to be a test of these very dispositions! Being resourceful and resilient also helps your son to understand what he’d like to achieve, strengthening his will (and his skill) to attain his goal, whatever that may be.

Intelligence is Learnable

Those who attended one of our information sessions will be familiar with the research carried out over the past couple of decades, where we now know that the academic intelligence we are born with is not set at one particular unchanging point. With the right tools and instruction, everyone can build on their confidence, passion and capability – expanding their own real-world intelligence, delving much deeper than purely academic ability.

Confidence in a Changing World

Modern society is full of risk, complexity and rapid change, where individual responsibility for making your own way in life is paramount. In these swirling currents, traditional education models have left many students and school leavers at sea. We are determined to equip Wyvern boys with the right tools to paddle through into calmer waters when societal challenges arise.

Our BLP portfolio is ambitious and difficult – we are under no illusions that what we are doing is going to challenge us as educators. Yet we believe strongly that this is the right thing for the boys we teach. It provides us with direction and heart.

As part of our RESILIENCE BLP education, this week all K-6 classes have been focusing on flexing our NOTICING learning muscles. Staff have been busy supporting the boys to notice the detail in things and really sense what’s around us all. It’s proven to be an excellent way to help our Wyvern boys truly ‘lock’ into their learning experiences.

Cate Fryda
BLP Learning Framework Leader