fun for children

by Tiger Cox

Explorer and author

When I returned home to Sussex after a year sailing the world with my parents, I enrolled in a new school and quickly became aware that my life until this point had been lived inside a bubble, surrounded by people who valued nature and exploration.

Now I was a lamb among the wolves, a Waldorf Steiner educated 13 year old with no street cred and a strange name, sitting in my first national curriculum religious education lesson wondering if throwing things at the teacher was perhaps a group learning activity set before my arrival? Alas it was not. Despite my lack of familiarity with the state education system (I had never even sat a formal test, let alone an exam), I retained a curiosity and love of learning that many of my peers had lost years before. In the next three years I would pass 13 GCSE’s and three A-levels in maths, physics and programming. So how did I stay curious and apply what I had learned outdoors to academia?

The world at large
“Nature is the source of all true knowledge. She has her own logic, her own laws, she has no effect without cause nor invention without necessity.”
– Leonardo da Vinci

In June 2011 my parents and I went travelling by sea. As we sailed from our home harbour of Newhaven, a few family and friends waved teary eyed from the shore (tears unconfirmed). What they saw was a dumpy three ton catamaran, with two masts and netting spread between her wooden hulls like a badly designed trawler. Despite her considerable weight, and length (32ft), cabin space was, let’s say,”cosy”.

My bunk was additionally cramped by a complete set of homeschooling books. Stacks of Key Stage 2 maths worksheets, a science set with an ammeter and powerful light bulbs (our solar panels just about managed to light two LED strips), and enough classic novels to get me up to speed on English literature. Some of those novels I would eventually become bored enough to read, such as Jack London’s ‘White Fang’ which I finished off the coast of Portugal. A brilliant book! The vast majority of that homeschooling kit however, stayed safely stored below my bunk where, the last time I checked a few years ago, it remained.

While my parents bickered about the setting of the anchor, I focused on fishing. I fished for pollock to feed my pet seagull, I fished for mackerel using homemade lures, I fished for sardines in Spain alongside toothless old men, and for skipjack tuna chased by dolphins in the Canary Islands. In Morroco the water was so dirty I dared not fish at all. I learned about the tides and the weather, about materials and lengths of line, weights of fish and water pollution. I learned about people too, our many languages and similarities. Without really knowing it, I covered the homeschool curriculum. Everything tied back to fishing. Looking back now, I see that fishing could have been photography, or fossil collecting, or a fascination with different types of pizza. It really doesn’t matter what that focus is, because connections can be made everywhere. It is simply learning by leading with reward, a pursuit that is already enjoyed.

Using the spirit of adventure to your advantage
“Okay Tiger, I get it, lead with reward, use the outdoor classroom, but we can’t all go live on a boat, and my children don’t have one thing they are interested in for more than a week…”

Perhaps the answer to many people’s concerns about children spending less time outdoors than prison inmates, is to use more imaginative storytelling. I just told you a story about my adventures living on a boat. I led with that story because I know it is more captivating than “let’s talk about outdoor learning”. I am not the first to lead with stories. For thousands of years, the Aboriginal peoples passed down their knowledge of nature through stories, the characters in the stories were captivating and young people practiced their teachings. Here in the West, we have made stories from explorers in history part of our culture, but do we use them to motivate young people enough? I don’t think so. The story of Mathew Henson reaching the North Pole, perhaps being the first person to get there and at a time when men of colour were considered less, is certainly inspiring. But it feels far off, almost like he was born to explore and we are not. The truth is, all great explorers in history started playing with a compass in the back garden. If we can communicate this to our young people, and enable them to start practicing basic outdoors skills, reading the weather or making rope from scratch, then spending time outdoors becomes more like being part of an interesting story, rather than a waste of time.

Creative problem solvers as the celebrated explorers of the future?
I imagine that creative problem solvers will be the celebrated explorers of the future. There are no more unknown seas to cross or foreign lands to find. There is only the deep ocean, outer space, and a whole lot of problems here on Earth. All of which are going to require some serious problem solving. As humans, we often turn to tool use to solve our problems. Technology is our latest tool and it is a powerful one, but we must not forget that nature has spent three billion years solving problems, far longer than humans. We can learn from nature, but we need to make sure that our young people retain their curiosity, for with it will come perspective.

I wrote my first book, How To Be An Explorer, for this very reason. For months I wrote down every outdoor skill I had enjoyed as a youngster, and the stories of explorers in history who inspired me. Then I selected my six favorite stories and 25 most rewarding activities, and broke them down into something easy to read and put into practice. Photographs and illustrations followed. Now I’m hoping, really hoping, that the book we’ve created is enough to spark a curiosity for nature and the outdoors in a few young people’s minds. For the true value of curiosity is that it gives you perspective, and the younger you gain perspective, the more freedom of choice you have throughout your life. Freedom of choice is a beautiful thing.

How to be an Explorer by Tiger Cox, Button Books, RRP £16.99, available online and from all good bookshops.

by Steven Jeffery
Headteacher of Our Lady of Sion

Steven Jeffery is Headteacher of Our Lady of Sion, an inter-denominational school for boys and girls, ages 3 to 18, in Worthing. Having been Deputy Head at the school for six years and Acting Head for six months, Steven was recently appointed Headteacher. A passionate musician, Steven is well known in Worthing having lived and taught there for many years, and is actively involved in community support. His education philosophy focuses in on the individual character and potential of each child. Where there is a positive connection between teacher and young person, the outcomes can be impressive and groundbreaking. Understanding the child is essential in achieving that all-important connection.

Over the last 25 years in education, I have enjoyed and endured various ‘wheels of progress’ brought in by educationalists and politicians to support and serve the academic endeavours of young people. Some of these ideas have been energising and immensely valuable, whereas others have seemingly distracted teachers and pupils from what truly matters. Of course, there are always those ‘wheels of progress’ that are unknowingly reinvented by well-meaning experts who re-trial historical methods under new facades. This is a familiar feature of our education system. It often goes astray in the maze of political initiatives, and unfortunately the essence of inspirational, engaging and genuinely satisfying learning can be somewhat lost.

One thing that remains steadfast and true is the importance of a positive and respectful teacher-pupil rapport. I strongly believe that the role of teacher is undoubtedly vocational and the ways in which an educator works is fundamental to the academic success and emotional wellbeing of each child. Since as long as I can remember, I have always been moved by the notion of paths crossing. I have met thousands of young people over the years and always count those moments as a deeply significant and profound part of this role. Our paths have crossed, so what can I now bring to this child? How can I unlock creativity? What will inspire this young person to achieve great outcomes? Who is this child? Those tacet questions signify the beginning of one of the most noteworthy relationships that a child will ever have. We all remember our teachers. We remember many of the conversations we had with them and how these made us feel and respond. We easily recall those that took time to get to know us and encourage us. We regrettably also very easily recollect those that saw us as mere numbers, and never as people, treating us in apparent accordance with that very mindset.

At the start of my career, I vowed that every child with whom I worked would be known as an individual and not a number. So, what does that mean in real terms? How does it look in the daily life of a mindful teacher?

Learn names quickly. Knowing a child’s name makes all the difference. What does it say to a child when we know his/her name? Ask yourself: who is the one teacher in your entire life who made the biggest difference for you – who taught you so well that you still think about him or her as your best teacher? I bet that for almost all of us, that best teacher was someone who knew you by name. It takes effort but it’s worth it. I have always applied mental images to each new child I meet. Every Luke is given a lightsabre, Tom always carries a cat, Caspar wears a white sheet (friendly ghost style), Jenna is always engaged in a game of giant Jenga, and Hannah always carries a spanner, and so on. It still amazes me that once I have applied these mental images, they stick. When I see Jenna walking along the corridor, the giant
Jenga is right there with her!

Education is about learning more about the unknown so that more of the unknown becomes known. That is why learning is life-long, energising and exciting. Getting to know an individual is to understand the child’s perspective, interests, environment, beliefs, and passions – essentially what makes the child tick. As Headteacher and teacher, I want to engage with each young person in ways that demonstrate my knowledge of that person as a whole being, not merely a student or pupil. I want those encounters to affirm the child’s qualities and impressive talents. I want to share how impressed I am to hear about their community outreach, their kindness to others, their achievements in music or sport, their outstanding contribution to a local charity and their personal triumphs in the classroom. This knowledge comes from regular interactions, asking tutors to pass on the good news, and encouraging parents to communicate successes. A school’s reward system should offer parents and grandparents the opportunity to nominate their children/grandchildren for awards linked to acts of kindness and achievements beyond the classroom. ‘Shout Out!’ assemblies offer teachers and students the opportunity to nominate people for a special mention for their outstanding actions or accomplishments. Success is broader than academic prowess, although schools should be giving this area considerable focus too.

Remember birthdays. This is a simple way to reiterate how much we value each child. Sending out birthday messages each day, being inclusive of those that fall on weekends and holidays. Celebrating in this way is to rejoice in the delight of community and tangibly express how much each member is valued and known.

A school community works together towards common goals. Examples of these ambitions could be learning about ourselves and each other, understanding diversity and discovering its beauty, finding our own voices and using these for change, recognising the part we all play in building a better society and so on. Within each of these communal aims, there is an individual response brought to the whole. When a culture actively promotes the importance and power of action, the school can make a noteworthy impact on the immediate community and even the world. Being open to recognise and notice an individual’s acts of kindness, timely words of wisdom, selfless actions and heartfelt responses to world-issues, will unquestionably empower a young person to utilise their time and talents for philanthropic causes. Recognising our own positive impact on the world around us provides us with a sense of purpose and significance. When we are reminded that the part we play matters, our energy soars and so does our fundamental wellbeing. I believe that members of the school community should actively notice altruistic acts and encourage those individuals to keep on going.

An understanding of the individual journey towards personal success is a crucial factor in developing a ‘known not number’ culture. I feel very strongly that parents and educators should repeatedly encourage students to guard against making comparisons with others. Attention should be given to effort, and the celebration of this should always be the priority rather than the actual grade. It is therefore crucial that a teacher knows a student well and knows what outstanding effort looks like for that child. It is very easy to lavishly praise the Grade 9 student and fail to celebrate the Grade 4 student, even though the Grade 4 student demonstrated more progress, dedication and commitment than the seemingly more successful child. Both students are worthy of congratulations, but if the Grade 9 student was achieving the Grade 4 outcome, the response would need to be appropriately tailored too. When we know our students, we can motivate, engage, encourage, inspire, challenge and change them through carefully chosen words, considered tone and mindful body language as well as a steadfast commitment to helping every child achieve full potential. It is the individual’s possibilities that we should be heedful of, not merely grades. Each child sees the world in their own unique way. Taking time to understand this will make all the difference as to how we communicate.

I count myself very honoured to work with young people. I want to encourage each one of them to be the very best that they can be. If I am getting to know who they are, how they respond and think, I will be doing my best for them. May they always know that they are welcome, known and admired and never a number. We are working with unique, fragile souls. That work brings with it a momentous responsibility. Each encounter matters. Each word is heard. What will my impact be?

Our Lady of Sion is an independent inter-denominational school based in Worthing for girls and boys, ages 3 to 18.
www.sionschool.org.uk