Just this past week at home, I was reminded of the importance of a fundamental, critical aspect of teaching and learning whilst wearing my other ‘hat’. It was when helping my daughter with her maths homework that I was reminded of the all-important notion of making mistakes. More specifically, it was that dichotomous moment where one allows (or perhaps where one reminds themselves to allow) the learner to make mistakes when you, ‘the expert’, can see it is going wrong, or indeed if it has not yet, it soon will!
As teachers, and indeed parents, we know how tempting it is to step-in and fix the equation being worked on or the sentence being written before the learner has had the opportunity to get it wrong, and be uncomfortable. I certainly found this difficult this past week, as I have alluded to!
In our lessons at Prep, I observe countless instances where boys embrace challenges, encounter setbacks, and, in the process, demonstrate remarkable perseverance. I watch as our teachers find that difficult, yet vital balance of creating success whilst ensuring that opportunities exist to make mistakes. Mistakes, be they in mathematics, creative writing or in art, are not stumbling blocks; they are stepping stones towards the mastery of the new skill being practised.
As I know has been the case in many households across the Prep, I have been following the Six Nations with keen interest, still naively hoping for a period of international dominance from England! It was listening to Head Coach, Steve Borthwick, when talking to the press about the defensive mistakes made by England in their Calcutta Cup loss to Scotland last weekend, that I felt he sounded like an excellent school teacher! In reflecting on his team’s mistakes, he made it clear that they are on their journey to mastery in learning a new, complex skill – in this case a blitz defence – and that mistakes along the way are not just inevitable, but welcomed.
Here at Prep we find that consistently demonstrating a positive attitude towards mistakes, in the end, fosters an environment where curiosity and exploration are enhanced, creating confident learners who tackle challenges with enthusiasm, and without fear of failure.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mr Ford – Deputy Head
