Head of Secondary School
Challenge and Success
This week I have been thinking a lot about struggle and its impact on the individual. What prompted this was some recent study I engaged in with some of my Redlands’ colleagues, in a Harvard Project Zero Cultures of Thinking course. We spent time discussing one of the key principles, that ‘Learning occurs at the point of challenge’. This principle really resonated with me, especially in terms of our focus on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills, and the personal skills and characteristics students need if they are to navigate struggle inside and outside the learning space.
Another way to think about this is ‘if we are not struggling, we are not learning’. Whilst I have long known that challenge is necessary to support students to learn deeply, the possible impacts on wellbeing and a person’s sense of self, is most certainly worth our ongoing attention, and review.
So, what do we know about struggle and challenge? Interestingly, it may come as a surprise to learn that students report that they actually like and value a degree of cognitive complexity as well as the feeling of being pushed and challenged—as long as it is accompanied with support. But then what if the student is also managing personal challenges? Family challenges? Friendship challenges? Physical challenges? Psychological challenges? What if every lesson they attend on a given day presents significant challenges? How then, does a teenager navigate this space? There are no simple answers and a co-ordinated and collaborative approach is required to support the individual student. And at some point in their schooling, nearly every child requires this support. Often, I meet them, and get to know them, at this critical time. For me, this is a privilege.
When our Yr 12 cohort focused on mental health and wellbeing in this week’s Student-Led Assembly with Yr 10-12, it was affirming to witness the development of their wellbeing literacy, and their positive approach to navigating challenge and struggle. They presented a short film on ‘grey days’ and ‘blue skies’ via a Headspace video. It was brief, to the point and positive. It offered students a simple language to navigate a complex issue and it normalised the typical feelings that people experience as they traverse the vicissitudes of life. Then they moved to humour. Using a Game Show format, replete with chocolate and carrots (for the dairy-free/vegan/non-chocolate eaters) they poked fun at themselves. This gentle mocking of themselves in states of stress, tiredness and mild hysteria was an accessible way to highlight to students in Yr 10 and 11 that feeling down, or feeling out of sorts, is normal. They showed that these periods are usually only temporary and that with the support of each other, and other resources like Headspace, grey skies disappear and blue skies re-emerge. The assembly wasn’t long and it wasn’t overly complex or full of lengthy speeches. The Yr 12 leaders successfully modelled perspective-taking, the value of humour and offered approaches for managing stress and struggle. They didn’t diminish challenge and they didn’t complain about it. Instead they showed that everyone experiences it and some of the best ways to cope.
And continuing on the theme of outstanding achievements, our Yr 9 da Vinci Decathlon team recently placed 1st overall in the Yr 9 Division, competing against 71 other teams in NSW. The Redlands team placed in 9 out of the 10 disciplines – 1st in English, 3rd in Ideation, 5th in Art and Poetry, 6th in Mathematics, Cartography, Legacy, 10th in Science, Creative Producers and 13th in Engineering. They have now been selected to participate in the National da Vinci Decathlon in June and we wish them all the very best in this next level of competition.
Next week is a busy one in our Calendar. On Monday, we have the Paul Dillon Parent Information Session which will be exploring vaping. On Wednesday, we welcome our Yr 10 parents and students to the Information Evening on Subject Selection and on Thursday we hold our first Parent Tech Information Session. Finally, Friday offers the excitement and joy of the Musical Festival, being held at The Concourse, Chatswood. I look forward to seeing parents and students on the various evenings and celebrating in the talents and opportunities provided by these School events.
Head of Secondary School Interview
Hear our School Captains Piper Allen and Theo Mirrlees-Black interviewing me here.
Ms Gemma Van de Peer
Head of Secondary School
gvandepeer@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9811