Blog posts for ‘Extra curricular’ 
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Tidings of great joy!
Monday 24 December 2012
Categories: Education, Extra curricular, Family Relationships, Parenting
Fear not, you don’t have to exhaust yourself trying to become the Tiger Mom of legend. In fact if you are – stop it at once! Desist from enrolling your daughter up to all those “improving” extra-curricular activity. And resist scheduling her every moment, for comfort comes with the news that pushy parents risk damaging rather than enhancing their children’s prospects (The Telegraph, Why pushy parents fail to make the grade) Of course your daughter needs your encouragement and...
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Olympic legacy
Thursday 9 August 2012
Categories: Extra curricular, Health, Media Influence, Role Models
I have a dream, a personal vision of what our wonderful Olympics’ legacy should be.
When Seb Coe and his team pitched for the Olympics he painted a picture of winning London bid which would be inspirational for our youth so that its legacy would be a generation of sport-loving, healthy girls and boys, and adults too.
I loved how the fabulous opening ceremony put youth centre stage. I believe Tessa Jowell’s suggestion that every primary school should have a specialist P.E. teacher is...
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The importance of culture
Tuesday 17 July 2012
Categories: Arts education, Extra curricular, Parenting
Nicola Benedetti, the former BBC Young Musician of the Year who will perform three times during this season’s BBC proms, has spoken out about the importance of ‘a cultural identity for youth in this country’. She condemns the current obsession with celebrity, and extols the value of strong parenting and the development of young people’s capacity to work hard.
I agree. Focusing just on the power of music, I have seen so many young people benefit over the years as they have built...
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In praise of boredom!
Monday 2 July 2012
Categories: Extra curricular, Parenting, Technology & the Internet
I am sure that I am not alone in waking up some mornings feeling as though I have to rush through the day frantically multitasking, unable to focus for long on individual jobs, conscious that time is passing and there is still more to do. I am perfectly aware that this is not the most effective way to proceed, but it can be hard to snap out of it in a relentlessly stimulating and immediate world.
We are in thrall to technology, addicted to screens, seemingly incapable of surviving for...
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Should children do homework in the Christmas holidays?
Monday 19 December 2011
Categories: Extra curricular, Family Relationships, Homework
I’m actually a big fan of homework. I think the school-related work children do at home can be important consolidation or extension of what they have learnt at school. Time spent reviewing work at home can provide the valuable opportunity for reflection and reinforcement. Sometimes if your child’s interest is sparked by something at school, they can find the space to do further reading and research in their own time, including on the internet, which can extend their learning and...
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Seeking role models for women's sport
Wednesday 14 December 2011
Categories: Extra curricular, Health, Media Influence, Role Models
I am encouraged by the recent press coverage in response to the BBC Sports Personality shortlist, particularly concerning the responsibility the media have for raising the profile of women’s sport.
Last week I turned to the section in a Sunday newspaper laughingly entitled sport. Of the 20 pages dedicated to sport I found no mention of women other than an article in which an American skier in her twenties had accompanied a much younger skier to his high school dance. The point? ...
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Help - I've got homework!
Wednesday 7 December 2011
Categories: Education, Extra curricular, Family Relationships, Homework
Homework is a bit like riding a bike. You have to practice to get it right but, once you’ve mastered the skill, you never forget how to do it.
Like it or not, homework is part of school life – or should be. Yes, the teaching day ends around mid afternoon and young people need downtime to re-charge their batteries. No, that does not mean lessons should be forgotten until class the following day.
Why? Because children need to get into the habit of thinking for themselves and doing...
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One sports day a year simply isn't enough!
Thursday 7 July 2011
Categories: Education, Extra curricular, Health
Sports days are as much a part of summer as barbecues and beaching. There is a quintessentially British feel about pupils competing against each other in a variety of sporting challenges whilst relatives watch beside the track, making polite conversation and cheering their support (while sometimes dodging the rain showers).
Parents naturally want their child to win but, as the old adage goes, it’s the taking part that counts. Young people have different talents and whilst some have...
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Are you a 'serenity parent' or a 'tiger mother'?
Wednesday 25 May 2011
Categories: Education, Extra curricular, Parenting
Dr Bryan Caplan, childcare expert, has apparently decreed that it is a waste of time for parents to over-fill their children’s lives with out of school activities in an attempt to ensure the future success of their offspring. He advocates ‘serenity parenting’, set against the efforts of the ‘tiger mother’ who is pushy and overambitious and whose children are over-committed.
Over a thirty year career, the last ten as a Head, I think I may have encountered parents at all points...
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Encourage curiosity and watch your children grow
Thursday 17 March 2011
Categories: Arts education, Extra curricular, Parenting
Put culture and young children in the same sentence and there will be some who respond with ‘there’s plenty of time for that’. That’s because there’s a tendency to view culture as something serious, worthy and perhaps a little heavy-going – in short not the sort of entertainment that the average primary school child is likely to appreciate.
Culture, though, is about far more than going to the theatre to watch a three hour Shakespeare play, sitting through a ballet or visiting...