What are the major factors that influence parents in choosing a second-level school for their children? Some years ago, this question was put to the parents of first-year students in seven schools and colleges within Clare VEC. They were given 20 possible factors to place in order of priority.
The top four in their list of priorities were: 1) Quality of teaching; 2) Exam results; 3) Discipline; 4) School reputation.
Of course, if the quality of teaching is good there is every chance that exam results will be good. An effective and well implemented disciplinary policy clearly supports both teaching quality and good exam results, and a combination of these three factors ensures a positive school reputation. So, all four factors are interlinked and show a clear desire for high academic achievement.
The present, extraordinarily high rate of student progression to higher education is testimony to the fact that academic success is of paramount importance in an increasingly competitive society. This is also seen in the growth of grind schools and the media emphasis on subject guidelines and exam paper analysis.
Of course, everybody must be supported in reaching their full potential, but full potential is more than academic ability. The words of an old professor of geography in Galway come to mind. He regularly said to his class, “In this college we can teach you about rock formation and sea fossils and climate changes, but we cannot teach you common sense. Hopefully, you learned that earlier, at home and at school and in your community.”
Clearly there is a need for balance in order to simultaneously develop both the academic and personal talents of our students. This balance will greatly enhance their chances of living fulfilled and fruitful lives.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS
Two US psychologists, Betty Lou Bettner and Amy Lew, have noted four skills that are essential for successfully working and living with other people.
Communication skills
This means being able to talk, express oneself and the willingness to listen to others. Communication is needed in all our tasks: in making and keeping friends, in jobs and in intimate relationships. We must be able to listen, to co-operate, negotiate, share and empathise. Many people lose their jobs because they don’t know how to get on with others. Friendships dissolve because of poor communication. When marriages break up, we often hear the phrase “we couldn’t communicate”. Children often say “my parents don’t understand me”. Both parents and children in these cases may well be academically bright.
Good judgment and wise decisions
This is the ability to look at options, weigh up various possibilities and make reasonable choices. We are bombarded every day with endless choices. The ability to make good choices is essential, as young people must decide if something is safe or dangerous, fair or unfair, appropriate or inappropriate, moral or immoral, ethical or unethical. Students need to know when it’s right to go
with the group and when to stand up for what is right. They need to be able to decide when to lead and when to follow.
Neither parents nor teachers will be with young people as they are faced with many decisions, but we can help by teaching them to evaluate situations, to consider consequences and to decide for themselves.
The home is very important here. What a young person learns at their fireside remains with them through life. Traditionally children learned tried and tested values around the kitchen table at mealtimes. Unfortunately sometimes today there are fewer opportunities for relaxed family meals.
Self-discipline
This means that people are able to control their emotions and behaviour to achieve positive goals for themselves. It means being able to work for something in the present to achieve a longer-term reward. Self-disciplined people have the inner strength to resist negative pressures and temptations. They can succeed at school and keep jobs. Without self-discipline, people feel vulnerable, out of control and at the mercy of luck and fate.
US psychologist Walter Mischel, in his book The Marshmallow Test, outlines his experiment with children regarding self-discipline. He has proved that the ability to delay gratification is critical for a successful life, predicting higher academic scores, better social and cognitive functioning, a healthier lifestyle and a greater sense of self-worth.
Assuming responsibility
This is the ability to see what needs to be done and doing it: setting goals and following through. Young people must learn the difference between rights and privileges, and the responsibility that goes with each.
Students who take responsibility don’t look for others to blame and don’t excuse themselves. When they do well in school they know it is because they did the work, and when they do poorly they analyse their mistakes. They learn from their experience, fix what they can and decide what they will do differently in future.
Without this ability, people tend to feel overburdened and that life is not fair.
FINDING THE BALANCE
There is no doubt that more emphasis, both in school and at home, on communication skills, good judgment, self-discipline and assuming responsibility would greatly benefit students. The positive results would be reflected in their academic achievements as well as in their abilities to face adult life with confidence and competence.
Much focus was placed on “partnership in education” in recent years. It would be a really practical demonstration of effective partnership if some school, somewhere, would provide the leadership to develop a simple programme, in co-operation with parents, to enhance these very necessary personal skills. Students could participate in the various elements of an evolving programme. Such an initiative could well be a template for the inculcation of a set of universally accepted skills and values for the wellbeing of individuals and society.
