Depth of Curriculum - the intentional purpose of Living School
By John Stewart, Conductor of Living School
(no AI used)
Being Phenomenal?
Welcome back to another phenomenal term.
Have you ever felt out of your depth? There are times when you have that sinking feeling – that worry – can I do this? This feeling is human.
What if that sinking feeling – anxiety – was actually a gift, the most important lesson in life? – how to grapple with uncertainty, how to trust in one’s unrevealed strength, how to flow into the future with grace and gratitude, how to persevere and show grit. What if the true key to success was confidence and engagement?
The truth is that we are emotional beings – and this makes us exceptional beings. Positive (good) emotions are easy to handle – to feel – to lean into.
Managing negative emotions are tough! BUT – we must support this journey – because success comes from effort – and effort involves pushing through (with support) to find the rewards. This is the basis of our learning lens – Challenge by Choice. Our model outlines that success happens within as well as breaking through: if we return to our comfort zone but have regret we can use our confidence (and support network) to refocus, retry and drive to have another go: that is Grit and Grit is IT!
What if we overlay that confidence in ourselves with the reverent confidence in those around us? What if our confidence was grown out of empathy and compassion? What if schooling was rooted in the belief a community is common unity – and that every member had a right to belong; and a responsibility to ensure all did feel belonging?
What if – for just ONE day – no-one judged, no one was negative, no one sought allegiance by undermining another.
What if…
In a world growing in nationalism, fearful of what might be ‘taken’, forceful for retaining control, wouldn’t it be a living legacy to have a kind culture that shared? In a world that projects a belief in my-rights without considering the responsibility of collective contribution – wouldn’t it be phenomenal to educate people on ethical principles and understandings: family values, companionship– where every person was an aunty, an uncle; every human was connected – and every human’s unique diversity was a gift to unwrap? Phenomenal!
Our KeyStone Themes – Six Big Understandings
Idealism?
Our KeyStone themes are unique to Living School – and they ensure that every year we focus on six big ideas, repeating these big concepts over the journey of a child’s learning through our K-13 offering. Having six big ideas that repeat has purpose – I want students to leave school not with a ‘mark’ but with a depth of understanding. Truly and deeply knowing about their Identity, the responsibility and connection we have with Nature, the philosophical contemplation of what is Life and Living well, our civic responsibilities and the role of citizenship in Civilisation, the wonder and awe of contemplating Phenomena, and the importance for a community to have people who give and take ownership of their Service to others.
As a family, with multiple children growing through Living School’s unique six term, six KeyStone themes, means family meals together allows discussion around the varying developmental understanding of these big ideas. And having these big ideas repeat each year ferments a lasting memory beyond the departure from school with a subject-specific ‘mark’.
What is a successful future?
Deeply woven into this unique model is the VAST universal qualities for success. I know our VAST model is the foundation for future success. It is about developing – explicitly – a depth of character. The VAST model outlines the values (ethics), attitudes (capacity) and skills (competencies) to be exceptional. And this is future-proofing all our students for a successful future IF they can consistently and consciously reference these ideals. The VAST model also distinguishes the negative mindsets – the slugs – that eat away at success. Being aware means we can regulate.
Being aware and being able to regulate are THE fundamental underlying pieces that establish Emotional Intelligence. They are learned. And to learn these EQ foundations means we make mistakes – we slip, slide and rattle. We cannot socially connect without maturity of mind. We cannot socially and emotionally find stability without sailing through storms.
The Hidden Curriculum
Often called the ‘hidden curriculum’ social, emotional, affective learning is wisdom – and wisdom blossoms only via strategies learned through experience. THIS is the vital dimension – the sometimes hidden dimension – of Living School: we offer experiences, we grow incredible adult-student relationships, we challenge and expect an opt-in acceptance and commitment BECAUSE it is LIFE lived with purpose and living through challenges.
Living School is not alternative – it is progressive. Living School is not ‘just a school’ – it is a pedagogically designed, crafted and gardened space of connection. It teaches lessons through seasons of change. It will throw distinct challenges – as with all aspects of life. But it will deliver because it is intentional in its vision – to grow good people for a good future. Trust empowers us to be confident in the stages of growth and to thrive through seasons of change.
We are soon to see two of our eight original oldest students graduate – and I share a message of hope from my son, who was driving some of our senior students to school on a Friday. He said, Dad – those older kids are amazing. They are so understanding and empathetic. They are so smart! When I asked what he meant – he said, they have the highest EQ. This ‘assessment’ didn’t come from a mark – but was defined by his interactions – that is a marque of excellence. I feel blessed.
A Prayer for the Twenty-First Century
by John Marsden
May the road be free for the journey
May it lead where it promised it would
May the stars that gave ancient bearing
Be seen, still be understood.
May every aircraft fly safely,
May every traveller be found,
May sailors in crossing the ocean
Not hear the cries of the drowned.
May gardens be wild, like jungles,
May nature never be tamed,
May dangers create of us heroes,
May fears always have names.
May the mountains stand to remind us
Of what it means to be young,
May we be outlived by our daughters
May we be outlived by our sons.
May the bombs rust away in the bunkers,
And the doomsday clock not be rewound,
May the solitary scientists working,
Remember the holes in the ground.
May the knife remain in the holder,
May the bullet stay in the gun,
May those who live in the shadows
Be seen by those in the sun.