Teach it like Torno!
WELLBEING WELLBEING
A knight’s tale
“OUR CHIEF want in life is somebody who will Moreover, Ofsted has highlighted the school as
make us do what we can.” Ralph Waldo Emerson. one of 12 most successful over the last decade.
I can still remember the phone call. It was Training under Paul was indeed tough and he
a rainy day in October 1995 and I had left my constantly made it clear what he expected. However,
umbrella at the school which was to be my first what clearly lay at the heart of his mission was
teaching placement. The umbrella had been given this conviction that working class students from
What exactly is spirituality?
to me as a gift and I was scared I had lost it. The deprived backgrounds could achieve as well as
voice at the other end of the line confirmed that it anyone else.
was safe. Some of the students that attended the school are
We then got into a discussion about the school now teachers there and continue to relay the message
and about the clientele that it served. The to the local community that education
speaker was passionate about the role matters.
Psychologist
of the school in the community and In my career, I have never forgotten
that all students deserved a first the guiding principles that I developed Karen Sullivan
class education. while at Robert Clack.
At the time, unemployment Far too often, school
analyses the
in the area ran at 33 per cent and leaders are afraid of
adult literacy levels were among disciplining students for
the lowest in the country. fear it may affect their
concept of
The school itself was on standing regarding league
the verge of failure. I spent my tables and exclusions.
spiritual health in schools
placement learning the ropes about The pandering to the
discipline and praise, how to teach badly behaved and their
effectively, and what was possible if parents has cost us as a N 2003, a report was issued by the Commission
one was prepared to have the vision society. We are losing
and the determination. our moral authority as
The school was Robert Clack and educators.
the then head of humanities was What Paul has
Paul Grant. demonstrated is that students
Last week, I learnt that Paul can achieve and that the I
on Children at Risk in the US, entitled
Hardwired to Connect. Based on the work
of paediatricians, mental health professionals,
and youth service workers, the report set out
what our children need in order to develop
into mature and functioning adults.
had been awarded a knighthood working classes can have It documents dramatic declines in the welfare of
in the Queen’s birthday honours ambitions beyond what they thought adolescents over the last 50 years – to the point
and I could not think of a was possible. where 20 per cent of adolescents suffer from serious
more deserving case. What has Sir Paul’s knighthood celebrates all emotional or behavioural problems, from depression
happened at Robert Clack is that he has done for Robert Clack, not least to delinquency.
nothing short of a miracle. the students who attend. Moreover, it gives One of the key points of this study was the fact that
When I trained there, the massive encouragement to all of those who the mechanisms by which we become and stay attached
history department was a well run have struggled in their lives and have used to others are biologically primed, and are increasingly
oasis amid a torrent of disaffection. education to transform their lives. discernible, in the basic structure of the brain. We are
In essence the unruly kids ran the In my classroom I have the following born “hardwired” to make personal connections to others.
school and the idea that students could statement on my wall: “Good Teachers light Moreover, it was confirmed that spirituality significantly
achieve at the highest levels was but a candles in dark places.” Paul Grant embodies influences our sense of wellbeing and even our health,
pipe dream. this at the highest level. At last the right man has and that the human brain appears to be organised to ask
In 1996, I managed to get a job at my got the accolade. I salute you Sir Paul! “ultimate” questions and seek ultimate answers.
present school and Mr Grant was made This report has spawned a fresh look into the
headteacher of Robert Clack shortly after • David Torn is professional tutor and an advanced declining spirituality of kids and created a momentum
that. skills teacher at St Edward’s Comprehensive School to reintroduce this to their lives – to plug the holes,
Over the last 13 years, Robert Clack has become in Essex. He is the London Secondary School Teacher effectively, and create well rounded human beings with
one of the top schools in the country, being in the top of the Year 2007 and is passionate that the purpose of strong emotional ties, morality and decency.
one per cent for contextual value-added. education is to change lives. He returns in two weeks. The report states: “Denying or ignoring the spiritual
needs of adolescents may end up creating a void in their
lives that either devolves into depression or is filled by
other forms of questing and challenge, such as drinking,
Organised by Sponsored by
unbridled consumerism, petty crime, sexual precocity,
D
Delivering
or flirtations with violence.”
iplomas

Opportunities for kids to connect within the
community have declined dramatically over the past
The UK’s only magazine dedicated to the 14-19 Diploma
few decades. Communication has been supplanted by
social networking websites and mobile telephones,
PUTTING
The 4th National Conference on
leaving few opportunities for teens to connect with
EDUCATION one another outside the classroom. And so it is that the
FIRST
classroom has become the new focus for encouraging
Delivering Diplomas:
an “inner” or spiritual life in today’s youth.
Professor Ursula King is an internationally renowned
scholar on spirituality. Her new book, The Search She also believes that children need to learn to
Engagement and collaboration
for Spirituality: Our Global Quest for Meaning and ask questions, and to examine questions that may not
Fulfilment, is a sweeping examination of the world’s actually have answers – philosophy of sorts. Opening
spiritual landscape, and it argues for a new approach to their minds allows them to experience different thoughts
Aston Conference Centre, Birmingham 1st October 2009
solving global problems. and emotions, and challenges them to think creatively.
She is convinced that teachers and schools have a And developing a habit of contemplation means that
Welcome and address 3: Construction and the built
big role to play in the spiritual health of their students, children learn to find answers within themselves, or to
Pete Henshaw environment
not just because they are primary role models, and consider questions carefully before they act.
because kids spend the vast majority of their waking In the US, an organisation called PassageWorks
Teaching and learning together:
4: Information technology
hours in their company, but because “the capacity for has developed around the work of Rachel Kessler,
Focusing on engagement
5: Engineering
spirituality is present in every human being, but it needs author of The Soul of Education: Helping Students find
Teresa Bergin PHASE 2 DIPLOMA DELIVERY to be activated and realised (taught in some way)”. Connection, Compassion and Character at School. It
Diplomas the second year:
1: Business, administration She told me: “We teach our children to learn to walk, is devoted to the concept that students of all ages need
amme subject to change
to talk, to dance – to acquire all the immensely subtle opportunities to express and develop their spirituality
Where are we now with
and fi nance
ogr
2: Hair and beauty studies Pr
and complex aspects of human culture and to master – something that they call a student’s “inner life”, which
partnership working?
3: Manufacturing & product design
a wide variety of skills. But often our children are not they believe is “that aspect of human nature that yearns
Malcolm Trobe
4: Environmental and land-based
taught how to develop spiritual awareness unless they for deep connection and grapples with the big questions
Engagement and collaboration
studies
are given the right kind of spiritual education.” of meaning and purpose”.
from an FE point of view 5: Hospitality
If today’s children have never heard of its precepts, PassageWorks offers professional development
John Stone
how can they understand the core and concepts of for teachers that provides practical tools to invite
WORKSHOPS:
spirituality? And how can they make use of it? Prof “soul” into the classroom in a way that aims to foster
Employer engagement Engagement and collaboration
King says that spiritual literacy is crucial to encourage student resilience, confidence, compassion, social and
Margaret Gildea This hour-long session offers delegates a choice
kids to see things in a different way. Awareness must emotional skills, and academic excellence.
of four workshops to choose from. Delegates
Ask the experts panel discussion:
will have the choice to attend more than one
be supported, to give meaning to their lives and their Laura Weaver, director of programmes at
Sector Skills Councils
workshop during the hour.
experiences – they need to connect. PassageWorks, feels that nurturing the inner lives of
Delegates will have the chance to quiz
A: SECONDARY AND FE
But what is spirituality? Does Prof King mean our children has never been so important.
expert representatives from the 10 Sector religion? And when Hardwired to Connect discusses She said: “When young people lose their sense
Skills Councils involved in phases 1 and 2
COLLABORATION
BOOK spiritual development, do they expect a mass exodus to of meaning and purpose, when they have no internal
of Diploma Delivery. Split by phase into
B: EMPLOYER religious institutions? compass, there is nothing to stop them from acting
two workshops, delegates will be free to ask
questions regarding any aspect of delivery
COLLABORATION
Prof King responded: “It’s perhaps more helpful in destructive ways towards themselves and others.
and will be able to drop into both workshops
C: GATEWAY SUCCESS
NOW!
to ask what spirituality does rather than what it is. However, when students are invited to explore
if desired. This session will provide a great Spirituality can be linked to all human experiences, meaning, purpose and relevance, when they experience
networking opportunity and the chance
D: EXAM BOARDS AND
but it has a particularly close connection with the connection to self, to others, and the world around
to speak to the experts behind the fi rst 10
EXAM OFFICERS: ASSURING
imagination, with human creativity and resourcefulness, them, they will choose to act in life-sustaining ways.”
Diploma lines.
AWARDING HAPPENS with relationships.” The PassageWorks experience suggests that
PHASE 1 DIPLOMA DELIVERY
Drawing together and
So opening up a child’s spirituality is partly about bringing out the spiritual side of students can also
1: Creative and media
closing remarks
experiencing the joys of life, encouraging them to look have an effect on their behaviour. Ms Weaver added:
2: Society, health and development Chairperson: George Turnbull
inwards, to reflect, to gather in, to make connections. “We see again and again that when students feel these
Prof King is convinced that one way forward is connections, they naturally choose behaviours that are
MA Education Ltd
to encourage the practice of silence – one thing that compassionate.
For a brochure visit www.deliveringdiplomas.co.uk
St. Jude’s Church
is missing in children’s lives, both at home and in the “We see the experience of alienation as the
Dulwich Road
and follow the link or call 020 7501 6762
London
classroom. She believes that silence encourages kids to fundamental symptom of the spiritual void – and in our
SE24 0PB
look at their own inner space and to relate to the deeper experience it is the root cause for many risky behaviours
questions within themselves. (violence, truancy, drug abuse, adolescent depression,
8 SecEd • June 25 2009
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