Education is about meaning. If we subscribe to this, then through our curriculum we are custodians, curators and critics of the legacy of human meaning-making. By engaging with our world’s intellectual and cultural heritage, our children are enabled to join in with the great conversation about what things mean that has been taking place since the dawn of time. Quite profound but pivotal to our ambition and school development.
Ok, so this is a little different to my usual posts. But, the discussion is essential if we are to fully understand what we want to achieve in our school settings.Â
This conversation reminds me of a mathematics lecturer at university. He frequently talked about the importance of patterns in mathematics. Patterns are everywhere – in nature, art, history. We express these patterns (or indeed lack of pattern) in various symbolic forms. Perhaps obvious here is the alphabet and number system. We also express patterns visually, sometimes through story, music or dance. As humans, we want there to be patterned. We want there to be a reason, meaning, coherence, sense. But sometimes things are, despite our deepest wishes, apparently random or meaningless.
If we are looking for explanations about how flowers reproduce, we will use one type of pattern. If we are trying to make sense of our feelings by painting flowers – we will use others. I find this fascinating, particularly when considering how the brain learns with schema patterns forming.
A logical next step in this thinking is subject disciplines. In different subjects, we have different ways of making meaning. We might take a moment to think about what we need to do in schools to enable pupils to become proficient scientists or musicians. There will be commonalities, but each subject discipline will have its characteristics. For example, in each subject, there will be key skills and knowledge that pupils will need to revisit to embed understanding.
I hope to carry this thinking on through subsequent posts. Thank you for sticking with me!
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More About BST…
The BST process enables you as school leaders to articulate your ambition for pupils in your school and identify clear processes that will bring this from vision to reality. This approach to school development and self-evaluation places ambitions, like empowering school leadership, at the centre of your school thinking. Used wisely, it will complement current monitoring and evaluation work.
There are three versions available; Primary (including Early Years), Secondary (including Sixth Form) and All Through.
If you are interested or would like to find out more about BST, you can find more insight here. Alternatively, you can get in touch with the team directly, and we would be happy to discuss BST with you.