LEARNING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Tunji David Lees Head of Student Development Swiss Leadership Camp & Academy

As Head of Student Development at the Swiss Leadership Camp & Academy, Tunji David Lees is responsible for the development of student leadership modules designed together with international schools around the world. With a background in Outdoor Education, he has extensive experience designing and implementing experiential learning programs at schools around the world and is keen to share some best practices.

HELPING STUDENTS GET THE BEST OUT OF THEMSELVES

As educators, we want our students to do well academically and help them towards having successful lives and careers. According to a report by the World Economic Forum however, it is estimated that a majority of children entering primary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that don’t yet exist. In a world that is changing exponentially, we have to ask ourselves; how do we prepare our students for drastically different job markets and future technological innovation in a world we don’t yet know? Let us explore several important factors that will help students get the best out of themselves in any possible future.

INTERNATIONALISM

Studies have shown that children growing up in an international environment will have an expanded world view, greater cultural intelligence, strong interpersonal sensitivity, increased multilingual ability and a high level of general adjustment. A quality international education will reinforce this, helping students to develop into wellrounded global citizens. As the world becomes increasingly globalised, we expect international education to become more and more important alongside it. This means it’s now more important that ever to be comfortable in different cultural environments, to be adaptable to other ways of doing things, and understanding of others and their way of life.

LEARNING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Does your school offer a truly well-rounded education? Let’s look beyond academics here. The IB includes Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) as a core component of their diploma programme, whereby students should have two CAS activities for each category in which they participate on a weekly basis. Around 80% of IB graduates say that as a result of participating in CAS they have developed better interpersonal skills, self-awareness, empathy, planning skills, and have learned to persevere and take on new challenges. These so-called “soft skills” are all important elements of personal development.

There are similar components of non-formal learning in other curricula, with many schools placing an increasing emphasis on learning beyond the classroom through extracurricular activities and industry related experiences such as STEM programmes.

STEM EDUCATION

STEM or STEAM Education is an interdisciplinary approach to the teaching of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics which is becoming increasingly popular in international schools. For good reason: it is estimated that 2.4 million STEM jobs in the United States went unfilled in 2018, and that this demand will increase by 13% over the next 10 years. Anticipating these factors, many schools are responding by developing their own STEM or STEAM programmes. The selling point to parents is usually about opening students to a world of possibilities and preparing them for a world of tomorrow.

are not yet focusing on; student leadership and wellbeing. To us leadership means learning how to get the best out of yourself and others. This starts with learning to understand yourself, and then moving on to understand and collaborate with others.

WELL BEING AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING

As of yet, the Kingdom of Bhutan is the only country in the world to make Well Being a fully integrated part of the national school curriculum. This was implemented on a systematic basis with the help of the Positive Psychology centre at the University of Pennsylvania, forerunners in the field. Statistical reports into the effects have not only shown a marked increase in student well being, but improved academic performance as well.

There is still much progress to be made internationally on the implementation of these kind of programmes, but more and more schools are beginning to see the benefits.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

Since the first forms of organised education in the time of ancient philosophers and scholars, knowledge was only reserved to a small minority of the population. It took till the 19th century for the value of mass education to became recognised in the Western world, and for nation states to begin national education programmes focusing on educating children in reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Education has come a long way since then, with international schooling often leading the way when it comes to curriculum innovation. We would argue that schools should dedicate even more time to facilitating the acquirement of life skills. Only the development of the whole child -including well being, social-emotional learning, and leadership skills- helps to fully prepare them for the world of tomorrow, whatever it will bring.

Tunji David Lees Head of Student Development Swiss Leadership Camp & Academy tunji@swissleadershipcamp.com www.swissleadershipcamp.com

BIBLIOGRAPHY

World Economic Forum. The Future of Jobs and Skills. https://reports.weforum.org/future-of-jobs-2016/ chapter-1-the-future-of-jobs-and-skills/#view/fn-1

University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology centre. Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman’s Positive Psychology Research. https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/research/positive-psychologyresearch

University of Bath. The Impact of Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) on students and communities. https://www.ibo. org/contentassets/d1c0accb5b804676ae9e782b78c8bc1c/ cas-finalreport-2017-en.pdf

Education Commission of the States. STEM Demand. http://vitalsigns.ecs.org/state/united-states/demand

Smithsonian Science Education centre. The STEM Imperative.

HEAD FUEL & HEART COMPASS

A reading love letter.

Laura Benson ISS Director of Curriculum & Professional Development

Books and reading teach us that we are not alone. We go into ourselves when reading. But there we find another self – our reader self. The internal dialogues we have with the words of the author and ourselves are part awakening and part fellowship. It’s hard to feel entirely alone as a reader.

Lately, I have learned about some additional gifts of reading. New studies have identified very good news for readers, especially life-long readers. Individuals with high lifetime levels of cognitive activity show slower decline, despite the presence of underlying pathology (Jacobs, 2017). “Habitual participation in cognitively stimulating pursuits over a lifetime might substantially increase the efficiency of some cognitive systems,” writes a research team led by neuropsychologist Robert Wilson of Chicago’s Rush University Medical Centre. This efficiency apparently counteracts the often-devastating effects of nervous system diseases. “Asking ourselves, can we do anything to slow down late-life cognitive decline, the results suggest yes—read more books, write more, and do activities that keep your brain busy, irrespective of your age.”

Knowing the essential vitality and utility of reading in our lives, here are a few of the essential experiences children need to flourish as readers:

LET CHILDREN READ.

Engage the children you shepherd – whether as teacher, administrator, or parent – in daily doses of reading with you and on their own. This helps reading become something they own and look forward to each day. It becomes part of them and helps shape their identities, fuelling their passions and also soothing the rough parts of life.

It all begins with books in hands, and this is where it grows over time. From my forty years as an educator, especially as a literacy specialist, I have witnessed many reading wars and engaged passionately to champion what I know as truth: We learn to read by reading.

LET CHILDREN SEE YOU READ.

Children imitate what they see us giving time to in our own lives. By reading in front of growing readers, our actions will speak louder than our admonishments. Seeing the adults they love engage in reading acts as an invitation to children. When I began teaching, parent education workshops were part of each year’s teaching work. One of the insights gained from these collaborations was that since we were engaged in our reading after the children went to bed (or, in my case, outside of the classroom), the kids were not seeing us read. We realised that this was a mistake. It left children out of what was vital to so many of us.

WEAVE READING INTO YOUR CLASSROOM LIFE AND FAMILY LIFE.

By reading to and with children, you are giving them a quiet place and a part of yourself no other activity can replicate or match. The shared thinking, laughter, awe, bewilderment, and sorrow; these common experiences deepen your relationship and connection to one another. It’s one of the very best things we can do to nurture children’s hearts and it absolutely widens the mind. Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift.

SHARE HOW YOU READ.

Children of all ages mistakenly think that adults read perfectly and without effort. Sharing the hard work of your reading and your own problem-solving skills as a reader are some of the best and most “Ah, ha!” provoking moments you will share together. Listen to how you talk to yourself before, during, and after reading. These words are your authentic reading scripts you can share with your children or students to nudge their own understanding and work as a reader.

REVEAL WHY YOU READ.

Share why you turn to texts. It can take a budding reader years to find her or his identity as a reader. Reading is hard work and some children do take (and need) time to identify themselves as readers; reading will not always be your child’s or students’ first draft pick for their free time activities. Sharing openly and passionately why you read is vital for the growing readers in your life.

DON’T ASK YOUR STUDENT OR CHILD TO DO ANYTHING AS A READER THAT YOU DON’T DO AS A READER.

After reading a great book, I often tell a friend about the book and encourage others to read it. I don’t write a book report. I do read and enjoy book reviews. So, with my students and my own son, I encouraged book recommendations and sharing which occasionally turned into book reviews. But I never asked my kids to write a book report, create a diorama of their reading, or write about everything they read. These clerical tasks quickly turn children off reading. Let them read as you and I do – read for pleasure, read for information, read to edify.

DON’T POLICE YOUR STUDENTS’ OR CHILDREN’S CHOICES IN READING.

Rather, encourage and respect each child’s choices in reading. Choice is the greater energiser of literacy. Think about your nightstand table reading and those texts you choose to read on an airplane. We often read texts which, in fact, are at our easy, comfortable level. We love a good piece in The New York Times, yummy recipes, or riveting sports articles. Pouring over the rich photography essays and design portraits in decorating magazines is a huge passion of mine. Are these cognitively rigorous or demanding for me? Probably not, but they fuel my creativity and sense of possibilities in creating my own home and office environments. In other words, they are pure fun and joy for me. Why not encourage all children to bring this kind of joy reading into their own lives? Whether they choose to read graphic novels, science fiction from an unknown author, fifteen books about horses, action-packed comics, or art books full of rich photography, honor children’s choices as readers.

Many years ago, I heard Frank Smith say that a truly literate person is a person who not only can read but chooses to read, too. To help our children choose to bring reading into their lives, honor their voices and choices as readers. Model authentically your ways, joys, and struggles as a reader. Surround the children you love with so many books that they stumble over them. For my family, this means we have books in every room of our home and in our cars, too. Trust that by living literate lives as a family or in your classroom, your growing readers will turn to reading and embrace it as essential oxygen in their lives. Happy reading, connections, and sharing your reading with all the children in your world! This piece has been adapted from original publication; for the full-length edition, please visit www.iss.edu/blog/importance-of-reading

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laura Benson helps ISS school educators develop and refine their curriculum and engage in deeper understandings of best-practice pedagogy. A well-cited scholar and researcher, Laura has published numerous articles in professional journals and is the co-author of Standards and Assessment: The Core of Quality Instruction and Bearing Witness. Laura earned degrees from Trinity University and University of Denver, and furthered her studies at Harvard University, Columbia University Teachers College, and Cambridge University. Follow her work at twitter.com/LBopenbook

ABOUT ISS

International Schools Services (ISS) is a leading non-profit with more than 60 years of experience in international education. Whether developing and managing world-class international schools, staffing schools, ordering equipment and supplies, performing accounting functions, or supporting best-in-class teaching and learning approaches, ISS provides the full range of services necessary for schools to thrive and deliver an outstanding global education to their students. Learn more at ISS.edu

ONLINE REFERENCE

Jacobs, T. (June, 14, 2017). Lifetime of Reading Slows Cognitive Decline. Pacific Standard. https://psmag.com/economics/lifetime-of-reading-slowscognitive-decline-61800