Recently my friend was telling me that she had been speaking to her daughter's teacher about a comment in her daughter's school report.It said "It's a pity that x doesn't commit herself to more extra curricular activities "
What this teacher didn't know was that the young person concerned had decided to join a more experienced and professional netball team because she'd often been overlooked when school had picked a team and this local team gave her the opportunity to play on a weekly basis and get more experience.
A similar thing happened to my daughter yesterday. At the moment she has outside activities three evenings a week and she needs 'down time' to relax and organise her homework. She was unimpressed to say the least when it was suggested that she lacked commitment because she wasn't participating every week in dance and wasn't doing drama on another evening.
Isn't it sad when teachers don't think you are learning because you aren't doing it at school? I had to explain that in fact my daughter was doing drama elsewhere, that we were considering a term of choir singing and that she had arranged her work experience with a dance company.
Education is so much more than school! Take last week for example it was half term and this is what we did:
We joined Explorer scouts in weeding the community garden which they'd created for Incredible Edible in the summer.
We went to school ( please note Mr Cameron,that we went voluntarily and in the school holidays) to work on the raised beds for Land Based science GCSE (which the government is now threatening to scrap) and to get them ready for planting.
I walked along the beautiful Yewdale valley, passing Yewtree farm where" Beatrix Potter" was filmed, meeting two very interesting people along the way and
Absorbing the scenery.
Including taking photos of the leaves and their changing colour due to the the breaking down of chlorophyll, spotting micro climates
Taking photos of Tarn Hows which is a glaciated Corrie
And an Erratic boulder which was in the valley below!
And afterwards we went on a beautiful walk Halloween Walk
My daughter has gone into school today with just enough indignation and anger to give her the kick she needs to prove that her commitment to dance goes well beyond school or any individual teacher and that she is making choices for herself NOT because she is being pressurised into doing things which are not right for her just now!
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