Introduction...

by Ritchie Gale

Dear Oakham Community,

In the 1982 film Gandhi, the lead protagonist claims that the strength of a community is reflected in the strength of its press. As a 21st century form of sharing news and ideas, it seems appropriate that as a centre of learning excellence, Oakham School has a blog which regularly shares our thinking and activity concerning teaching and learning.

So, this is the first post in my own blog, which will be aimed at providing a window into the academic activity happening across the school. Whilst headline stories such as competitions, results and trips will still have their own articles on the website, this is a far more informal and regular presentation about the richness, diversity and the innovation happening in (and sometimes out) of Oakham classroom. The bread and butter, the everyday, the trials and tribulations, the progress, and the questions that face all of us involved in the gloriously messy business of learning.

For a number of years now we have been exploring an approach to learning that is centred on the students and how they develop their attributes, or 'habits of mind' http://bit.ly/1pjE81d. This is because we care about them becoming powerful, life-long learners who are not simply trained for a specific exam, but also able to thrive in any future situation. This, we believe, has to be the right approach and guiding vision in how we develop our teaching. Subject knowledge and academic passion remain the objectives, but questions about how that knowledge is acquired, and the impact of that process on the learner are what we are taking very seriously.

Exactly how these developments are made has been, and will continue to be, the key question. Independence is the end goal, and not the means to the end. This is not about leaving students to it, but in modelling, teaching and encouraging the knowledge, skills and habits required for independence. There is also the inevitable situation that Oakham teachers have always taught well and built up positive learning habits in students through their teaching - but since making the vision explicit, it is also clear that to move closer towards the ideal we must develop what we do and be willing to open ourselves out to new ideas and approaches, integrating those with what we know works well. The encouragement to staff is that this process does not demand us to all teach in the same way, but that in our own subject contexts, within our own styles, we can contribute towards the big picture.

Future posts will bring you stories and reflections from specific teachers who are trying different ideas out in their classrooms, explaining exactly why it is that Oakham is a fantastic environment for students who would become exceptional learners.

R. Gale