Why?

To partly answer this question we can imagine a mathematics lesson (although any subject will do in fact). A class of boys and girls is asked a question by the teacher. Immediately two boys put their hands in the air, desperate to answer. One after the other they offer answers which are incorrect. A little time passes before a girl raises her hand, is prompted by the teacher, and offers the correct answer.

This scenario does not demonstrate that girls are smarter than boys, but rather that girls tend to consider matters more carefully prior to speaking out. So boys can learn from the girls to take more time and reflect upon a question, arriving at a more considered (and correct) answer, rather than offer an immediate ‘knee jerk’ reaction.

But what can girls possibly learn from the boys? Simply this; to take risks within a secure environment, because in many learning situations boys will demonstrate great initiative and innovation which have no guarantee of success, but which often lead to excellent outcomes.

The experience of sharing these different approaches – reflection/consideration and the taking of risks – is beneficial to both boys and girls, and each gender gains from working alongside the other.

I believe that students like a varied and interesting school experience. This means a mixture of teaching styles. It means combinations of activities within a lesson which are carefully planned to engage the entire class, regardless of the individual differences present within it. It means balancing knowledge-based lessons like physics and mathematics with subjects where creative thinking is prioritised (art and design for example). It means understanding that all subjects require problems to be solved and material to be evaluated and analysed. It means experiencing new technology and, for example, traditional science experiments in the same day. It means at times having independent study, group work and whole class activities in one single lesson.

At the SVA it is our teachers who hold principal responsibility for ensuring that each student is completely ‘switched on’ for the duration of each lesson. Well planned, well paced lessons which involve the setting of a range of challenges should ensure that this occurs. Academic success surely follows as a consequence of each student developing a genuine love of learning.

This appreciation of the importance of learning, alongside the realisation that this process can also be great fun, is at the core of the objectives and methods at the Academy.