CHA RACT ER ED UC AT IO N
Case studies
A Lower Sixth girl visits the Hospice in the
Weald as part of ‘Art in the Community’ A Lower Sixth boy teaches primary school
students how to play a Gamelan instrument
In this activity a few students and staff spend time
creating simple art with hospice residents. The table
quickly becomes a centre of laughter and conversation
as everyone gets involved. The reflective conversation I
had with the student revealed that she had not started
out that way – in fact she had initially found ways to
avoid being part of the ‘hospice’ group. She was anxious
at the prospect of meeting people who were dying. But
eventually she went and, though nervous, found it was
very different from what she had feared – it was fun, not
depressing. She reflected often about her experience at
the hospice and it was clear that this covered different
kinds of reflection: The visiting primary school group learn about the
cultural and technical background of the Gamelan,
and are introduced to the instruments and some
basics of how to play. The boy enjoys the activity but
recognises that it is relatively ‘easy’ for the Sevenoaks
students once they have themselves learnt to play the
instruments and have learnt to teach their visitors.
The boy had naturally reflected each week on how
well he had taught his ‘partner’. He knew that he had
become a more effective teacher, partly because his
reflection was in the form of self-evaluation. He felt
that there was no other real reason to reflect and that
reflecting was not something built into the activity itself.
He recognised the importance of writing reflections and
knew that this was ‘a good thing’, not just a necessary
part of passing the International Baccalaureate.
• A growing understanding of her own reactions to what
she experienced
• Focusing on how she has felt there and why
• Recalling meaningful and highly specific memories
• Evaluation of the activity and of her role in it
• A recognition that her perspective has been changed
and broadened
It is clear that all of these have a learning aspect to
them and are key parts of her character education. On
the surface, it is not obvious how these personal ways
of learning connect to academic learning and progress;
it would be naïve to suggest that such profound and
varied self-reflection could ‘translate’ directly into better
scores or sharper recall of course content. But it is surely
conceivable that the maturing process that is evidently
happening through service must feed positively into her
mind-set and her confidence – and that developments
in these can underpin academic progress? Even if they
don’t, she is a ‘richer’ person for the experience and the
expansion of her outlook and empathy will likely be
beneficial to her long after she ends her involvement in
academia.
What is he learning through service? He has certainly
developed some teaching skills and qualities: empathy
and patience, clear communication and reinforcement,
encouragement, demonstration. But he does not seem
stretched by this and it would be hard to argue that he
has become more scholarly as a result. When the activity
itself is straightforward (and is regularly repeated in the
same format) with visiting pupils changing each week,
there is no obvious ‘social issue’ to give this activity a
potentially deeper significance.
3