August

It’s results season in the UK, Level 3 last week, Level 2 this week. Seeing on social media friends children receiving results and the news coverage this occurrence attracts each year reminded me of how strange the exam system really is, it puts me in mind of a cartoon drawing I have seen many times, I can’t find the artist, the quote that accompanies it has been wrongly attributed to Einstein so I can’t cite any reliable sources other than *one of the many other online articles in which it is included.

Funny cartoon this, sad though, because then you realise that actually, this really isn’t a fair way to assess us complex human beings, taking an exam for two hours or so to test us on two years worth of learning simply tests memory, not learning. Don’t get me wrong, those that do well in exams may well have learned and understood the content well, but the system isn’t testing that and its outdated now.

A healthier way of ‘testing’ if we must, is surely the more holistic approach of coursework. Assessment still takes place but students will learn how to encounter problems in a positive way and also learn that there may be different approaches to achieving a solution and there may be more than one solution to find.

Because we learn more from our ‘failures’ than we do from not being allowed to fail, mistakes could become instead, ‘developments’ because, thats what they are; Just for one moment, forget the exam system, our life is nothing more than a series of developments, moving from one stage of life to another. I say ‘another’ not ‘the next’ because that again implies that there is only one expected outcome for everyone. There is not. One of the guarantees in life is that what happens next in my story, will not be the same as what happens in yours.

We should be encouraging our young people to understand that it is more important that they believe that if they try their best, have trust in the professionals to help them reach where they decide they want to be, whenever that may be. The story will be all the better for it.

*Graphic by Fani Hsieh taken from https://thecord.ca/standardized-testing-flaws/

August 14, 2024

Foraging

I love that word, Foraging, it feels wholesome and healthy somehow. I have been a manic forager of late as there is an abundance of blackberries near us. I used to go blackberry picking with my grandma, or ‘Mangar’ as we called her, due to the fact that I couldn’t say the word grandma properly when I was little-so it stuck!

We used to have long walks, along Mersey Rd, along Otterspool Prom and other roads that I didn’t know the name of, we always seemed to walk for miles and there was always blackberries somewhere along the route.

Now the funny thing is, I didn’t like them then, which is what brings me to writing this post. I liked the jam that followed the foraging, I liked the routine that happened in the school holidays, I like the memory of Mangar reminding us often that we mustn’t pick the low down blackberries because the Pooka spoils those ones, she was deeply Roman Catholic, Irish and the belief was that the Pooka was the devils horse. This was a far more exciting way of discouraging us from picking the ones near where dogs may go to the toilet I think.

While on a walk last week, there was a small boy with his family, his cheeks stuffed with the fruit and juice running down his chin, his grown up was telling him that she thinks he has had enough now as he has dinner at home. It was lovely to see.

August 5, 2024

Summer Holidays

The summer holidays have always been a time for me to get the house straight, arrange any medical appointments that weren’t urgent in term time and plan lessons for September. For the first time in years I have total control over when I take my holidays and within reason, spend it how I like. I ‘broke up’ on Saturday afternoon after the last Art for Wellbeing session of the short course at ARU Writtle. I very much enjoyed writing and teaching this and I look forward to the next time. I also met this beautiful little snail who was just chilling on the globe thistle, as were what seems hundreds of other snails. I noticed for the first time, the different patterns on the shell.

This year I have decided I will be enjoying organising my home studio and learning (or strengthening) some practical skills. There is always a different way of applying a skill and many different ways of teaching them. I am also looking forward to my new clients who are looking for some creative life coaching, this is not new to me as I have been teaching creative wellbeing techniques for years but not as a certified life coach.

Of course it wouldn’t be summer in my little corner of the world, without someone setting fire to the field behind our road. As the houses that it backs onto have wooden fences and the fire spreads wildly and rapidly, I imagine it’s quite frightening for those households. On my morning walks there is still pungent evidence of the event and a stark reminder of the overwhelming power of nature.

Samantha Humphreys

Month: August, 2024

August 20, 2024

August 14, 2024

Foraging

August 5, 2024

Summer Holidays