Nigel Lane » school

Just be like everyone else !

nigel — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 01:27:56 +0000

Whether or not children should wear school uniforms is a hotly debated issue with arguments for and against. Some of the main ones in the ‘for’ camp are:

Children perceive them as professional and are therefore more likely to work and not ‘play’ as they have been dressed to work.
They promote good discipline.
They reduce violence and bullying by removing the fashionable element to clothing which can often divide young people and create opportunities to be treated differently.
They provide a lower cost alternative to keeping up to date with the latest fashions and designer labels.
They promote a sense of identity and school spirit.

Of course there are equal numbers of counter-arguments including the need for individuals to express that individuality.

Many schools that have a uniform can raise funds by allowing a casual dress day from time to time [charging a small sum for the Read More

Would you prefer 50 cents or 500 bucks?

nigel — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:55:21 +0000

Just the other day I was talking to a young man who is on the edge of leaving school early. I don’t mean going home before lunch, I mean that his school is suggesting to him that he needs to change or he needs to change. [No that wasn’t a typographical error]. Let me explain.

Either he needs to change his attitude and his current level of effort or he needs to change his school. He wouldn’t be expelled, as such, but he would be encouraged to go and find a place that meets his requirements. The difficulty is that they will only meet his immediate requirements not his medium and long term ones. Many young people, scratch the word young, many people don’t make decisions and think about their future at the same time. They are keen on instant fixes, immediate solutions and now answers. Life, unlike coffee, doesn’t come with an instant option.

During the conversation I had one of those moments of creativity and explained that school [actually school, Read More

Where are you heading?

nigel — Sun, 30 May 2010 23:47:40 +0000

Recently I met with a 16 year old girl who is trying to decide whether to prematurely end her time in high school [she has 1.5 years to go], to finish this year and defer her final year or to continue on and finish year 12 along with her peer group. That’s an easy decision you may say but it is only easy if you know where you want your life to go.

Stephen Covey in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People states that we should begin with the end in mind. The Cheshire Cat informed Alice that she could turn any way she liked at the crossroads because, as she didn’t know where she was going, it didn’t matter. Without a definite destination there is no preferred route. It reminds me of a pre-school activity we used to play entitled ‘taking a pencil for a walk’. To the untrained eye it looked like a scribble but to the bright eyed youngster it was an imaginary journey whose route was permanently recorded by the pencil.

The Read More