Thursday 30 April 2009

Value

As those who are close to me (not too close, mind) will know I work in a school dealing mainly with sixth form students (that's 16-18 year-olds for you trans-Atlantic readers) who, one would hope, are organised, motivated, courteous and respectful. The quick witted amongst you might see where I'm going with this...

Having had monaural hearing for most of my life I value music, sound, air vibrations etc. very highly and the surrounding skills that are needed to produce a high quality product. This is a particularly busy time of the academic year because there are lots of coursework deadlines looming (next week, eeek!) and most students don't seem to have got their arse in gear yet. As a result stress levels rise and the true value that these students place upon their work becomes clear: in some cases, very little.

Anyone who teaches as part (or all) of their profession will know how frustrating it is when a simple concept doesn't sink in. Again, the value placed on this information/knowledge becomes clear. Those that take it on quickly and accurately, I believe, have placed a higher value on it than those students who don't take it on. Of course, this is a very complicated argument and there are more factors at play other than the 'value' that students place on knowledge that they can't yet see the purpose of, but the question must be raised: Where/how do students learn value? Is it from the parents or is it from their peers? In either case, is that the best place to learn values from?

No-one can deny that parental input, or a suitable substitute, is vital in bringing up a child but the role that peers play in the value argument is key also. As parents, or superiors, what control or guidance can we inspire in these young leaders of tomorrow (as inevitably they may turn out to be!)? The answer, I'm afraid, is very little although there is hope: young teachers/support staff that can bridge the age gap yet retain some authority.

The role played by these young professionals cannot be underestimated and must not be undervalued in itself. As a young professional myself I know the impact that my actions have on these young minds and, annoyingly, I've got to say that I don't feel as valued as I should be. Now, this is not meant to be a rant at my employers, merely an example of how the way children learn values relies not only on parents and trained professionals but also on people who may have not yet worked out their own values, which means that care must be taken when selecting who has access to our youngsters.

So, what can be done to help the situation? Well, as previously mentioned, parenting is vital in the decent upbringing of a child and it is therefore with the parents that the ultimate responsibility lies. However, there are too many other players in the vast experience of a growing child to lay the responsibility solely on them so, as will become more apparent in later posts, we all face a responsibility to each other to be an example of how we would like to be treated and the values that we uphold. Whether it's making sure that your recycling goes out on time or that your cheque book is balanced, we all hold values that define who we are and the only way that other people are going to know about them and, ultimately, respect them is by living by your own example.

Now, the very bright amongst you will have already realised that if everyone shows their true colours (however dark they may be) there'll be a cacophony of value flooding our experiences with other people and not all will be pleasant. Why is this? It's because we have different values to the people in the world around us, yet it is this that makes Earth such a vibrant and colourful world to live in.

In conclusion, then, values define who we are and showing them is the only way that we can expect others to know and respect them, but respect for the values of others is probably the most important value we should all learn to show.

Monday 27 April 2009

I wish I knew...

... how it would feel to be free. Many of us crave for "freedom" from our work but what does that actually mean? Surely the only reason we know about and can appreciate freedom is because of the drudgery that fills our days between the hours of 9 and 5 (adjust to suit)? Without work, we imagine, we'd be Lords of Leisure: sleeping all morning, eating all afternoon and drinking all evening. 'Sounds good doesn't it? However, how many days would go by before this too would become as monotonous as the work we've escaped?

The key, I believe, to a happy life (N.B. NOT a free life) is variety, and I'm not talking about the pathetic annual excuse for our unelected sponges to pretend they know what 'popular culture' means, I mean doing something different every day.


Take a different route from your house one morning to the bus stop; eat a different sandwich for lunch; try out a new restaurant for dinner and then onto a club you've never been to before. Being open to all that life has to offer will mean that you're never bored and constantly surprised at what you may find yourself enjoying! So, how does it feel to be free?