We asked local independent schools to talk about how they teach non-academic skills essential for future success, such as persistence, teamwork and resilience. Their responses were included in our Independent Schools special section.
From Mulgrave School:
Socio-emotional learning is one of the pillars of the Middle School programme at Mulgrave.
Students in grades 7 to 9 have specialized needs compared to their peers, which is in part why middle schools have always been such effective learning environments for these students.
Martin Jones, principal of Mulgrave’s Middle School, explains, “The focus on socio-emotional development is critically important. Adolescent students can disengage from their learning due to factors related to their socio-emotional well-being, so it’s our priority to ensure we support students’ growth and development in this area while ensuring they remain highly engaged in their learning.”
At Mulgrave, while academic excellence is a strong goal, we know that students can’t achieve their best if they are not happy.
We look for opportunities to help students develop lifelong skills, including the ability to self-regulate, show gratitude, extend kindness, and develop their creativity.
These skills, in turn, help them develop strong trusting relationships and navigate the sometimes stormy waters of adolescence while remaining engaged in their learning.
A few ways we foster these skills include placing them in small cross-grade advisory groups where they benefit from a close relationship with a single advisory teacher over the three years of middle school. Through weekly group and one-on-one meetings, they benefit from the mentoring of older students while in turn developing compassion and kindness as they mentor younger students.
These groups are only one part of a robust guidance and counselling program that’s in place as they navigate the complex world of social media, peer dynamics, and puberty.
Providing students with a practical way to apply these skills and widen their sphere of consciousness is just as important.
Antony Wilson, head of student life, believes, “Experiential and authentic learning programmes are essential to developing the kind of creative, critical, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills needed to succeed in the complexity of the 21st century. At Mulgrave, students participate in service learning and global education and outreach programs. By engaging in a diversity of real-world activities at school, locally and globally, students initiate, plan, collaborate, persevere, and reflect.”
These days, these experiences matter as much, if not more, as academics, he adds.
