What last month's Maths day showed, says Warren Rodricks, was that our school is full of children who choose to be kind. And kindness is a key ingredient of what makes a Harrodian, a Harrodian.
Friday May 26. Harrodian Maths Day. You’d be forgiven if you thought that the day’s sole focus was the love and enjoyment of maths. It would be an easy mistake to make. After all, as you wandered around the Lower Prep and Pre-Prep you would see smiling faces aplenty engaged in numerous mathematical challenges based on the Maths Day theme: Maths - It’s All Fun and Games. There was fun. There were games and it was all because of maths! Well…not quite.
You’d be forgiven if you thought that the day’s sole focus was the love and enjoyment of maths. It would be an easy mistake to make.
Warren Rodricks,
Not to steal the thunder from the world’s most beautiful subject, but the day actually showcased something much more important. It could be seen in how the 10s students worked tirelessly through the half-term preparing their activities. It could be seen in how the 9s led their small groups, paying particular attention to the littlest members of their group. It could be seen in the eyes of our youngest learners and the appreciation they had that those who are so big took so much time to look after them. You see, although it was Maths Day in organisation, it was actually kindness that made the day such a success.
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Kindness is one of our Prep pillars. Like so many of our pillars it is a choice. It is an action. We choose to be kind to others or we do not. We act kindly or we do not. What maths day showed was that we have children at Harrodian who choose to be kind. We have children who act kindly. This is part of what makes our school so special. It is part of what makes a Harrodian, a Harrodian.
You see, although it was Maths Day in organisation, it was actually kindness that made the day such a success.
We can see it in so many other ways. Our prefect system whereby older pupils support younger pupils is kindness in action and is a perfect example of kindness. Pupils have chosen to offer up their time to support other pupils in need. Their actions towards their younger counterparts illustrates their care and in turn fosters a kinder, gentler school, whereby all of our pupils understand that we are a community of kindness. The power of this should not be underestimated. I often ruminate about what a kinder world would mean for all of us. It is hard to picture, at times, because of all the unkindness that we are surrounded by. Imagine the impact we could have on each other if kindness were at the centre of all our decisions. If we acted, primarily, on kind intentions. Would there be wars? Would there be hunger? What could we accomplish for all of humanity if we were more kind?
Kindness, though, needs development. It cannot be assumed. If we are to hope for a better future, we must be able to provide opportunities for our children to choose and to act in kind ways. They need to be able to practise being kind in safe and forgiving settings…like at a school. Through structured events, pupils develop their ‘softer skills’ and in doing so makes it more likely that they will use them independently…when they are not at school. Like so much we do at Harrodian we plan and support for life beyond our caring walls.
Kindness, though, needs development. It cannot be assumed. If we are to hope for a better future, we must be able to provide opportunities for our children to choose and to act in kind ways.
So…Maths Day? Yes, a day about maths is always a good idea. Yes, responsibility is a key aspect of the day and our 10s pupils leading the way allowed them to develop leadership skills. However, what will ‘stick’ with me is seeing 10s pupils like Alex and Arthur take the greatest of care of their young charges through their kind words and gentle ways. Equally heartwarming was seeing 9s pupils like Skyla step up to support her Year 1 partners through the hustle and bustle of various activities, always checking in with them to make sure they were okay. Though it is hard to say that maths was not the most important thing being developed on the day, it was easy to see something much more important was happening. Kindness in action. Which we know will always be more important than any subject…even maths!
Warren Rodricks is Head of Lower Prep Maths. He welcomes feedback to this blog at: website@harrodian.com