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Help your child - allow them to fail

Jane Grubb, Head of Bedales Prep School, discusses the importance in learning from failure and argues that problems are part of life which can be overcome – but only if young people are first allowed to fail.

I am greatly in favour of all ‘homework’ being done within school hours, thus ensuring that it is done independently, and that the teachers who set the work are on hand to provide any necessary support and further teaching. In turn, this would allow children to have evenings for themselves, and for family. In the independent sector the school day is typically longer than in the state schools, making this a more obviously realistic proposition. However, we also know that policy makers are keen on the idea of a longer school day, so it should not be considered impossible.

Independent work must be a positive extension of learning, and should build pupils’ organisational skills, initiative and the ownership of their learning and success. In turn, this requires a shared expectation that children will sometimes find their studies difficult, and that difficulty is fine – indeed, without it, education risks losing the very heart of its purpose. Problems are part of life, and can be overcome – but only if young people are first allowed to fail.

https://www.isc.co.uk/media-enquiries/isc-blogs/help-your-child-allow-them-to-fail/

See also: Prep Schools

Girls who go to private schools are more likely to have problems with alcohol and drugs

Girls who go to private schools are three times more likely to suffer from alcohol and drug problems than other young women later in life, an American study has suggested.

"Privileged" students who live in comfortable houses and go to elite schools are at high risk of using cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy, the researchers found. 

They were also more likely to abuse drink despite being popular among their peers, performing "exceedingly well" in school and being "highly regarded" by their teachers.

Boys who have grown up in affluent areas and go to "elite" schools are twice as likely as other young men to experience drink and drug addiction in early adulthood.

Study leader Professor Suniya Luthar, of Arizona State University, said: "We found alarmingly high rates of substance abuse among young adults who we initially studied as teenagers.

"Results showed that among both men and women and across annual assessments, these young adults had substantial elevations, relative to national norms, in frequency of several indicators - drinking to intoxication and of using marijuana, stimulants such as cocaine, and club drugs such as ecstasy."

The researchers studied two groups of students in affluent communities as part of the New England Study of Suburban Youth (NESSY).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/31/girls-go-private-schools-likely-have-problems-alcohol-drugs/

See also: Why are privately educated students so employable?