The Three C's

Yeah yeah, I know…we’ve had enough of things that come in threes. I didn’t mean for this to happen…it just happened, ok?

Right.

So I was at a meeting a couple of weeks ago, which was chaired by the excellent Richard Hallam MBE and he said something that really got me thinking. It was nothing to do with the content of the meeting; rather, it was more of an approach he takes when chairing (this blog isn’t about chairing meetings, don’t worry).

He said that he likes to take everything back until there is agreement. It’s simple, I know, but it really chimed with me at the time and so I started thinking about how this applied to a number of different scenarios, not least Education (nice and specific, eh?)

I know that there are as many opinions on how best to run our education system as there are people in it (funny that – ok that’s another discussion, for another time) but I think that you would be very hard pressed to disagree that a successful education is one that provides the best chance of success in the big wide world, whoever you are and whatever you choose to do.

Agreed? Good.

So, that being the case, I began thinking what success is. I mean, the exact shape, colour, smell and taste of it depends on your point of view, obviously, but what are the common threads? Again, I stripped things back and I think that you would struggle to find better criteria for success than excellent communication skills, the ability to think creatively and a high level of confidence in yourself. I decided not to call this ‘The three C’s’ but couldn’t resist using it as a blog title.

Just so we’re clear:

Creativity Communication Confidence

Now, we are all still in agreement over this, aren’t we? Good. You’re all such intelligent people.

So, with that in mind, I thought about the subjects that form the core of our education offer. The traditional 'core' subjects of Maths, English, and Science are prioritised over all others because they each help ensure the success of the nations young people is as assured as possible, right?

Lets have a look:

Science helps us learn about how the world works, as does maths and neither subject would be where it is today without the creative genius of some brilliant minds. Invention requires creativity. But I’m struggling to find how they help people’s confidence or communication and they certainly aren’t taught with creativity at their core. Creative geniuses have to learn a lot before being able to employ their creativity….and the Einstein:Joe Bloggs ratio is pretty tiny.  “Sorry Science and Maths, you haven’t got the job…you’re too one-dimensional.”

Now, English, it would seem, has a little more to offer. Studying English can give you confidence using the language and exposure to the creative process through reading and writing works of fiction and…um…confidence with…um…reading out loud? “Oh English….you almost did it. You just couldn’t convince us that you have the right confidence-building tools. Maybe you can apply again next time.”

It’s a little disappointing, really. These subjects are supposed to be setting up our nation’s future but, in terms of how well-rounded they are, they are, at best, a bit weak. "The candidate we are looking for is someone who can demonstrate their creativity and who has proven their ability to communicate on multiple levels and who has confidence in themselves and in their skills. Surely, we ask too much?”

Well, no actually: Enter ‘The Performing Arts.’

Creativity - Nothing exists until someone creates it. That's at the heard of the performing arts. Communication - Collaboration, improvisation and presentation are integral. Confidence - Performance, achievement, seeing your skill develop infront of your very eyes.

If we all agree that our education system should be preparing young people to have the very best chance of success as adults, we all agree that creativity, communication and confidence are key to ensuring this and we all agree that the performing arts are natural home of these skills, then, surely, the Arts should become part of the core subjects offered throughout every child’s education.

It’s the sort of thing that could win an election.