Captain’s Blog
Stardate 280809
It’s been a week of hearing about A-level exam results and graduation grades, celebrating with some of the talented and intelligent young people of our acquaintance. Well done to everyone for your hard work – and for those of you who didn’t quite get the grade you expected, try asking your parents about their results, I guarantee you’ll feel much better instantly!
Increasing access to education means that each year we have a better-educated country, with a wealth of ideas, talent and innovative thinking to draw upon. The mainstream media’s obsession with standards, or mocking courses such as ‘media studies’ seems to ignore the benefits to us all of a better educated society. Understanding the power of digital media in the age of the internet seems to me to be a vital skill for any future career – whether in science, the arts or farming the land.
Amongst the popping champagne corks and clinking glasses, I remembered that I certainly don’t have as many A-levels as my daughter. I made up for a poor start to my academic results by going back to education as a mature student and now it’s one of those lifelong activities for me. I also found that our family had a history of not being able to continue on at school, despite being gifted and intelligent people. For me it’s probably my rebellious streak – I find I need to learn rather than be ‘taught’. My late grandmother would be proud to know that one of her great-grandchildren is currently listed amongst the most gifted children in the country and is being supported to succeed, despite the parents not having a university education themselves.
So what’s this to do with leadership? To me it’s the good news – knowing that our future leaders are bright and full of intelligence. Despite the current financial situation, there are plenty of young people with energy and commitment to forge new paths in the future. The other factor that shines through when I spend time with young people is their commitment to society and to each other. One young lady achieved her 2.1, ran a student group supporting a range of charities and managed to fit enough work experience in to secure a good job. For those less fortunate in their job search, I hear of young people volunteering in charities; giving their time to support others without the key social and technical skills to even think of getting on the job ladder, biding their time until the job market picks up or the right opportunity presents itself.
What I see is not a focus on future leadership amongst these young people, although many are certainly moving in that destination; rather it’s a focus on friendship. Not ‘networking’ for personal ambition – although these people certainly have that drive – rather networking for the sake of mutual support and shared interests.
Class of 2009, I salute you!
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