Friday Mindset #121

Happy Friday!

Well, that’s it. The exam season is here. Classes are switching to frantic study leave and already, our minds begin to turn towards the future - towards how can we do things better next time around?

So it’s the advice issue, folks. That is to say, we find ourselves with three items to share, each about giving life-advice, so it seems we’ve stumbled across a loose theme; ideas and advice we might share with students this summer or next year…

Let’s dive in.

Something to try...

A powerpoint for you today. We’ve been impressed by writer and Editor of Wired Magazine Kevin Kelly’s Excellent Advice for Living, and ended up unearthing a bog post where he adds a further 101 pieces of advice he’s collected since the publication of the book.

The blog post is here:

It got us thinking - this is stuff we could share with 10s going into 11, or 12s once the exams are over. In the powerpoint that follows, we’ve collected together 12 of Kelly’s pieces we think might spark conversation, discussion and reflection. Students are challenged at the end to pick one that they think represents really good life advice.

It’s got a video embedded and is a large file, so you’ll need to download it before watching.

You might follow up by asking students to create their own pieces of study advice for the year below…or indeed their future selves.

Something we're reading...

We’re instinctively resistant to life-advice given by investors.

I guess we perceive them as somehow morally wanting. It’s unfair of us, particularly after reading this article, which explores Warren Buffet’s notion of an inner scorecard - it’s really got us thinking. Not only is there some sound advice here for ourselves as teachers, there’s also some rich territory to explore with students.

Finally, we couldn’t discuss life advice without mentioning the wonderful, award-winning sci-fi writer Octavia Butler, most famous - in our minds - for her courageous, cheerleading manifesto, advice she used to motivate herself to move from dreams to action. We love showing this to students and discussing it with them, and it’s great for those beginning a fresh phase of their studies.

(Some context: it’s 1989, she’s just completed Imago, the last of a trilogy of novels, and is envisioning what her career will look like next…)

Our latest offer...

A reminder that the VESPA Handbook has arrived at Crown House HQ this week and we’re super-excited. Copies are ready to be posted out, so if you fancy getting your hands on it, we’ve worked with the lovely folk at Crown House to arrange a 20% discount for you:

And that’s it for now. Our advice? Go home, cross your fingers for the kids and have yourself a nice drink in the sunshine.

All the best to you and yours!

Martin, Steve and Tony