An example of Investigator’s modernised 2023 curriculum is our Year 8 students’ participation in a two-day SPARK Workshop this week, which focused on problem-solving, collaboration, and entrepreneurial thinking. To kick off the workshop, Investigator College welcomed a panel of local business leaders who shared insights and wisdom gained from their own careers and business dealings.
I was fortunate to join the panelists for a discussion over coffee, and as employers, we all agreed that the ability to relate to others is one of the most desirable skills sought, regardless of the business.
We can all think of someone, I am sure, who is obviously highly intelligent, yet outside of the examination room, seems to struggle with life. I am referring to people with exceedingly high IQs who can also be very poor pilots of their private and/or professional lives.
Well-known Harvard Professor of Cognition and Education, Howard Gardner, suggests that all people possess at least eight different intelligences, operating in varying degrees within each of us. One of the intelligences he refers to is social intelligence (or interpersonal intelligence). Another is emotional intelligence (interpersonal intelligence), and these two are inextricably linked. Teaching these at home and in schools will complement one’s IQ and increase the likelihood of the individual leading a happy and fulfilled life.
The social intelligence of Investigator College students receives a definite boost through our Positive Education programs. By identifying signature strengths, students are poised to improve relations with others by achieving an important understanding of themselves. Our Positive Education programs take this a step further, recognising that young people need strategies to enable confidence, optimism, and resilience in a modern, tech-savvy society. To relate well to others, students need to demonstrate skills such as communication, cooperation, empathy, conflict resolution, authenticity, emotion management (and recognising emotions in others), respectful manners and sportsmanship, as well as a genuine ethic of care.
On occasions, I have heard parents say that they send their child to an independent school because they do not have the time to “do all those things.” While we do everything within our control to develop your child’s social intelligence, your child’s progress in this area might be hindered without your support as well. Consider the messages your child might be receiving if you are modelling poor impulse control, a lack of respect and manners, aggression towards anyone from neighbours to sports umpires, unfriendliness, or a disinterest in others. Do you wait your turn in queues, treat shop assistants with respect, and greet people when you see them? Do you refrain from writing negative comments about others on social media? Your role is vital, and we work in partnership with you.
Exemplifying social skills is not always easy as our children grow older, and our own communication lines sometimes seem frail. Parenting author Michael Grose makes a few simple suggestions to parents:
- Limit the time your children spend in their bedrooms. While they need privacy and study time, as members of a household – no matter how old they are – they need to join the family at mealtimes and on other “catch-up” opportunities. Insisting on good manners is a duty of a parent and much easier to enforce if you model them yourself.
- Take an interest in their interests. In addition to giving you a common link for conversation starters, you are modelling an interest in and respect for others. Keeping up-to-date through our new Learning Management System (Schoolbox), which continues to be rolled out, will also give impetus to conversations.
- Listen to what they have to say. This doesn’t mean that you have to necessarily agree, but at least try to create a culture where they feel that you listen and that you care. Again, you are modelling good social skills and supporting the ethos of Investigator College.
The good news, according to U.S. psychologist and author Daniel Goleman, is that our social intelligence is not hardwired. “It can get better at any point in our lives” (Goleman, 2011). Your support can maximise your child’s social intelligence and, consequently, his or her opportunities to be genuinely successful in the game of life.
Keep up the great work, and thank you for all the wonderful feedback we are receiving about our very special staff team.
