EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT
Outnumbered TOM CASTON, PRINCIPAL AT MPW SCHOOL, TAKES A QUIET MOMENT OF CONTEMPLATION DURING A HECTIC EXAM SEASON HEADSPACE
s exams approach – and gradually submerge us all – I hope to offer a word of encouragement. Anxieties
have swirled at an amplified pitch over the past few years, while this group of A-level students has never sat a public exam. Added to that, the threat of Covid-19 has not disappeared. As educators and parents, how are we helping young people navigate these unsteady times? Not long ago, a tune caught my ear. I have never been someone attracted to songs by their lyrics – the melody has always got my attention – but with Outnumbered , performed by Dermot Kennedy, the lyrics made me question the meaning of the title. In an interview, Dermot wrote: “For me, it was my effort to console and provide some level of comfort to somebody who feels overwhelmed by things… and rather than simply being in a bad patch when you know it’s going to get better, it’s that feeling when you’re in a bad patch and don’t know if things are going to work out.” So, what does it mean to be outnumbered? On the sports field, many will be able to relate. I only need to think back to the last game of rugby I played, over a decade ago. It was in a tens tournament, so there was more space on the field and less room to hide. I could feel my heart and was gasping for breath. My body was screaming at me to give up – and my mind was asking what I was doing there! I felt despair at the daunting three-on-one situation facing me, and had to dig deep. The next moment, I was upside-down and my shoulder was broken – game over. Those feelings of being outnumbered came to a premature and abrupt end, replaced by other painful sensations, but I remember the whole episode well.
MAP OUT MPW has branches in London, Birmingham and Cambridge
Dermot wasn’t talking about being outnumbered on the sports field. It is in the daily rhythms of our lives that we can often feel outnumbered. Maybe by the notifications on our phones, tasks set by teachers, line managers, principals or governors. It could be expectations placed on us by others and ourselves, negative thoughts in our heads, comments from people who don’t see or understand what we are going through – and imminent exams, with the almost insurmountable breadth of knowledge one has to absorb. The words to describe how these moments make us feel are the same as those I used about sport: panic, despair and strain. At times, those feelings can be used to create a better outcome; in the face of adversity many unlikely victories have been achieved. In these instances, our enemies are often intangible and unexplainable. Stay calm, breathe and meet the challenges head
on. There is help out there, in so many forms – in ourselves and others. Beyond that, if we still feel outnumbered, that is all right. Things will resolve with time. Sometimes being outnumbered can be good. You may feel like this with your attempts to change the world for the better. Selfless effort can start to seem beleaguering or even pointless. I think we should all attempt to be the last good Samaritan standing, the one holding on to our values – however outnumbered that might leave us feeling. On that note, I wish all good luck this exam season!
THERE IS HELP OUT THERE, IN SO MANY FORMS
72 JUNE 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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