Focus on Education

When I was a kid, my aspirations were simple. I wanted a house with stairs in it and I wanted a four-door station wagon. When I was asked what I wanted to be, I told adults that I wanted to be a paediatrician but now, I think that one of the most useless questions an adult can ask: is what do you want to be when you grow up? …as if growing up is finite, as if at some point you become something and that’s the end.

So far in my life I’ve been a lawyer, the vice president of a charity which helps young people build meaningful careers and, until recently, I was the First Lady of the United States of America. That’s not officially a job but it gave me a platform like nothing I had had before.

I’m an ordinary person who found herself on an extraordinary journey and, sharing my story, I hope to create space for other stories and other voices, to widen the pathway for who belongs and why. I’ve been lucky enough to walk into stone castles, urban classrooms and Iowa kitchens, just trying to be myself just trying to connect. For every door that’s opened to me, I’ve tried to open doors for others. Let’s try to invite one another in. Maybe then, we can begin to fear less, to make fewer wrong assumptions and let go of the biases and stereotypes that unnecessarily divide us. Maybe then we can better embrace the ways we are the same.

The above is taken from Becoming by Michelle Obama.

Was it an alarm, a knock on the bedroom door or daylight coming through the curtains? I wonder what got you up this morning.

If you haven’t read the book, I would highly recommend it – I think there is at least one copy in the learning hub – just one out of the 17 million that have been sold across the world. And I suspect the 17 million people who have bought them will have been interested to understand more about the woman who was not only America’s First Lady – the term used to describe the wife of the US President, but the woman who has continued to have a high profile and who some have said, could become America’s President herself one day.

However, what struck me in particular was Obama’s clear motivation to make things better – particularly as regards education and healthcare for those in the US and across the world who can’t take for granted having access to good schooling and medical treatment when they or their families need it. Even though Michelle Obama could presumably put up her proverbial feet and enjoy a comfortable life, something inside her drives her on to make things better. Indeed, in Becoming, she asks the question: Do we settle for the world as it is, or do we work for the world as it should be? Perhaps that gives us an indication of what gets Michelle Obama up in the morning.

So when I ask, what gets us up in the morning, I’m not really talking about whether it is the smell of toast or someone reminding you that you’re going to be late if you don’t come out from under the duvet, I am talking about self-motivation – that something inside which drives us on to achieve and to take the opportunities we have to be the best versions of us. Why do we bother, why do we break sweat to do those things that we find challenging, rather than just getting by and leaving those things that are difficult, until tomorrow?

What motivates one person is not what necessarily motivates someone else. When, aged 13, I started at Big School I was only able to do so because my parents were given financial support. For years, I was desperate to try to show that it – or indeed I – was worth it, and later, I discovered a love of History, and my motivation was to get the grades to study the subject at university.

You may be similar and many of you will be all too aware of the sacrifices that families have made and continue to make for you to be here. There may be members of Year 11 who were disappointed with grades achieved at the end of last term but are now all too clear of what is needed to study subjects in the sixth form and the motivation will be to put things right. Others will be working hard to gain entry into the university of their choice …. and/or indeed to perform highly in other areas.

For many years, I had holiday jobs in shops, supermarkets and cafes. I didn’t find it the most fulfilling way to spend time, indeed the time passed by very slowly, and apart from the interaction with customers which I did enjoy, the jobs were a means to an end – a way to earn money. Most of us will come to the point where we need to earn a living to support ourselves and our families and there is absolutely nothing wrong in having an honest occupation which does just that. However, my wish for everyone is that we find a path in life which is fulfilling in other ways, which brings challenge and satisfaction and where we feel we are having a positive impact – a role for which we are happy to get out of bed in the mornings.

In the meantime, remember what Michelle Obama suggested – that for adults to wonder what a young person will become in life is a rather narrow question– because we will hopefully continue to grow and contribute to the world in a whole host of ways, not just in the job we take when we graduate. And to make that broad contribution through careers that are likely to vary over a lifetime, to contribute to our families and in society as a whole, we will need to have developed skills in a broad range of areas, and they come in part, from involving ourselves as fully as possible in school.

So, find that motivation to be the best we can in as many areas as we can; enjoy doing well but also enjoy getting better in those areas we find challenging; enjoy further developing old interests and taking opportunities that are new. Time at HGS passes all too quickly so even when it starts to get darker and colder, know the reasons for getting out of bed in the morning.

Stay well and safe.

Be kind to yourself and others.

Best wishes,

Dr Bird