Impossible or I’m possible - it's all a state of mind
Headmaster of Stafford Grammar School, Mr Pietrek, shares his views on what pupils should consider possible: When considering what kind of education we believe is important for our children, we often lose sight of the importance of creativity in favour of a system predicated on the idea of academic ability as the be all and end all.
At Stafford Grammar School we absolutely recognise the importance of good academic outcomes but we also want to retain and continue to stimulate the creativity that is arguably squandered in so many schools.
We value highly the core subjects of Mathematics, English and the sciences but we equally value the performing arts and creative subjects that create individuality and confidence. It is often around the time that children enter secondary school that they start to become more hesitant about putting up their hands and are more worried about what others might think of them if they get the answer wrong or ask a question that some might think is silly. Subsequently, the originality of their ideas diminishes. For that very reason we establish in our Prep pupils the belief that nothing is impossible: as Audrey Hepburn said, “the word itself says I’m possible”.
Moving into the senior school there is an incredible music programme, wonderful design and technology facilities and a theatre where we put on remarkable shows every year. We continue to tell our pupils that “you’ll never come up with anything original, if you’re not prepared to be wrong.” The Harvard Professor,
Howard Gardner, was absolutely spot on when he said ‘Don’t ask how intelligent X is but ask how X is intelligent.’ It is when we recognise different intelligences and seek to encourage and stimulate their creativity that we will help them discover their unique brilliance and individual talents.
If we allow creativity to be stifled, we also stifle the gift of human imagination. We need to see our creative capacities for the richness they are and to allow them to breathe and to flourish. At Stafford Grammar School, Creativity is one of our core values and I
hope you can see why. Impossible or I’m possible is all a state of mind.
