Myths can’t be translated as they did in their ancient soil. We can only find our own meaning in our own time.
On Monday I was invited to become a merman, or Neptune King of the Seas, I’m not sure which, but it was definitely an aquatically linked mythical figure. In fact, it had been an interesting visit to our Nursery class as it was pirate day and I was hailed by the most cheerful bunch of pirates that I’ve ever met. Later on in the visit I encountered penguin-based mathematics with Year 6 – also a first for me.
Schools are often places in which myths are crafted and formed. Stories are passed from one generation of pupils to another and ideas are passed down. They range from ‘maths is always hard’, ‘if you aren’t finding work difficult it isn’t rigorous enough’, to ‘class size doesn’t matter’, and ‘all of the answers are on the internet’. There is one about red dye in the swimming pool, but I won’t elaborate…
Often this story telling is a good thing, if it is generally accepted that it is a good idea to work hard then we can create a culture of rigorous study. If supporting the School’s charitable activities is considered “cool” then many benefit. As a school we want to build confidence in our pupils so that they do not have to live with myths that they may have picked up on over the years. Some myths are worth preserving and others should be busted. As Years 9 and 11 are considering their subject choices for GCSE and A level I’d like to think that they do this without certain myths about which subject is particularly hard and which are of less value. What is not a myth is that pupils tend to learn better when they are doing the subjects that they find interesting and are motivated to study. I also tend to argue that it is a myth that effective study can take place when distracted by messages on phones, watching television or (more controversially) listening to music.
Yuval Noah Harari in his book ‘Sapiens’ maintains that one of the reasons that human beings have become the
dominant species is that we have an ability to create a variety of myths. These include human rights at birth, the
concept of money, the nation state, and as a consequence we can co-operate in large groups unlike other creatures,
such as ants or wolves or chimpanzees. He also states that human beings are capable of making fundamental
changes in what they believe in a very short space of time.
Learning in a school like ours allows our young people to build their own stories, to build their own myths based on
a considered reality that lead to good and will define their place in the world through their own narrative.
Nicholas Hammond
Headmaster
