The importance of endeavour

While we recognise our moral commitment to promote and foster positive and healthy relationships, with collaboration at the core and championed within school culture, aims and values – is this enough?

What role does endeavour have in shaping the future generations? Has endeavour faded into the background amidst the ever-changing face of our climate and context?

In response to Dom’s talk, education is a human endeavour and, at the core of a relationship, is the ability for an individual to connect and understand another. In essence, to have the ability to collide ideas with another person and thereby enabling the human spirit must not be underestimated; particularly as the strength and ability of a human continues to be challenged against the growing presence of AI.

Endeavour instils the sense of community and togetherness – its presence and visibility most recently evident in our response during the pandemic lockdowns. In a school, it is the ability to help each child understand who they are, in the context of a group and on their own; preparing the individual for life and the future.

Through prioritising endeavour in schools, our pupils become leaders of and responsible for their own character development. It exposes them to decision making and forces them to make informed decisions. It enriches the power of collaboration, helping them to interact with others and to better understand themselves, our world, and their place in the world.

Through recognising the importance of endeavour in character development, it’s time we focus on developing the skills and aptitudes that we know our pupils will need. The skills and aptitudes that make us human: the intrapersonal, the interpersonal, collaboration, confidence and creativity.