Check It Out: Creating a culture where children are excited to learn

By Joan Janzen

A billboard read: My patience is basically like a gift card. Not sure how much is left on it but we can give it a try.

Teachers, who require a great deal of patience, are currently enjoying a well-deserved holiday break. Katherine Birbalsingh is a teacher from Britain who has gained recognition as the co-founder of Michaela Community School in London, which opened in 2014. Katherine grew up in Canada and moved to England when she was 15.

“We get over 800 visitors a year, mainly teachers from across the world, and they say the children are so friendly and happy,” Katherine said in an interview on UnHerd. It’s a standard inner-city school with a very diverse intake of students of various ethnic and religious backgrounds.

“We sing ‘God Save the King’ and the national anthem at the start of the day,” she explained. “We do it because in a multicultural environment we need something that binds us together. We’re all under the same umbrella of a nation.”

“The teachers encourage different groups to mix together because otherwise, children tend to just stick with their own and end up with schools where kids are in different groups based on race or religion.”

At Michaela School, the staff has the same standards for everyone. “I’ve seen firsthand in some schools children from poor backgrounds, etc., are given lower expectations,” she said. “They’re not expected to finish their homework because of their home situation or whatever. That’s not compassion; it’s hurting the child. Keep your standards high now and they’ll succeed later,” Katherine advised. “We love them enough to hold them to those high standards. Not all parents are engaged with their child’s education in the inner city. So if you as a school don’t support them, they don’t have anybody to help them.”

The school has been dubbed “the strictest school in Britain” because it uses more traditional methods. It emphasizes conservative values: personal responsibility, kindness, and gratitude. “Our children understand gratitude. No matter how little you have, you will always have more than someone else,” Katherine said.

The children are also taught the importance of sacrifice for the sake of the whole group. For example, since some of the students don’t eat beef or pork because of religious reasons, the school serves a vegetarian lunch so all the children can be together. At lunch, each child has a role to play: serving, cleaning plates, and setting the table. The children eat in groups with the food placed on the table, just like a family would do at home.

In another interview, John Anderson said he visited the school and noticed the energy, drive and engagement the teachers had with their students. “The teachers put their heart and soul into it. But my teachers say they’re less worn out than they were at other schools because they don’t deal with rudeness, back talk, or irritated parents, which are all draining,” she said.

John said he also noticed how intently the children listened to the teacher and how eager they were to answer questions. “The children you saw are in a culture where they’re excited to learn,” Katherine replied.

“They’re not considered a nerd if they’re eager to learn. It’s a culture of excitement, but you have to work at it. It requires consistency with teachers in terms of behaviour management. It takes a whole school working together to make it happen,” she added.

John said although he has seen funding and resources increase in schools, mental health problems in children continue to increase. Katherine attributed some of the mental health problems to unsupervised access to the Internet. “It’s a real danger to children,” she stressed.

“More funds can make things better, but it doesn’t solve problems,” she added. “Instead, the school may continue to do more of what they’ve always done yet have the same problems.”

She suggested they check and see what other schools are doing and get new ideas. “But it’s easier to say oh, it’s because we don’t have enough money and resources,” she noted.

She teaches her kids to become hugely resilient, to overcome obstacles and do their best so they can succeed as adults. Her life is a living example of resilience.

“For three and a half years, I worked to set up this school. I got so much criticism, you’d think I was setting up a nuclear bomb factory, not a school for inner city kids,” she said. “People were protesting, sending horrible emails and death threats.”

Her resilience has led to success. Her teaching methods seem to work, as Michaela has been rated an outstanding school that rivals the top ratings in private schools.

“A lot of people follow me on social media. I have a lot of silent supporters. Teachers visit or write me. I get emails saying I wish there were teachers like you at my school,” she concluded.

Since opening its doors in 2014, Katherine has been able to silence her critics. The school has been awarded the highest progress report during the last two years. The staff has successfully created a culture where children are excited to learn.