Living the 'Learner Profile'

I have seen many farewell assemblies, in fact, I've seen more than I care to remember, they act like tree rings punctuating a career. Most of these have followed the same pattern - students work tirelessly up to the bitter end before they go on study leave, they revise for inordinate amounts of time, take three weeks of unforgiving IBDP exams finishing on or around May 22nd, come into school and participate in a final farewell assembly and the next day they graduate. It has been the way of things. It is this metronomic series of events that have played out in front of me for the past....let's just say many years.

The farewell assembly arrives but it invariably follows a typical routine and rhythm. The nominated student speaker, the salutatorian speaker and valedictorian speaker rather than wax lyrical about the joys of their school experience, the support of the community and their love of learning, instead they speak of the barbaric IB exams and couch their whole school experience as 'the IB is intolerable' or in the worst cases, 'school sucks'.

This year has been the most unusual in so many ways, school closure for 12 weeks, online learning, self-isolation, social distancing and for the first time in its history, no IBDP exams. So what would that mean for this year's farewell assembly? Unperturbed by not being able to host to the event face-to-face, the seniors set about arranging it using 'Google Meet' in an online domain - promising early signs. What followed was a polished, articulate, humorous, poignant and at times emotional assembly. If it is the aim of the IB programmes for students to exhibit the IB learner profile i.e. "to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity become responsible members of local, national and global communities", the farewell assembly this year certainly evidenced it.

The seniors produced a well thought out (thinkers) and well-presented (communicators) approach, they deeply reflected (reflective) on their holistic school experience and the value of it. There was meaningful thanks and gratitude (principled) extended to their parents and teachers in shaping their learning and experiences. The pragmatism required during this difficult period was presented with subtlety and humility (balanced) rather than catharsis or pathos, recognising that the COVID-19 crisis had affected others far more than them (caring). The several speakers during the assembly showed courage and conviction (risk-takers) with their insights into the ISHCMC experience, the audience acknowledging this respectfully and warmly with kind 'chat' messages and emoticons (open-minded).

As an observer of farewell assemblies in schools in different countries, cultures and contexts, I can say with authority this was by far the most authentic and honest I have ever seen. It showcased the IB learner profile attributes far more than any examinations ever could. I was reminded of a quote that has always stuck in my head from the film, 'A few good men', "you don't need a patch on your arm to have honour". Well, our seniors have certainly shown that you don't need exams to prove you are a successful learner and you categorically don't need them to show how much you have grown. That is clear to see already.

I have to wonder whether these poignant moments are a marker of shifts in education that are positive and indicate the importance of holistic learning and that what matters in schools and in education as a whole is developing students not just into being good at academics but into being good at 'life'.