The Kingdom of Bhutan famously developed a Gross National Happiness Index designed to measure the happiness of its population, with the king declaring that GNH was far more important than Gross Domestic Product. Presumably the attempt to quantify happiness was made on the basis that ‘you can’t fix what you can’t measure’. I’m not qualified to comment on the effectiveness of Bhutan’s approach but I do know that at school we can’t always count the things that count. Some things are easily measured (exam results, enrolments, participation levels, staff/student ratios etc) but a school which scored highly on all these important indicators could still be falling short in significant ways.
Are girls valued for who they are, and not for their achievements? Are they kind and responsible and honest? Are they developing courage and integrity? Are they learning how to handle a difficult situation, and to recover from mistakes? Do they persevere despite discomfort and stress? These are the questions which forecasts, KPIs and indices must never displace.
So how do we know whether we are doing well on these intangibles? It comes down to knowing our girls. Staff observe them closely, reflect carefully on their relationships and behaviour, and constantly communicate with each other to assess the girls’ needs and progress. There are many conversations behind the scenes about if and when we should intervene to praise, assist, guide or chide.
If we were to have a Gross School Happiness index there is no doubt that some of our data would be reminding us that we can do better (but the last day of term is not the time to dwell on those!). There are, however, plenty of moments that tell us that the girls are growing in exactly the way we would hope. We could point to the many achievements and successes – even this week’s wonderful Showcase Concert would provide a long list – but here are some examples from the last few months which go deeper than prizes and awards. (The girls know who they are.)
- Yesterday, I came across a group of Year 12s waiting patiently for their teacher so they could present her with a card and enormous bunch of flowers. They told me that their teacher loves her subject so much that ‘she makes us want to love it that much too!’. They said how much they appreciated her making herself available throughout the holidays, and setting aside ten hours on a Sunday to meet with them individually and help them prepare an upcoming presentation. When the teacher (finally) emerged she was taken totally by surprise, and we captured a lovely photo of the group with her holding the flowers and smiling through a few tears.
- A few weeks ago, I received a letter from a lady in her 80s who had fallen over at a park in Mosman and had been rescued by ‘two Queenwood angels’ who took care of her, rang her family and kept her company until help arrived. She was subsequently hospitalised for a week but wrote as soon as possible to thank her anonymous Samaritans. With a little detective work, we managed to identify and thank the two sisters involved.
- Earlier in the year one of our younger girls in the Senior School was present during a group chat online when the banter and teasing went too far. She had the courage to speak up and tell the group to stop the teasing, which they tried to dismiss as ‘just a joke’ that she was too humourless to appreciate. Nevertheless, she persisted; and they stopped.
- I asked a girl who joined us mid-year what differences she had noticed in her first few weeks at Queenwood. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘at Queenwood I can ask anyone in my class if I can borrow a pencil. I can just ask anyone, even if I don’t know them very well.’
Numbers don’t capture these moments – in fact they are largely unseen; but they are real, and at the heart of what we want for our girls.
We look forward to seeing the girls again in July, and wish you a safe and holiday over the next three weeks.
Ms Elizabeth Stone
Principal