By developing 'The Cambridge Learner Attributes' students will gain the ability to get involved. Education is about so much more than passing an exam. Through years of development, students gain knowledge and learn about what is needed to successfully cope in our world, embracing all things it has to offer along with the obstacles it may throw their way and the challenges it demands. Learning and growing happen in the home and at school (a students' second home). If we take away the hours of sleep, students spend more time at school with teachers and peers than they do with their parents. Time spent at school takes up a major part of a child's life.
From a child's perspective, school, extracurricular activities, and home are part of the continuous experience of life. From the perspective of teachers and parents, those experiences may seem more differentiated and are thus treated separately. However, if the adults in a child's life approach his or her growth as a collaboration following a clear developmental path, every child will have a better chance at a life filled with choices and the skills to achieve goals and confidence to try new things.
As educators, we must put more emphasis on holistic learning, than mere academics. We would like to see our students involved in or at least try a variety of activities, such as individual and team sports, fitness, music, art, drama, clubs, CCAs, and so forth. Our goal is for our students to become extremely well-rounded, so they can broaden the horizon that awaits. By having the confidence to try new things, life can become more interesting. Joining in on activities with others is much better than being left on the sidelines to watch.
To conquer this, students need to gain many positive attributes. They need to become confident, responsible, responsive, respectful, reflective, and innovative. Along with becoming problem solvers and analytical thinkers with the 21st Century skills necessary to persevere through future challenges they may face. We won't always be there to keep watch, so when it is time for them to leave, we need peace of mind that they have the skills to survive and the integrity to do the right thing, even when none of us are there to monitor.
At Anand Singapore International School in Chennai (ASIS) we use the Cambridge curriculum for Secondary up to year 10, which includes external assessments (Cambridge Checkpoint) in year 6 and year 8. Following is Cambridge IGCSE for grades 9 and 10. Cambridge has an extremely solid foundation along with mandatory periodic written assessments, enabling teachers and parents to take inventory quite often and intervene if deemed necessary. These are tools for teachers and parents but moreover, they are to assist students during the ups and downs of their educational journey. ASIS and all schools in the SIS Group of Schools, use Cambridge in Secondary because we believe it is the best choice for students going through the sometimes difficult years of adolescence and just being a teenager.