Here comes the summer sun

So, it's June and summer is nearly officially here! In between the rain showers there have been glimmers of blue skies, the warmth of the sun on your back, the sweet smell of sun cream, freshly mowed grass . . . all great signs of summer! And yet those smells are also tainted and take me back to school halls, graffiti scribbled desks and the stuffy exam silence except for the tick tick tick of the clock on the wall!! I reckon homes up and down the land are waiting for the end of the month and release from the torment of May and June being timetabled by all those exams. Its tough old month for our teenagers, who when they are resting feel they should be revising, and when revising feel they want to be resting! I wonder if there is a particular subject that you remember fearing when it came to exams or even lessons. Most people who know me know that mine was always always maths. I do readily admit that numbers and my brain do not go hand in hand. However, it would appear that so do many others. A report out today reckons that the British are uniquely happy to admit being bad at maths and that it is almost fashionable to be someone who can?t do numbers. The same acceptance however doesn?t lie in being illiterate . . . kinda interesting I guess. This link to BBC homepage sees a physics teacher out on the streets asking people to have a go at the following long division 19[8968. Do you reckon you could have a go? Click on the link and scroll down, play the clip to find out the answer. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7435023.stm. Would I have had a go if this is this lady had stopped me in the street? No, is the answer I wouldn?t! I think shying away from things we aren?t good at, or perceive ourselves not to be good at makes us normal, but can it be the most satisfying way to live? Recognising where our strengths and weaknesses lie make sense and building on our gifts and talents can only be good for our self esteem and in understanding and accepting ourselves more. I think it is from this point that we then grow in confidence and maybe branch out into our weaker areas. We see that lots with young people, who when encouraged and grown in certain aspect of their character or gifts then develop a self belief that takes them into lots of other areas and opportunities that they may not have entertained before. Why not this month, take the time to build up someone you know is hanging in there with those exams or who just needs someone to help them celebrate an aspect of who they are . . . if we give young people wings who knows where they might fly too?