Developing character is as vital as qualifications

The pupil had said that when he left school he wanted to be a bricklayer. The head teacher responded by saying how he needed to raise his aspirations – rather than “just” a bricklayer he could be a businessman who owned a brick laying company.

I found this conversation deeply problematic. Alas, the boy didn’t respond with: “You could be a chief executive or director of education – do you lack aspiration too, miss?” Furthermore, what does this say to the boy whose father may well be a bricklayer?

I am not “anti-aspiration” – as professionals we should actively work with the economically disadvantaged and oppressed within society and enable them to grow as individuals and flourish. What we must not do is apply capitalist models of “success” on our young people. Instead of spending time equipping them to take their most optimum place within a capitalist society we should focus more on equipping them to critically understand the world in which they live and their place within it. Only then can the student decide whether they want to be a bricklayer or a businessman.

By contrast a good friend of mine is a quantitative analyst in the City of London who is highly qualified, highly paid and yet has decided to give it all up and become a gardener as it is more conducive to family life and his own mental health. In his mind, pruning bushes and cutting grass will bring him more joy and happiness than the thousands of pounds he could make in the city. Where in our education system do we teach this lesson?

Furthermore, we should be cautious about ascribing value to people by the jobs they hold. If the pandemic has shown us something it is that key workers – the nurses, care staff, refuse collectors, lorry drivers – have, in many ways, been the heroes of Covid-19 and all are paid far less than the head teacher I spoke to.

The challenge for us as professionals is we need to acknowledge that being average is okay. Society functions on the basis that most people are in average jobs performing averagely – and without them we would all be stuffed. How do we come to terms with the fact that we all can’t be managers or leaders and not everyone wants to be a manager or leader?

There needs to be the recognition that young people are an end in themselves. Both formal and informal education should be used not only for the attainment of knowledge but also the development of character so that individuals are able to bring happiness into their lives whether that’s through becoming an artist, gardener, cook, teacher or indeed bricklayer.

• Nathan Ward is vicar of St Margaret’s Church, Rainham, and a former youth custody deputy director