Go to the front of the class

Grace, now a mum herself, told me she hadn’t been especially interested in school.

After leaving, she spent several years trying to work out what she wanted to do. Then she spotted an advertisement for a course in an area that interested her.

Her experience of learning changed completely.

There she was, sitting at the front of the class, engaged and wanting to take in everything she could. She enjoyed it all. Came top of her class.

I love that image. Same person, very different relationship with learning. And something Grace could be proud of.

If your teenager seems uninterested in school, it can be hard to imagine them sitting at the front of a class, eager to learn more. Grace’s story gives us a glimpse of how that can change when something catches their interest.

Of course, you’d love to help them find that something, just as Grace now wants to do for her own children. But knowing where to start can be tricky for parents and teenagers alike, especially when much of the world of work is still unfamiliar.

That’s why having a chance to see different kinds of work can give them something to get curious about. Even a simple “I’d like to know more about that” is a place to begin.

Grace’s enthusiasm was there to be discovered. Finding an area that interested her gave it somewhere to go.

I wonder how many parents would be surprised by what their teenager could become keen to learn.

Grace isn’t her real name.