This week, we welcomed Mr James Shone to the College for a series of presentations and PSHEE talks. Spanning across two days, Mr Shone gave a Chapel address to our junior and senior cohorts, before continuing his talks in greater depth in the Lecture Theatre for certain groups of pupils.
On Tuesday 11 October, Mr Shone started with a talk to Years 7-10 in Chapel and then gave PSHEE presentations to our Year 9 and Year 10 pupils. He highlighted the importance of an individual's ‘balloon of self-belief' and more importantly, how one could inflate their balloon, as well as inflate the balloons of others around them. At lunchtime, Mr Shone spoke to our scholars with a Q&A rounding up the presentation. And today, Wednesday 12 October, Mr Shone began the day with a Senior Chapel address, before heading to Shiplake Primary School to talk to the pupils there.
Following a 16-year teaching career and as a result of taking a medical check-up due to being offered a job as a Headmaster in 2012, Mr Shone was diagnosed with a brain tumour. This led to 27 hours of brain surgery, which unfortunately meant he lost much of his sight, keeping perhaps just 5% of his vision. Since then, Mr Shone has had to 'relearn' how to do many of the daily actions we perhaps take for granted.
His focus now is on spreading the messages of ‘I Can & I Am’ to as many people as possible. In essence, the goal of his charity is to inspire confidence in every individual to enable them to know who they are and what they can do. An inspirational educational speaker, Mr Shone visits hundreds of schools and businesses every year speaking to educators, parents, pupils and employees.
‘I Can & I Am’ is a charity with a passion to inspire confidence. At the heart of his message, Mr Shone uses a balloon to show how a person’s self-belief can be inflated, and also deflated, aptly calling this ‘balloons of self-belief'. In a world today where young people, much like our pupils at Shiplake College, face constant pressure to obtain high academic results and live up to social media expectations, mental health management was one of the key takeaway messages from his talks. A message, especially during a week where we marked World Mental Health Day (10 October), that is still important as ever.
Also at the centre of his presentation is the idea of ‘four pillars’:
- Belonging – through mutual encouragement.
- Moving Forward – making progress, one small step at a time.
- We are all uniquely made – finding your purpose; finding your passion.
- Hope – A feeling that something good is going to happen.
Each pillar is a way of inflating a person’s balloon of self-belief and, as was shown throughout the talks, Mr Shone’s passion is for us all to recognise that education is about the whole individual, and not just academic performance. Furthermore, self-belief, even in the smallest amount, can help provide a safe haven from the daily pressures and challenges that we face. For those who struggle, particularly those who have a mental health problem, it is perhaps even more challenging hence why it is so important that everyone plays their part.
We thank Mr Shone for taking the time to visit us at the College and for delivering inspiring and motivational presentations to our pupils. And, as Mr Shone says, it’s about the little things:
“It’s all about taking small steps. Small steps, and small things, can make a big difference. Look up. Look forward. And look outward.”
