Being versatile means being ‘able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities’. If we look at someone like Emma Raducanu, we see a role model who has shown great versatility – in practicing many sports, adapting her game and taking risks in life – helping her achieve success as the female champion of the US open this year.
At Rugby School Thailand, versatility is one of our six core ‘learner profile’ characteristics, woven into all areas of teaching and learning. Why? Because being versatile allows students to employ more of their talents and achieve higher performance levels.
Practising their versatility
In the same way that our teachers need to be versatile in their teaching methods, our students benefit hugely from having the versatility to adapt to new ideas and take risks, and grow in the process. This contributes to them becoming independent, life-long learners.
Schools across the world have witnessed the versatility of students over the past couple of years. We’ve seen students adapt from online to classroom and back more than we’d ever thought they would. Even just a new school year brings the need for versatility; a new school routine, new subjects, new areas of the curriculum, meeting new teachers and working with new peers. These are all ways in which children are practising their versatility.
In terms of nurturing this characteristic in a more considered way, Rugby School Thailand embeds it into every single area of learning. For example, in computing, students can experience different platforms and hardware, and are invited to select the most appropriate to the situation and need. In English, students are encouraged to ask questions, take risks with fresh ideas and be brave enough to share then. In Science, students continually master new techniques and apparatus in the experiments they do.
The art of being versatile
The art of being versatile is evergreen in learning at Rugby School Thailand, because versatility is a valuable skill for life. Whatever age or stage you’re at, you can still hone this characteristic, so take a moment to ask yourself these key questions:
- In what ways are you versatile?
- How can you become more versatile?
