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CHILDREN ALWAYS WANT TO KNOW WHY, especially at that philosophical age from 7 to 14. Our programmes work with the grain of their curiosity to help them explore the deeper significance of the subjects they study every day. Every day, they use words and mean things, but why does that work? They find out facts but why are the facts what they are?
Our programmes give your students a chance to enquire into matters that are usually "under the surface" of curriculum subjects. Our expertise helps them to see the ideas and theories beneath. Through finding the "why" in every subject, we can deepen and broaden students' whole perspective on a subject and help you make learners into empowered thinkers.
Whether you want to offer extra challenge to gifted students, or to offer broader perspective to your whole class, our approach is accessible, interactive, fun, responsive and strongly child-centred. Everything we do branches from a specific part of the curriculum.
What's on offer?
We offer eight programmes that we deliver in schools based in or near Greater London.
You can spend a day exploring how meaning works, making up songs, airing complex questions about how true truth is, inventing compelling stories or getting to grips with how political power works. All the time, students will be inputting into conversation, generating practical outcomes, playing games and generally having fun while tackling some very big and useful ideas.
For students across the UK (including London) we offer shorter virtual versions of our programmes, either via email and our website or via videoconferencing to subscribers of Global Leap. Teachers facilitate an electronic interaction between the students and a tutor (ranging from a single 30-40 minute session to small interactions over a month).
Who is it for?
Our programmes come in two basic "flavours". Firstly, we offer our programmes to classes of mixed ability. These deal with all the whys of each subject.
Secondly, we have created customised "gifted and talented" versions of our programmes, which offer a high degree of challenge and more sophisticated concepts to students who need that.
We also offer INSET and a scheme of work for each programme, to help teachers add in a "find the why" approach to their teaching.
What does it cost and how do I sign up?
You can contact us by email tim@findthewhy.com, or call 077 9960 8220 (leave a message if you can't talk to me direct). Our whole day activities cost from £20-30 per student, and our virtual options have varying costs.
DID YOU KNOW that schools in London now have control of their own budgets for gifted and talented provision? Before, free resources came via London Gifted and Talented, paid for by a central budget, but that has now changed. Ask your head teacher for more details, as you may have money you didn't know you had for this kind of resource!
Who's behind the why?
Find The Why is run by Tim Stuart Saward, formerly a programme leader at London Gifted and Talented and former e-learning Manager at The British Library. You can find more information about Tim at his website
Tim works with other experienced tutors and content designers to develop his programmes, including Helen O'Riain (freelance writer and teacher, specialising in language), Jude Sanders (freelance writer of content and programme designer, specialising in science).
We are all fully CRB checked, all insured to work with children, and all fully trained in child protection issues, and very child-centred in our approach.
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OUR PROGRAMMES
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Why do words mean?
[literacy] Explore semantics and etymology, and get a whole new way to look at language.
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Why do animals differ?
[science] Explore the mechanisms of evolution and selection.
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Why have government?
[citizenship] Who has power? Who's in charge? How does power and influence work? Explores why the reality of government is different than we sometimes assume.
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Why tell stories?
[literacy/creativity] - What are the rules of narrative? What makes a good story? Let's write one and tell it.
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Why are facts true?
[research/science] How do we know what to believe? How can we check that we know what we think we know? Includes avoiding the pitfalls of statistics (numeracy), and verifying truth claims (science and critical thinking).
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Why is music musical?
[music/science/maths] We know it can change our feelings, but why? Why are we affected by a sensation of meaning in music?
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INSET: Why find the why?
[for teachers] Introducing our method of exploring the 'why' questions in a subject, so that students' understanding (and our own) can be deepened beyond the basic facts and figures.
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WHY NOT...? (OTHER PROGRAMMES)
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Why not... make a podcast?
Students make their own podcast on any subject in one school day.
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Why not... write a musical?
Students create a musical from their own ideas in one day.
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