I Can and I Am

Rising up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive

Eye of the Tiger, Survivor, 1982

 

Just before half term King’s enjoyed the company of a remarkable man called James Shone. James, whom I first met a couple of years ago, is one of the most inspirational people I have ever met.

One day in the summer of 2013, James was about to head off on a celebratory family holiday in Greece having been appointed Headmaster of a lovely little prep school near Bath. Having booked a medical for his revered new post on the morning of the flight, James waved goodbye to his wife and three young children and told them he would be back soon to drive them to the airport.

Something came up at the medical and James was immediately referred for emergency tests. He was then airlifted to hospital where he underwent 28 hours of surgery for a major brain tumour. James later found out the surgeon had considered the operation pretty futile, it being so unlikely he would survive it.

Eighty precarious days later, James returned home blind and partly paralysed in a wheelchair. The dream of Headship was over and James had to contemplate a shortened life of discomfort and disability. Given such a state of affairs, I imagine most of us would simply want to crawl under a thick duvet and ignore everyone else whilst wallowing in monumental self-pity. Not James.

Instead, he decided to make the most of his epically horrific experience and tell as many people as possible about his personal beliefs relating to education and the development of young people. All beliefs that resonate powerfully with my own philosophy of life and education.

Embodied in his phrase ‘I can and I am’, James’ key message is that young people should be proud of who they are as individuals (I am) and that everyone has the ability to contribute positively to the world in their own way (I can). Needless to say he also advocates the vital importance of dealing with and learning from setbacks and failure in life.

Drawing on Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences and Carol Dweck’s growth mindset concept, James believes everyone is gifted in their own way and that perseverance in the face of adversity is key to one’s personal development and well-being.

If this all sounds a bit heavy, James’ talk is actually as uplifting and funny as it is informative and enlightening. His story of striding brazenly through a family’s picnic in a park, and being ordered by his daughter to go back and apologise, is one of the funniest things I have ever heard. You have to admire his ability to laugh at himself and not take himself too seriously; perhaps another essential attribute in life.

I really can’t do justice to James’ incredible story nor the muscle of his messages in these words so I’d implore anyone interested to come and see him later this year when we get him back to speak to the pupils of the senior school. You will almost certainly leave inspired and also perhaps irrevocably changed.