SO WHAT sorts of things do you hate?" asks workshop leader John Biggs as he circles a classroom at Drummond Community High School in Edinburgh.
This is day two of the Honda School of Dreams – a thinking skills workshop sponsored by the Japanese car company which this month made its first appearance in Scotland's schools.
A mix of secondary and primary pupils and teachers are taking par
t in this pilot project, which is both an experiment in education and an exercise in corporate responsibility.
Drummond is one of two schools in Scotland to be chosen to host the two-day workshop, used in English schools in both the state and the private sector over the past three years.
At first sight the pupils appear to be enjoying themselves. Kamran Ali, 11, from Abbey Hill Primary School, says: "It is more fun doing this than working at maths and spelling at school. We have been learning about people who achieve their dreams."
The event begins with a juggling class. "It is to learn that to achieve anything you have to fail," explains workshop leader Emma Hetherington. "You can't learn to juggle without failing first – and it is one of Mr Honda's sayings that success is 99 per cent failure. We talk about Honda's hydrogen car as a real example. But we are not here to sell cars."
Amy Milner, 12, from Leith Walk Primary, enjoyed the introduction. "It is used to show you that no-one can juggle right away," she says. "You have to get it wrong to get it right."
But this is just the starting point for a two-day workshop that includes problem-solving exercises, group discussions and teamwork.
On day two, the teams are asked to think of things they hate and to consider solutions and ways they could test their ideas. They discuss ways of ending poverty, animal cruelty and racism, while the teachers' groups choose to consider drug use and vandalism.
The events are structured to nurture creative thinking – encouraging teams to think up crazy notions then using them to suggest ideas that could actually work. The teams make presentations and assess what has gone badly and what well. At the end of two days the plan is to come up with a community project to be run by the school in conjunction with a local Honda dealership.
Workshop leader John Biggs, set up the School of Dreams as a way of teaching English as a foreign language in Chinese universities and later adapted it for use in schools. The workshops ran in 78 schools south of the Border last year.
"In 2000 the curriculum in England changed and teachers were being asked to teach thinking skills – but they had not been trained to deliver it," he says.
School of Dreams was already selling workshops to individual schools and local authorities in England before developing a partnership with Honda, which enabled it to expand.
"Honda seemed to be using similar themes in their TV adverts," Mr Biggs continues. "We got to know the company and they were keen to get involved in education.
"Schools are being urged to encourage enterprise and develop links with industry but for some that is quite a challenge."
But there are inevitable concerns about the ways companies are making inroads into education. A huge image of Asimo the Honda robot stands at the front of the class and he is also pictured on the front of the course leaflet given to the teachers.
Children make dream catchers and are encouraged to think about dreaming in a way that neatly ties in with the Honda slogan, "The Power of Dreams".
Jon Stembridge, head of design and technology at Drummond and one of the teachers taking the class, says: "I don't think the branding has been too in-your-face but it is definitely there. The worry is you are targeting the potential car owners of the future."
However, Drummond head Jon Reid believes the pilot project could be the shape of things to come: "It is really attractive for us because the Curriculum for Excellence is all about excellent teaching and active learning," he says. "Honda has sponsored this but it is not Honda that is coming and working with the children, it is School of Dreams. I think it would be really naive to think Honda is coming to influence us or influence our parents to buy Honda cars."
He continues: "I know some people do have issues with commercial companies being involved in education but I think we just have to get real and accept that if something good is going to come out of this that is going to be of benefit to our pupils then why not?"
As part of the legacy of the project the school has teamed up with a local business, in this case Graeme P Chatham Ltd Honda dealership in Abbeyhill. The company, which had been subject to graffiti attacks in the past,
now plans to hold a competition with the school to create a design for its garage doors to deter the vandals.
In the spirit of co-operation Campbell Chatham, managing director of Chatham Motors, also joined the students and teachers for the two-day workshop. He says: "I was like a fish out of water at first, but I really enjoyed it. It is really humbling when you hear 11-year-olds coming up with better answers to questions than the adults."
A spokesman for the Scottish Government says sponsorship in schools is a matter of judgment for local authorities, but adds that it "should be consistent with schools' duties and responsibilities including health promotion and pupil safety."
PR guru Mark Borkowski says the workshop was an example of corporate responsibility, but was less sure of its aims. He adds: "If you had the same format from something like a fast-food manufacturer it would be easier to see what they were doing.
"I wouldn't say it is brainwashing, but it is part of a drive to create a relationship with a brand at a young age."
