Survival expert and global explorer, Bear Grylls, told CNBC that role models including his father taught him that there’s more to life than just the highest points.
“I feel like in many fields I stand on the shoulders of giants like that in my career and that some of my early and later teachers were my inspirations. I think my late father. also a big influence,” Grylls said.
Grylls, speaking ahead of International Education Day on 24 January, said he was not an A student during his time in the UK, explaining that he did not always return home with excellent school report.
But what Grylls also remembers is the reaction he received from his father.
“I’ve never been at the top of anything whether athletic or academic, when I come back those things don’t matter to him. [my father]”he said.
“I remember him saying, ‘are you happy, do you love what you do, have you found something you really love, you know, your relationship with those people , with your good friends like?’ And those are always more important.”
Personal development gap
Recently released Grylls BecomingX Educationthe latest initiative from his global learning and development organization, BecomingX, which he co-founded in 2020. It is a new digital platform for schools to help them teach. life skills and personal development.
Speaking more broadly about education today, he said that governments around the world need to recognize that there is a gap for personal growth in schools, adding that “we fail in those who do not. young” if we only focus on academics and natural talent.
“I think first of all the government has to realize that there is a loophole, you know. The personal development aspect of the curricula is very important, it’s really important, and it has to be understood that most of the existing shows, you know, and they’re basically pretty boring,” he said.
Bear Grylls at the Royal Festival Hall on November 23, 2021 in London, England.
Dave J Hogan | Getty Images Entertainment | beautiful pictures
Governments must also set aside time in school curricula for such new programmes, Grylls said.
“We hear it over and over again from schools, when we try it out there, students love it. Schools, teachers love it, because it helps them do their jobs well, and 99 % of teachers are so amazing, they said.
“But if there’s no place in the curriculum, there’s no timetable, you know, kids aren’t being served. So I think at the government level, the support it has for us, is visible. the power of BecomingX, but there should also be room for it and making sure that schools that can’t afford it can afford it,” he added.
Covid crisis
International businesses that have funded his initiative for schools include Amazon and Capita.
The foundation has also established the BecomingX Foundation to “really empower schools around the world, even those that can’t afford to have access to this fund,” Grylls said. Programs teach a range of skills including leadership, teamwork, problem solving, communication, resilience, and mental health.
The TV star and best-selling author of more than 90 books says the show’s launch has come at the right time, in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.
“In a way, this BecomingX pandemic comes at the perfect time. You know, it took us three years to build this program with all of the people who inspired it and to be able to launch BecomingX Education right now, where young people need these skills, [it] feels really right and it’s surprising to see such a positive uptake and response from young people,” he said.
