What is a "well rounded" child in educational terms? And how does one become one?

[Santasfakebeard]

Just that. I see "all rounder" or well rounded mentioned on here all the time & I'm just wondering what that or "well rounded" means in educational terms.
What type of child is generally well rounded?

It means a range of skills and interests.

Does well academically across the subjects, but also plays an instrument/a sport/is in the school play/on the school council/has interests outside of school/does well socially etc.

It's in comparison to a child who is for example, massively academically gifted but doesn't do anything else. Or a child who excels in maths and sciences, but struggles in essay based subjects, for example.

An academic child who reads, does a sport, plays an instrument.

For me well rounded means good at everything or at least tries

A child who is average to above average in academics, but also does a selection of extra curricular activities (sports, music, drama, student leadership, volunteering, Duke of Edinburgh, art) and/or has a range of interests.

Rounded students don't have to do everything but because they have a range of skills and interests they tend to get along with a lot of people.

It sounds much better to be an all rounder as opposed to highly academic or sporty or popular.

Obviously it is not possible for every child to be an all rounder but it seems to be the best sort of "type" (I know that is a badly chosen word but it's all I can think of!)
Are all rounders more common in private schools?

All rounders vary so much. It's quite a broad profile.

Some will do all their stuff in school, others do some in school (such as sport) but have music lessons out of school. Some will be involved in student leadership in school, whilst others will develop leadership through coaching younger children in sport/music/helping at a children's group at their place of worship or in the community.
In my experience they're often personable and wonderful to teach.

The state/private question is oversimplified in my experience. On the whole privately educated children are more likely to be rounded because the schools allow that and they're likely to have parents who value having well rounded children. In many respects they're no different to similar children and families in the state sector: well rounded parents with a range of interests tend to support their own children to be well rounded.

What the state sector has that independent doesn't are the families where the parents aren't rounded or interested in much, don't value education much and so their children aren't exposed to many opportunities.

This is the perceived wisdom, hence lots of parents aspiring to that for their children. I would add another perspective, though, which is that we do also need experts and specialists. My DS was never an all rounder. He excelled at maths, science and computer programming. He is now in his element reading computer science at Cambridge, in the company of lots of other students who were also not all rounders at school. Don't panic if you get an expert!

That's a very good point too.

All-rounder can also be a bit derogatory, akin to 'jack of all trades, master of none', in circles where elitism is valued.

@Santasfakebeard "Are all rounders more common in private schools?"

Well, they are more common in the middle class/generally privileged demographic because well roundedness involves financial and time investment from parents.1

That's also a very good point.
@CurlewKate unfortunately I think money has a lot to do with it.

Well rounded = co curriculars
So, all the hobbies and interests shite for their CV
As well as academic smarts, some of the following:

form rep for student council
prefect
head pupil/deputy head pupil/senior prefect
homework/study hub help
assistant librarian
ambassador roles (literacy, anti-bullying, LGBT alliance, environment)
sports team captain
sports team member
charity fundraising
cadet/scout/St. John's ambulance
Duke of Edinburgh award scheme
Subject clubs: chess/maths/science/history/art/drama/geography/MFL etc
Bands
Choir
community volunteering
young enterprise equivalent
internal/outside competitions
Senior Leadership Award
STEM projects
Local projects
Helping out at Intake Evenings, Concerts etc

Closing the gap/levelling up especially for Pupil Premium (FSM) students =
Culture Capital

In other words, most schools are trying to provide all these opportunities as part of their school offers whilst trying to avoid costs to parents/carers

Some of the above roles are few and far between - only a set number can be reps or prefects for example

However, if the students are motivated enough/encouraged/self-starters, in theory they could pick up five after school clubs or the odd lunchtime club and try to join one sport, that would give them enough to pad out their CV/be deemed a student who was a "whole child"

Now tell that to mine (who has only and will only ever attend one club and that was with great reluctance/cattle prod).
They are socially awkward/lackadaisical/want to stay under the radar/stressed with no desire to add anything to a hard enough as it is timetable in a challenging state school.

I think there are 2 types-

1. kids who are just good at everything- sport, academics, music etc.
2. have-a-go-hero types who just launch themselves at everything and get stuck in.

The latter are some of my favourite people ( not to say I don’t like the former). Their enthusiasm for life makes them a lot of fun and because they don’t really mind the outcome, they tend to be quite inclusive.

A child who mixes with a range of people from different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

Sadly to be an "all rounder" generally requires money and parents who provide acceess to cultural capital ie a range of sports/music/arts opportunities above and beyond academic studies.
Thinking about it though there are very few of DDs friends who are genuinely all rounders ie good at sports/acedemic/arts etc. DDs private school definitely tries to foster the "have a go and have fun" mentality eg DD who really can't sing has just joined up for the school choir because she says they always look like they are having fun. The school put everyone forward to play for the school in sporting comps and it genuinely doesn't matter whether you are in A team or C team, it is the taking part that matters.

It's a way of excluding poor/immigrant/not-quite-quite kids who might ace the maths exam or do brilliantly in English but can't afford to practice the violin or go skiing, or know what the approved hobbies are.

It's not just that of course, but that's a big part of it.

Years ago I read an piece about how US universities in the '20s started to try to recruit more well rounded kids because the wanted to keep the number of Jews down (Isaac Rubenstein from Moscow who grew up in a tenement in Brooklyn might be brilliant at chess, but his parents couldn't afford to take him horse-riding). Has left me slightly jaded about the whole concept ever since.

Always bear in mind that universities are now rightly very restricted in what they pay attention to in Personal Statements. It used to be a very discriminatory process.

I can't see how our education system can possibly put out any well rounded children these days.

It absolutely can. Lots of clubs where dc help to run them. Definitely joining a choir or doing drama. No instrument to buy and fun. Debating groups - free and very useful. I’ve always found the dc with the most to offer aren’t always the brightest but they are engaged. They are enthusiastic. They want to expand what they do. They willingly take part. Universities don’t care about this but confidence when being interviewed for jobs comes from having something to talk about and engaging with the interviewer. So the most useful aspects of school help gain confidence.

@TizerorFizz You obviously have no idea of the complications of some children's lives.

Don't have SEN.

All rounder and well rounded mean different things. An all rounder is someone who is good at all things, with no particular specialism, like the jack of all trades thing a pp mentioned. Well rounded means a general appreciation for the wider world and how other people work. So I think you can have a well rounded expert - someone who has a specialism but has other lower level interests and can ‘take part’, or you can have an expert that is obsessive to the exclusion of all else and no interest in other people and what they do/are good at.

well, that’s exactly the point. well-rounded requires parental involvement. And generally lots of it.