It hasn’t been all bad, let’s appreciate some of the positives.
There were times when some of us were touched very deeply by the Corona virus, there have been some frustrations when things didn’t go as we wanted or hoped. There have been times when we have been scared or anxious or bad tempered and grumpy.
This period of lockdown has taught us many things, some positive and some not so. But I would like to focus on the positive because on reflection, overwhelmingly, there has been good.
Learning – teachers have had to develop new ways of teaching, where short punch delivery became the order of the day with small group or 1 to 1 intervention to help. PowerPoints with a voice over, short films – they have had to be creative to ensure that pupils got the broad education that we know is beneficial.
Independence – in a classroom full of children it is very easy to be there for a pupil’s every need, the moment we see them pause or struggle, we are there to support. But we have not brought into question whether this is this the right approach? Online, children have had to be more independent, they cannot ask for help every 2 minutes and the phrase – “I don’t get it” cannot feature, so pupils have had to think for longer and figure it out. They have become better and more independent learners. Let’s not lose this.
Sharing joy – sending pictures and letters to teachers, and me – their headmistress, about what has been done, creative projects, drama, writing , it is all now shared more freely. There is a greater openness about learning.
Realising the importance of friends – the children really missed their friends, the giggles, the gossip the playing and figuring out new games. They had great form times on-line, and the Virtual playground was a hit, the chatter in your channels … but it’s just not the same. I hope that we will all learn to value and appreciate each other just a little bit more.
Community – children missing school and coming to visit a closed building, a touch stone, their security – that is how important this small school community is, it is not just a place it is a vessel filled with laughter, conversation, respect and love.
We learned to appreciate others, our wonderful key workers, many of whom are people we know personally.
Parents were able to witness the joy of children’s learning which is why teachers get out of bed every morning, because it is wonderful.
And how tech savvy are we now! What seemed alien and unthinkable just 6 months ago is now second nature, and I believe that we will cherry pick the good bits and see how we can incorporate them into our curriculum. After all that is what we do, and what we teach our children to do – reflect and refine.
We realised that our community and our relationships and friendships are more precious than we ever believed. School is a very special place, a place where we have happy children, we set high expectations, it is a place where pupils are unafraid to share their ideas and opinions, a place where friendships are forged into our hearts and ultimately it is a place where futures are made.
Headshipjourney 