Experience during an unprecedented experience...
It's been a while since I have written anything. The Easter break gave me an opportunity to hugely reduce screen time and I took it. Being sat in front of my laptop for hours a day is hurting my eyes, my back and my mind!
While I've been away from a laptop screen, I've still been checking emails and Twitter to keep up with the news and hear about ideas people have been having to help my virtual teaching. One major reason for me loving the profession comes from the shared wisdom! There are so many incredible practitioners with invaluable advice to help you move forward and learn constantly.
The current situation is obviously a difficult one with a lot of people having a lot of opinions on what is the right or wrong thing to do. With time over the break, I started thinking about the approaches people are taking at the moment and how varied they could be. There are people teaching virtual classes online using video; others are setting booklets of work upfront and checking in regularly; and there are others who are setting quizzes online to be self marked. There are so many options which are also largely dependent on the communities, the subject being taught, and the individual kids we are teaching.
Something that concerns me is the apparent steadfast belief that some people in education seem to have about their being a 'right' way to do this. How can there be a 'right' way to do something when the consequences and impact of our current teaching won't be discovered for years to come? The actions of teachers and leadership in this moment can't be measured in a few months, let alone a few weeks. The only thing we can, and should be offering our students at the moment is consistency. Their world has been turned upside down: they are not seeing their friends, they may be watching their family go out to work or to the supermarket, terrified they will bring this virus home, and their time outside is limited by the government. It's a world us adults can't get our heads around, let alone children and teenagers.
I fear there is a school of thought which insists that those with the most experience know all the answers. I am not denying that those with more teaching experience are absolute founts of knowledge and support - but in this completely unprecedented situation, everyone is on an even playing field. When it comes to the 'best way' for students to learn right now, we are all looking for answers. I would hate to think that just because someone is still in their PGCE year or is 'only' an NQT, their opinions will be ignored or brushed over until someone with 'more experience' decides it's a good idea.
I have heard a lot of people say that this virus has put us all in the same boat; this couldn't be more true within the field of education. But ultimately, we all have the same goal: to protect and encourage the students we teach.
A school - in my opinion - should always be a place where young children can be children. They have clear boundaries, there are routines in place, and they have to meet expectations. But within all of that, they are also aware (very deep down) that all of those rules are there for their own benefit - for their protection and to help them prepare for the big wide world. A school is full of adults who care about them and believe in their huge potential. So now they don't have that environment to go to five days a week, we need to offer it in another way.
However a school or teacher chooses to do this doesn't matter. What matters is that they feel important and cared for still. I worry that people working in education are working extremely hard to do the 'best' for the students, that we are simply confusing them; Asking them to keep up with a concoction of different approaches and situations just because we are trying to be the 'best provider.'
Maybe I've just had too much time on my hands to think about it all. Or perhaps I just don't have enough experience to understand the current situation...
While I've been away from a laptop screen, I've still been checking emails and Twitter to keep up with the news and hear about ideas people have been having to help my virtual teaching. One major reason for me loving the profession comes from the shared wisdom! There are so many incredible practitioners with invaluable advice to help you move forward and learn constantly.
The current situation is obviously a difficult one with a lot of people having a lot of opinions on what is the right or wrong thing to do. With time over the break, I started thinking about the approaches people are taking at the moment and how varied they could be. There are people teaching virtual classes online using video; others are setting booklets of work upfront and checking in regularly; and there are others who are setting quizzes online to be self marked. There are so many options which are also largely dependent on the communities, the subject being taught, and the individual kids we are teaching.
Something that concerns me is the apparent steadfast belief that some people in education seem to have about their being a 'right' way to do this. How can there be a 'right' way to do something when the consequences and impact of our current teaching won't be discovered for years to come? The actions of teachers and leadership in this moment can't be measured in a few months, let alone a few weeks. The only thing we can, and should be offering our students at the moment is consistency. Their world has been turned upside down: they are not seeing their friends, they may be watching their family go out to work or to the supermarket, terrified they will bring this virus home, and their time outside is limited by the government. It's a world us adults can't get our heads around, let alone children and teenagers.
I fear there is a school of thought which insists that those with the most experience know all the answers. I am not denying that those with more teaching experience are absolute founts of knowledge and support - but in this completely unprecedented situation, everyone is on an even playing field. When it comes to the 'best way' for students to learn right now, we are all looking for answers. I would hate to think that just because someone is still in their PGCE year or is 'only' an NQT, their opinions will be ignored or brushed over until someone with 'more experience' decides it's a good idea.
I have heard a lot of people say that this virus has put us all in the same boat; this couldn't be more true within the field of education. But ultimately, we all have the same goal: to protect and encourage the students we teach.
A school - in my opinion - should always be a place where young children can be children. They have clear boundaries, there are routines in place, and they have to meet expectations. But within all of that, they are also aware (very deep down) that all of those rules are there for their own benefit - for their protection and to help them prepare for the big wide world. A school is full of adults who care about them and believe in their huge potential. So now they don't have that environment to go to five days a week, we need to offer it in another way.
However a school or teacher chooses to do this doesn't matter. What matters is that they feel important and cared for still. I worry that people working in education are working extremely hard to do the 'best' for the students, that we are simply confusing them; Asking them to keep up with a concoction of different approaches and situations just because we are trying to be the 'best provider.'
Maybe I've just had too much time on my hands to think about it all. Or perhaps I just don't have enough experience to understand the current situation...
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