Written and Narrated by Jacob Knowles.
It appears as though life is beginning to return to ‘normal’. Schools are continuing to welcome their students back to face-to-face teaching, office buildings are re-opening for employees to work and stores, restaurants and attractions have commenced planning for a return of customers. There a fewer new cases, more success stories and news and social media outlets have reduced the number of dire warnings of ‘second-wave’ and certain community transmission predictions. Life seems considerably calmer than what it was just a few weeks ago. In saying this, we know that the future is unknown. The success stories of today may quickly become the headlines of tomorrow.
What are our young people saying amidst all of this…
For the students that I have had the joy of teaching since their return to face-to-face teaching, their immediate responses to being back at school were excitement, eagerness and for some a little bit of silliness (not an uncommon thing for boys). Students who may have struggled to put together half a dozen sentences in Term One were recounting their memoirs during their time in isolation. They shared the highs and lows of spending more time at home while navigating a different form of learning and how they remained connected without the structure of time together at school. Many friendships had been strengthened through the ability to talk virtually about their thoughts and concerns with their friends and in response their friend’s responses of comfort, support and reassurance.
But what about students falling behind in their learning?
Despite the positives, the realisation for some students that they haven’t ‘mastered’ concepts delivered in online teaching and learning is starting to ‘hit-home’. In the first week back to classes many students have struggled to share their understanding of topics with their teachers. This is resulting in feelings of anxiety and fear that students are now stuck in a place where they will be unable to get themselves out of. The resounding message from teachers to students is: “Don’t”. Don’t think that you are the only one. Don’t think that you are too far behind. Don’t think that schools haven’t taken this time away in to planning for future learning.
Teachers are walking back in to classrooms with confidence and dedication to their subject areas and this will see schools through the days, weeks and months ahead. Together, schools and students will endure and will come together to take even more bold steps forward with teaching and learning and those who will benefit most from this are our students.
So what’s the first step to overcoming the reservations we have?
Indian author and political activist Arundhati Roy presented this summation on how our countries, our communities and us as individuals should step towards the coronavirus pandemic:
Whatever it is, coronavirus has made the mighty kneel and brought the world to a halt like nothing else could. Our minds are still racing back and forth, longing for a return to “normality”, trying to stitch our future to our past and refusing to acknowledge the rupture. But the rupture exists. And in the midst of this terrible despair, it offers us a chance to rethink the doomsday machine we have built for ourselves. Nothing could be worse than a return to normality.
Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next.
We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.
We must have faith in ourselves and each other. Faith that the lessons we have learnt from this pandemic will set us up for an even brighter future. One in which we are more adaptable to situations and more present to each other. Our schools are again filled with life and laughter. Learning is inspiring young minds to consider new ideas. Our communities are whole again. It is hoped this will not be taken for granted again by anyone.
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