In times of adversity

This has been a week, a term, an academic year like none I can remember.  I am trying to refrain from using the word ‘unprecedented’ as I know that we are all a little fed up of hearing it, but these are very unusual times.   What a time to be starting out with training for a career in teaching:  Schools have been turned upside down and inside out. Our core purpose has been altered significantly by the sudden need to provide services such as COVID testing and home schooling.  Our assessment processes have been changed in a way nobody could have imagined just a year ago and our staff are having to support students, parents and each other with an incredible range of issues, sometimes with the kind of impact we would see only rarely in school. 

The reaction to life-changing events can be incredibly varied, and this is a life-changing event, that unlike some, is affecting each and every one of us in some way or other. The sense of togetherness which can come out of such events can really strengthen bonds of friendship and co-operation.  It has been a privilege to see the sense of togetherness that has emerged over the course of our training year so far.  Our trainee teachers are pulling together to support each other through an experience that none of them could have foreseen.  There are those who are strong and reliable and keen to support others, who will reach out in a practical and pro-active way, those who listen and share and reassure with a consistency of response which provides a sense of normality in unusual times, those that reach out privately with kindness and consideration and those who question their ability to support but are quietly doing just that, without really even knowing, just by being there and being calm.  

Steering a ship which is passing through choppy waters is not easy and sometimes we take a wrong turn here and there but it has been so heartening to see that the passengers on board this particular ship recognise our fallibility and have the capacity to understand that this journey will not be an easy one.  More than that, they have acknowledged that they are not passive bystanders on this journey.  They accept our guidance and support but recognise that this is their journey and each one will be individually steered.  We have put lots of strategies in place to try to ensure that no trainee or mentor feels unsupported and I really hope we have managed to meet the needs of the people we are working so hard to train.  It has been a joy to see staff in school welcoming the contribution trainees can make to online teaching and embrace the possibilities.  I could not be more proud of our trainees and the way they have met this challenge head on; some of them genuinely thinking outside the box and coming up with extra-ordinary ways to support colleagues and students. 

In this era of easy solutions, it is easy to think there is one right way of solving the problems which we experience.  To accept that there is no ready solution, no immediate answers, a need to experiment, fail, reinvent and rebuild can be the hardest thing about dealing with adversity. We are not used to a lack of resolution. Accepting that the journey is not mapped and that the choppy waters may lead us down unexpected channels is the hardest part of the journey.  It is a privilege to steer this particular ship and it is an absolute privilege to be on board with this particular crew and these particular passengers. Together we will get there and we will be sending stronger, more capable and more adaptable teachers into the profession and teachers who genuinely understand the value of working together. 

Sally Barfoot, Teaching School Director

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