Looking for a break in the clouds
Sally Bromley is principal of The College of Richard Collyer in Horsham. Her column will sometimes be about educational matters but more often a random ramble about house moves, house renovations, beach huts, Morris Minors, boxer dogs and keeping chickens.
Schools and colleges are now closed for the majority of our young people, with no timeframe for their reopening. Education leaders are focusing on how best to continue teaching and learning remotely while supporting the children of our marvellous key workers and the more vulnerable in our communities.
The Covid-19 virus has affected us all in ways no college Disaster Recovery modelling could have envisaged. Students are reeling from the shock that term has ended without the rite of passage of summer exams and with the knowledge that their final grades will be determined by the work they have completed so far in class and in mock exams and tests.
The arrangements for this new approach have only just been published by the Department for Education and allay some fears while raising many questions.
Our usual pick-me-ups are denied to us. Libraries, cinemas, restaurants, children’s play parks are all closed, barred by criss-crosses of yellow tape and apologetic notices. New words have entered our vocabulary and stolen our time with friends and loved ones – ‘social distancing’, ‘self-isolation’ and ‘shielding’.
We are all looking for a break in the clouds.
There have been a few. The exhaust fumes and traffic roar of an early daily commute have been replaced by the smell of newly mown spring grass and the sound of birdsong.
I have been bemused by huntergatherer men in supermarkets and impressed by a mother cycling with her young son and teaching him life-saving road skills on a real road with hardly any cars. And then there’s the joy of WfH (working from home) and virtual meetings – skyping and zooming through colleagues’ spare bedrooms (usual place for WfH set-up) we gain new insights into their character via their choice of curtain and carpet.
If all else fails, reach out to someone – virtual or real - like Piglet in The House at Pooh Corner: “Pooh” whispered Piglet. “Yes, Piglet,” replied Pooh. “Nothing,” answered Piglet, “I just wanted to be sure of you.”