Focus on Education January 2021 No. 2

Start where you are

We are pleased to ‘see’ our students back in lessons and have been impressed in the first weeks of this Lockdown by their levels of engagement. The ability now afforded to us by Teams to see whole classes on screen and to send students into break-out rooms to collaborate makes a substantial difference to the interactive nature and enjoyment of their learning. Such features are an additional support to our teaching, adding further life to the virtual classroom.

We hope that the commitment to a timetable of Remote Learning which incorporates live lessons gives our students a sense of purpose, progress and stability when so much seems uncertain. It is hard to see far into the future currently, and I know it helps me every morning to focus on what there is to achieve and look forward to in the day ahead. Many of us will be accustomed to being far more in control of our lives, yet we have had to learn to walk on shifting sands!

In such a climate we can only ask our children to do their best, day-to-day, in the faith that all those small yet achievable steps will eventually add up to something much bigger.

Some of you will remember Arthur Ashe, the first African American male tennis-player to win Wimbledon (in 1975) and to be ranked No. 1 in the world. He was quite an inspirational figure, whose words and activism extended well beyond sport.

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

This provides a simple set of principles, which could serve our children (and indeed all of us) well in the days to come.

Stay safe and well.

Be kind to yourself and each other.

Dr Bird