When I am feeling a bit over whelmed I find that some of my favourite songs can just help me take a breather – along with coffee and tennis at the moment. End of term always hurtles towards us at an alarming rate and, each year we know it is coming and each year we get through it somewhat battered and bruised! Just now the back catalogue of some Beatles tunes are helping me on my way.
This session has been no exception. In fact it is to our credit that I believe the school has continued to progress and work and improve, and importantly, have fun as a learning community. We have had illness, redeployment and a mixed bag of minor issues that have kept us on our toes as ever. Change is never easy- it isn’t meant to be but we work hard as a team to make it nonthreatening and not overwhelming. However at this time of year when lots of things have to get done and can only get done within this short time frame everyone begins to feel the strain.
Technology is a marvellous thing and it has permeated all sorts of aspects of life. I am typing this at home watching the start of the French Open Tennis, listening to music having just finished chatting to my friend in Australia. All good stuff! The fact that some school stuff that usually takes an hour or so on a Sunday morning has dragged on a bit due to “technical issues” is a minor irritation. It is done, I am back on track. However, the erratic nature of technology at school this week did have me reaching for the Ginger Nuts more than I should have, and the absence of the awfully clever DHT (redeployed for this final term), was sorely felt. Having said that, it was technology that came to my rescue in the guise of several slightly panicked text messages to said DHT!
All this got me mulling over the balance between technology and human interaction. Education is a people business and rightfully the people should be at the centre. We must use technology, and use it productively but we must never take away the personal contact, the time taken to get people together in a room not just on the telephone, to meet, to talk to support and challenge. We have, as a team, always paid close attention to our communication procedures and strategies and encouraged the conversations throughout the day and importantly realised that they are important. The fifteen minutes spent with colleagues as they go back to class at the end of the day after seeing the children out is invaluable and has as much importance as our planned collegiate times. The ten minutes spent each morning as we “check-in” for the day before school starts is so important to set us up for the day, share last minute changes and, really, really importantly share moments that make us laugh.
Having formal meetings with parents and with associated colleagues is an important part of us getting it right for every child. It is also the times that can be most concerning and challenging. Often there is a sense of working together and moving forward and I am always grateful that this is by far and away the majority type of meetings we have. However, I have, like many, been in stressful and worrying meetings both as a parent and as a professional. That is where the ethos and collegiate approach is so important. Time and again, shared information, snippets, memos and in our case regular confidential evaluation blogs between class teachers and myself and the awfully clever DHT , have proved invaluable . It has allowed us to support and work though options of support for everyone. It isn’t always easy, it isn’t always straightforward but it is always something that we strive to do with compassion, professionalism and care. That’s what I believe is at the heart of moving forward for everyone. That’s what gives each school its community. Time for another Ginger Nut!