On hope...

On Hope...

So a few weeks ago I happened to be outside at lunch time chatting with some Year 8 students (socially distanced, of course). I got talking to a great young lad with a really upbeat and positive personality. We discussed everything under the sun - football, hobbies, holidays, Christmas, school studies, his ambitions, his future plans. The child, whom I shall call Max for the purposes of this blog, spoke at length about his passion for technology, aviation and how he wanted to become an aerospace engineer. We talked for a further while about his pathway towards the dream, and I finished our conversation by telling him that I had really high hopes for him. At which point, the child turned round to me and said: "And I have very high hopes for you, too, sir"!

It amused me. Very rarely in schools do we hear our young people explicitly and directly expressing their hopes and aspirations for the adults who are there to teach and support them. But it has got me thinking a lot, too. It is absolutely right that those same young people have high hopes, aspirations and expectations for those who are there to teach, guide and support them. It was nice to hear a child expressing that hope. It was refreshing.

And hope is a little bit like an exceedingly good German Stollen at Christmas. It contains so many succulent textures and flavours which give it its essence. To have hope, you must have belief - belief in oneself and in others. To have hope you must have conviction - a conviction that positive outcomes can be achieved. To have hope you must have confidence - a confidence that anything is possible with grit, determination, hard work, resilience and stoicism, and to have hope you must have faith.

And hope in the current COVID climate has a very special place in the education community. 2021 will mark my tenth year as a school Principal. The last nine months have been, by far, the hardest and most challenging of my career. Lockdown between March and June completely changed, in one fell swoop, the nature of leadership. Trying to lead and manage staff remotely, dealing with the implications of moving education online, trying to monitor and track pupil progress and engagement from afar, looking after the children of key workers and supporting children within a new pastoral realm were some notable dimensions of the new context we found ourselves in. And then the return to school in August, with all the new regulations and routines, was another new and huge hurdle. Like most schools, my own school too did not escape the impact of COVID-19. It could have been much worse, and when we did have positive cases the number of close contacts identified was usually very low thanks to the hopefully robust procedures in place. However, like other Principals, I too have spent some days over Christmas having to track and trace. One of the most difficult things I have ever had to do in my whole career has been to give families the news that a child must self-isolate over Christmas. Fortunately, and typically, our parents have been truly wonderful - supportive and exceptionally understanding. 

Some might think that it would be easy to give up hope. However, if anything, as 2021 approaches, I am more hopeful and optimistic now than I have ever been in my whole career. In the past nine months I have witnessed the truly remarkable and wonderful staff at my school adapt and amend their teaching styles to suit remote learning during lockdown. They did so with gusto, endeavour, determination and absolute dedication. They have tried new things, modified practice where necessary and reflected on the new realities they found themselves in with sensitivity and tremendous professionalism. They put in many endless hours, far above and beyond, preparing lessons for remote learning. I have seen the power of partnership when parents and school work together in the sheer interests of a child's education, and I have been truly overwhelmed by the mammoth outpouring of support for school from parents during lockdown, and for the gratitude they have demonstrated towards the staff who were educating their children remotely. It is clear that parents value education greatly and deeply, and are committed to ensuring their child gets the best, even in the most challenging of circumstances. I welcome that. I have witnessed the sheer resilience of huge cohorts of our young people, who have had to endure circumstances nobody would ever wish upon them - uncertainty about external exams, the fear of having to self-isolate, the anguish about COVID-19 itself, concern about family and friends, the huge restrictions forced upon normal teenage life. They have adapted, they have complied with new routines, and they have been stoic, sometimes in the midst of the most challenging personal circumstances and even family bereavement. They have been truly remarkable. 

Despite the pandemic, in my own school like in all schools, school life has continued. Our children have been taught and have learned, the vision for school development has continued, staff professional development has happened, school infrastructure has been upgraded, new and exciting appointments have been made, worthwhile and sensible interventions have been put in place to support certain cohorts of students, partly thanks to ring-fenced funding. 

Why should we not have hope? I am so very proud of my school community. I am absolutely sure many school leaders would say the same. On the day before lockdown in March I said to my staff that I felt we would come out of this stronger as a result. I firmly believe that, and I look to 2021 with great hope, because the core ingredients of that hope are there and have been evidenced. I have a firm belief that everyone involved in managing schools, including the Education Authority, Department of Education, CCEA and others, are doing their best. We may not always agree with decisions made, but this is unchartered territory, and nobody has all the answers.  I have a conviction  that - if we continue to show the amazing team work and camaraderie that has been on display over the past nine months - not least as regards the new and more organic networks for learning and teaching which have sprung up across Northern Ireland as a result of this crisis, we will find ourselves in a strong position once it is over. And I have confidence that - at some point in 2021 - the end to this crisis may be in sight, and the roll out of vaccinations may allow for a normalisation of everyday life, including in our education system. 

When that child, Max, told me that he had high hopes for me, it had the impact of lifting my head at a very challenging time. It kept me going. His voice rang in my ears. Thank you, Max. The hopes of many people will be on the education system next year - to keep our children safe, to prepare them for external exams and most importantly to continue their education unabated - whether in the classroom or remotely. I know that, once again in 2021, teachers will rise to that challenge and will give it their all. We should be very proud of our teachers. Well done to everyone involved in the education of our young people in the last 9 months in the most challenging and unprecedented of times. 

My personal resolution for 2021 is to ensure that hope continues to carry me through - and kindness as well.