Silver Linings

‘Doom, gloom and Zoom. Three words to sum up much of the time currently spent within Lockdown; however, there are many silver linings to find amidst the seemingly endless stream of negativity and often you don’t need to look far.’

One of the real positives in this current crisis is the superb support offered by education professionals via online platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sound advice ranging from teaching/learning ideas to personal well being is available in abundance should one wish to read or listen. Simply by having this shared experience, the teaching community has bonded together perhaps tighter than ever before and nobody appears to be suffering from lone issues. 
Yet another hopeful outcome is the promise of delayed OFSTED visits and the removal for the foreseeable future of league tables, which should see schools and other education establishments moving away from the drive for data (sometimes at the cost of pupil and staff happiness). Perhaps now schools can fulfil their full potential without fear of making mistakes that could see their league position drop or for OFSTED to question why new techniques were tested. Without shackles, teachers can take a breath, provide the necessary love and care for their classes, and provide stable learning with the odd renegade lesson that will inspire and amaze without anyone fearful of taking a risk. 
Finally, the work/life balance is back in sync. Families are enjoying quality moments, meals are being shared and people are stopping (at a safe 2m distance) to chat and genuinely engage with one another. This will hopefully continue once life goes back to the ‘new normal’. 

The author

Scott Booth

Scott is a 32 (soon to be 33) year old primary school teacher who is based in Plymouth, Devon. His teaching career is approaching its sixth anniversary and has taught in Years 3, 5 and 6 so far. As well as teaching in Plymouth, he moved to Kuwait with his wife for two years between 2016-2018, educating a mixture of expats and Kuwaitis in a private English school. Scott’s passion is English and this was the undergraduate degree he took, marrying English Literature with Creative Writing. Although teaching consumes our lives, he does find time to read and write poetry from time to time, aiming to one day write his own children’s story.