I wonder if we had completed a national teaching survey in January 2020 asking teachers to estimate how consistently they would use digital tools or remote learning activities, what the results would have been? As we know lockdown has had a massive impact on the ways learning is delivered and accessed, and 2020 will go down in memory as a catalyst change with lasting effects or one to forget (or maybe both!).
Talking with teachers the past few weeks, many have found the experience of delivering online exhausting and challenging. In the movie The Matrix, Neo sits opposite Morhpeus and is offered a choice of two pills. “You take the blue pill, the story ends… you take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland.” If you offered teachers the choice, what percentage of them would take the blue pill? I think many would, and the return to normality would be welcome not just in our professional lives but also in our personal lives.
As far as i know, we are not in the matrix but we can continue down the rabbit hole to see how far it goes. Even if a small mindset shift occurs as a result of lockdown this will have been positive. Many have witnessed the possibilities of technology, even if they may not be a fan of online delivery.
Now the situation is even somewhat more confusing, what do we do in September? What do we do to support summer catch ups? For those institutions with digital strategies I believe the impact will be manageable, but for those who have not taken digital seriously, this will cause some serious stress and anxiety.
It's very important to keep a positive mindset in challenging times that's for sure and this can only help in creating a solution. There are many unknowns at present which does not support future planning, but we know not all plans always go how we want them to. I’d class myself as an optimist, but I believe education leaders need to plan for the worst and hope for the best.
Tim Ferris the best selling author and podcast presenter has highlighted the benefits of fear setting. You can access the blog post and TED talk on this link https://tim.blog/2017/05/15/fear-setting/. If we can work backwards from our fears we can look at the solutions we need to put into place to ensure the train stays on the tracks. Solution focused mindset is key here.
Innovation is messy, time consuming and rarely inexpensive both in time and fiscal terms. This shouldn’t deter school leaders and all levels of the teaching pyramid trying something new, risking failure being vulnerable and learning from the experience. I have no data to go on but i wonder how many teachers have tried something new and failed in this lockdown period? I believe this to be a good thing, even better so if trying new things is encouraged and reflected on by senior managers.
Small elements of fear can be good when it is self imposed. Teachers need to feel encouraged that attempts at innovating practice will not lead to negative ramifications. Culture is so important in setting the platform for performance. In the right kind of culture people feel safe and feeling vulnerable is showing courage and being brave in attempting new things.
For more on vulnerability check out this TED talk from Breene Brown: https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_the_power_of_vulnerability?language=en
