The first day of a new school year is always an exciting time. Here at Avenor College this academic year is particularly special, as we have opened our new High School with a full Grade 9 class. Of course I am continuing with my responsibility for English throughout the school, but my role as Head of High School is a challenge and a privilege and I wanted to share a few of my thoughts about new beginnings and challenges.
Here we are at the start of another school year – all those opportunities and challenges stretching out ahead of us. The start doesn’t last very long – it’s almost over already – but it is a significant part of the school year and it cannot be regained once it has gone.
The plans we make, the principles that form the foundations of our plans and the actions we take first, before we act, are vitally important. Good foundations enable us to build our lives. These concepts apply to whatever we might attempt in life.
I believe it is all about foundational attitudes, about taking seriously the plans that we put in place now. If we get those plans right at the start, then, when the pressure is on because of a deadline or exams, we will all be well in control.
But, teaching is not all about what we can plan for. One of the great joys of working in a school is the fact that each new day offers new challenges, and our students often surprise us in many ways. We need our good foundations, but we also need to be flexible, open-minded, and proactive.
School life can be likened to a building with good foundations, but it can also be compared to a race. We can picture the life ahead for our students as a marathon; the race of life. When training for a marathon, athletes will begin with short practice runs, working their way up to longer distances. The school year is like one of those practice runs- training for the future years at school, and for the longer distances of working life. Running a race involves taking one step at a time. Every day is one step forward.
Sometimes, when running a race, athletes reach a point where they are tempted to give up because they ‘hit a wall’ physically- their energy levels are low and they lost the focus on reaching the finishing line. Like athletes in a marathon, when we ‘hit a wall’ and everything seems to go wrong, we can be determined to do the best we can, stay focused and keep going. We need to enable our students to keep their focus, to maintain their confidence and to have the drive and determination to succeed.
Ann Leiberman, a renowned American educator, has this to say: “Great teachers empathise with children, respect them, and believe that each one of them has something special that can be built upon.”
As teachers, we must never quit believing in our students and we should nurture in them the qualities of perseverance and determination. Whilst we all hope for happiness for ourselves and the children in our care, we also know that life throws up unexpected challenges. I wish it were true that we could make life easy, but the fact is, life is difficult at times. Each of us will face sadness, failure and trial as well as times of great happiness and success. We need to equip our children with the skills and emotional resilience to cope with the difficult parts of life as well as enjoying all of the good things.
One of the most profound moments for me was after our opening ceremony, when parents, grandparents and students had toured the school, met some of the teachers and collected their new school bags. A parent who was about to leave said to me:
“Take care of them. They are the most precious thing we have.”
This is something that we should never forget, as educators. Childhood is short, and the moments are precious. Our children themselves are precious and we need to care for them and nurture them, ensuring that we focus on the needs of every unique individual in our care.
Denise Trickett September 2015
