blog

Will Our Schools be Forever Changed?

31 Mar 2020

This is certainly a topic that our staff have been debating over the last weeks. The rapid move to technology and the need to introduce this across the country to ensure learning continuity has begun a worthwhile conversation about the role of the teacher. It has been the teaching profession who have stepped up and considered how best to manage this. Many have been faced with students who do not have the technology at home to manage the transition. Others have limited technology in their own homes or schools and can not achieve the goals rapidly set by Government. The technological divide has been on display and is leaving many Australians, including myself, feeling uncomfortable. 

We are in a lucky position at NGS and have managed the many technological challenges we have faced to ensure an outstanding learning platform for our students. Some students of course have engaged with this new form of learning and find the style of learning online highly attractive. Others want to connect as much as they can with classmates and their teacher and miss the human interaction. Over the next weeks or months schools and families will need to find new ways to manage this system. 

Teachers will, I hope, see both the benefits and disadvantages of remote teaching. Many highly experienced teachers commented that they felt they were back to the beginning of their career and were nervous as they approached online teaching. Others were confident from the start. This divide will narrow over the coming weeks. We have already seen experienced teachers reassessing pedagogy and engaging with colleagues like they have never before – they all agree this has been positive. I doubt any however would want to move fully online in the future as despite the question posed in the article – schools are more than places to learn content. What our students will miss during COVID-19 are the lessons learnt in the playground and the socialisation that we know is so critical to a successful life.

Finally, I do hope the role of the teacher is something that our society reconsiders. At NGS our teaching staff are often highly held in regard. Their dedication is often commented upon and their connection to the students outstanding. More widely however, I hope that the current crisis gives the Australian population a chance to pause and re-evaluate any negative views. COVID-19 has been a turning point and as in other professions, teachers have had to manage significant change in a few short weeks. Some managed this easily, others not so. If we are to become a kinder society, I would hope the pause button on the negativity has been replaced with an admiration, understanding and new sense of respect for the teachers who give so much every day. 

Source