Education after COVID-19 in Three Quotations and Three Questions
Mike Fleetham is an educator, international learning designer and founder or Thinking Classroom.
I did my governors’ meeting from my lounge. It took 45 minutes.
Why would I ever go back to 2 hours in school hall on a dark,
wet rainy November evening?
May 2020, Headteacher.
By accident not design, 2020 forced educators and leaders around
the world to examine and transform their professional practice. Like
a woodcutter losing her axe mid stroke, teachers suddenly lost the
tools of their trade – classroom, resources, relationships. But they
rallied, grappled with online learning, made it work and began to see
opportunity inside the chaos.
What have you learned or discovered during the pandemic that will
enrich your life once we reach a new kind of stability?
The younger children are having to grow up faster. In a normal year
we have the few children who’ll cry every day for half the year coz they
don’t want to leave mum (which is more about mum sometimes). We’ve
not had any of that this year. Parents can’t come in. The kids are more
independent. More resilient. They just have to get on with it.
November
2020 Early Years Leader.
I’ve wondered during my online work with teachers since March
2020, whether their loving concern for the emotional wellbeing and
mental health of their children is also, in part, a projection of their own
anxieties and fears. Kids are Dandelions or Orchids says paediatric
health expert W Thomas Boyce. Dandelions thrive in the ‘rough-and-tumble anywhere’; Orchids are more delicate, vulnerable, and need
a special kind of nurture. But when orchids are loved, they become
more beautiful than anything around them.
Where are the Dandelions; where are the Orchids in your class, your
school, your life?
Online chat during live lessons is brilliant. It has given a voice to the quiet
children, those who would not usually speak up or say anything in class.
January 2021 UK SENCO.
As we push on through the complexity and the challenge, one day at a time, sometimes using up the last of our energy, we are heading
into what might be a far more equitable educational landscape
– if we choose to listen for what that might be. In The Great Reset,
Klaus Schwab argues that a pandemic like this one accelerates and
amplifies. Look around and you will see that in action. Disadvantage
is amplified; technology and aspects of research accelerate; we see
more clearly what we value – especially when we are deprived of it;
and the speed with which we need to respond – often in the moment
– is faster than ever. No wonder you are exhausted!
But technology gives everyone a voice; it can amplify our words. Even
the quietest ones can now be heard. Let’s make sure that we listen
and hear what our children are saying. Because most of the children
whose learning in in your care – in class or online – will be alive when
the year begins with ‘21’ not ends with those digits.
Teaching is the world’s most important profession because without it
there are no other professions. And while our formidable healthcare
workers are saving the present, teachers are saving the future.
What are children asking of you for their futures and how can you
give them their voices?
From Engage issue 22.
BY MIKE FLEETHAM • July 16, 2021
Mike Fleetham of Thinking Classroom has written a book " Headlines: Inspiration, humour and advice for school leaders ". A collection of original ideas, advice from professionals, quotes, and tips to support and inspire all leaders. Perfect for new and established leaders working in education, especially headteachers. "Being a headteacher is like looking both ways before you cross the road, and then getting hit by an aeroplane." To Enter the Competition To win a copy of Headlines please share your inspiring education or life lesson in no more than 600 words. The winning article will also be published in our next edition of Engage. Send your words of inspiration to admin@stevesinnottfoundation.org.uk 📅 Deadline: 5th September 2025 Stuck on Ideas? Here are some questions and prompts to get you started! What’s the one lesson school didn’t teach you, but life did? Think of a moment that changed your path, what happened? What piece of advice has helped you grow the most? When did a challenge turn into an opportunity for you? What story from your life would inspire someone on the other side of the world? What’s the life lesson that unlocked your next chapter? Your words could uplift, empower and be seen by many. Let your story inspire the world! 🌍💡 Good luck and we cant wait to read all the entries!
This week our CEO Ann and Jude (SSF Ambassador) visited schools in Coventry and heard about the wonderful work that students are doing to foster peace and community connection, as part of Coventry Arts Week. We visited Lyng Hall school in the morning and met with Ms Hagan and four of the schools UNESCO ASPnet ambassadors. They told us all about their recent project. The students took their art and poetry to the 80th Anniversary symposium in Ypres and Dunkirk. They shared with us some of the poetry they had written together with the students on the field trip and some of their own poems too. They also shared their future plans for working with their local primary school on peace and community. We also had the privilege of joining Ms Hagans class where they were looking at Caliban’s tale. Here is one of the students work
For my birthday this year I had the honour to walk 60 miles (yes it was a big 0 birthday) over 3 days to support the essential work of the Steve Sinnott Foundation of which I am CEO. Education in its many forms is essential for all of us to thrive and make the most of life's opportunities. The Foundation works to ensure that as many children and adults as possible across the globe can access the human right of education. The plan was to walk with friends and supporters who I hoped would keep me smiling along the way and it felt like a good way to make use of the Foundation’s “Get Moving” campaign. Here's how my Get Moving Fundraiser went on the first day. The 13th June I started my walk in London by walking from Barnet to west Hampstead and visiting my sister at her shop at Tree of Life where I got served a nice iced coffee to keep me going.
