Education after COVID – What do you want your ‘normal’ to look like?
With teachers having shown their mettle and successfully kept the educational show on the road during 2021, the time has come for an education revolution, says Jaz Ampaw-Farr…
There was no map to follow. No blueprint telling you what to think, feel, say or do. Yet you still managed to traverse the rocky road from suffering to survival – some days thriving, and always driving change.
Going ‘back to normal’ isn’t an option. Was your ‘normal’ allowing you to be your best and make space for joy, or were you busy multitasking from the moment you woke up, spending more time than you’d like on emails and less than needed on your own wellbeing?
Everyday heroes
Teachers owe it to themselves to be more intentional in their post-pandemic way of being. If ‘normal’ wasn’t meeting your needs, then why not seize the opportunity presented by this earthquake to rebuild a life lived more aligned with your own values – one that lets you acknowledge and celebrate the difference you make every day?
You’re only as powerful as the story you tell, so tell a compelling one. Assertions like ‘Our school is good’ don’t convey the degree to which you form the beating heart of your local community, with staff standing shoulder to shoulder alongside children and families during a time of huge adversity.
As an educator, you’ll be used to confronting massive challenges (because it’s not as if teaching was easy before the pandemic) – but over the past year and a half, every single day has seen schools placed on high alert, with staff doing their best to provide certainty for students during a period of drastic uncertainty.
You’re nothing short of everyday heroes – people passionate about shaping young lives, and who regularly make a real difference. The long hours, the time you spent doing more with less, the lack of recognition – don’t let any of that make you forget just how powerful you really are.
Success stories
I hold you up as everyday heroes because I’m one of your many untold success stories. Statistically, I should be dead, or lost to substance abuse and sexual exploitation, but five key teachers were able to interrupt my trajectory by building ACE relationships with me – Authentic, Consistent and with high Expectations.
Growing up in poverty, against a backdrop of physical, mental and sexual abuse meted out by my parents, I lived a life of chaos. At home, I was afraid, angry and hopeless, but in school I felt safe. I was welcomed with a warm, friendly smile and provided with food. I belonged.
My teachers did small things that made a big impression and gave me hope. Mrs Cook’s belief in me gave me the bravery to flee from the pimp I was living with at the age of 11 and turn myself in at a local police station. In that moment, I did something that I knew would make Mrs Cook proud.
That’s your story. I am the difference you make. The impact you have can never be measured in a set of exam results, because you’re so much more than that. Because of everyday heroes like you, I became a teacher myself. I wanted to pay it forward, and prove to every adult in my school family that they were right to invest in me.
Is any of this sinking in? Are you hearing me? Your. Work. Changes. Lives.
Futureproof yourself
What lockdown did was shine a spotlight on schools and how their staff stepped up. Also stepping up were a number of businesses, including edtech provider GCSEPod, with whom I was delighted to work on a competition to celebrate everyday heroes in schools across the country.
Now that the world has witnessed just how powerful schools are at surviving, thriving and driving change, let’s take this opportunity to revolutionise education from the bottom up.
It’s not going to be easy, of course – being a committed teacher and staying in the profession is hard, but look at how you’ve managed to survive, thrive and drive change during a period of incredible adversity.
Well, it’s now time to futureproof yourself by taking control. Don’t let anyone else write your story of excellence for you, but listen to the stories your students tell about you, as these are likely to be far more accurate than the ‘I’m just a [insert school role here]’ tale you tell yourself.
The truth about the impact you have is right there – so measure that!
Jaz Ampaw-Farr is a teacher, coach, author and motivational public speaker specialising in resilience; for more information, visit jazampawfarr.com or follow @jazampawfarr.
