Lifelong Learners
One thing 2020 has taught us is that you are never too old to learn something new. With computers most obviously. My mother in her 80s has finally learnt to use Skype so she could see as well as hear from her children and grandchildren during lockdown. But not exclusively computers. We all, in some way, have been pushed outside of our comfort zones in our basic approach to routines.
If ever the myth that learning ends with the completion of formal education had ever lingered on, surely it is now exploded. Schools have a responsibility to ensure that students don’t just learn, but also learn how to learn. That developing aptitudes is as important as developing knowledge and skills.
It is something that we as teachers should role model. Next Friday, students will stay at home and teachers will become the students. In the morning, we will have a series of ‘Skills Shares’ - an opportunity for teachers who have developed particular skills to pass them on to colleagues.
There will be sessions introducing tech tools that can be used in the classroom like data studio, prezi video and purple mash (I don’t know what it is either!); sessions that focus on developing student aptitudes - self regulation and problem solving; others on more effective use of homework time; others still to develop effective approaches to high ability students, or how science, technology and mathematics can better collaborate on STEM projects.
It is a day for we as teachers to remind ourselves what it is to be a student, and to address an ongoing obligation to improve and to adapt to the changing needs of our students.
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