There is an interesting contrast happening right now in schools. In some ways, they look very different than they did in 2019, and this shift is being met positively, and in other ways there is a desperate push to return to rituals that we used to have, that have been on hold for more than two years.
The simple view I take of this is that with so much different in our world, there are some rituals that people are looking towards to be simply as they remembered them in the past, a reassurance that the world has not lost all its good parts.
I am seeing that, for example, with graduation events. There is more interest than I can ever remember. And particularly from parents who want to be sure that this year’s students have experiences just like students used to have.
And at the same time, there are new structures and experiences, completely different from pre-pandemic. I can’t go to an elementary school now without seeing some outdoor learning experience going on – no matter the weather! And I can’t go to a high school without some new way that time is being organized to give students greater control over their learning. And throughout the system, it is clear everyone has a new set of digital skills that they are using.
So, we have these seemingly contrary narratives at play. The world has been turned upside down, and we are desperate for the rituals of schools – the ones that are like those of our parents and grandparents to return – as a reminder that everything will be ok. And we have lived through the last two years and learned we will forever want to do some things differently, the pandemic has exposed issues of equity, made us question what we value in schools, and given us brand new skills and outlooks that are making schools so different from a couple years ago.
The trick of leadership over these next few months is to not see these different views as actually in opposition. We can, and should, live with a foot in both worlds. In one world, we have rituals we all remember and reassure the community of the stability of school, and in the other world, we are shifting for the changes we have seen and continue to see in our world, ensuring our schools remain centres of relevance.
The importance of the next few months in our schools cannot be overstated. A narrative will emerge – one based on going back to good times of the past, or one that says we know better and we are going forward to a new way. Or maybe a third narrative, which might disappoint some in both camps, that holds onto some of the practices and customs of pre 2020 schools, but still creates space for the new ideas of the last two years to flourish.
As I often say here, it is an exciting time in education.
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