School Life: Put the Policy in The Drawer, Set Expectations & Develop Relationships

We have all faced our own personal and professional challenges over the last two years. Whether it be maintaining a healthy routine, managing the nuances of online learning or coping with living and teaching in isolation- we have all needed to adapt and demonstrate some form of resilience and empathy. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, schools have been faced with a need to reassess how they promote, assess and maintain the well-being of their community. Each school’s individual contexts will have shaped how this has played out. There has been a renewed focus on mental health, student attendance, Social and Emotional Learning and nurturing parent-school connections. 

Making connections from afar is harder- no doubt about it. Even our friends and family call less often the longer you are away from home. It gets increasingly harder to show up when things are not going well. It is not surprising then, that student attendance during periods of Distance Learning becomes sporadic. Teenagers are tasked with self-managing their sleep, diet and school work alongside the temptations that come with working from home. Teachers have become well-trained in spotting an online gamer or irrelevant group chat when looking at their screens.

These less productive behaviours are often reported to me as the Assistant Principal. Like most schools, we have clear policies on attendance, gaming and cyber-bullying. But like most schools, we created these policies long before the onset of the COVID pandemic. Needless to say, taking these policies at face value and upholding the previous standard in light of our current situation may not always be the way to go. Online learning is as difficult for our students as it is for our teachers. Whilst we have adapted schedules and assessment expectations to ease the burden on all stakeholders, it has become clear that we often expect the same level of engagement and behaviour as we do when teaching face-to-face. I have recently, been asking myself, whether this is a fair or reasonable expectation. 

Last month I had a conversation with a Grade 11 student who had been flagged for a surge in non-attendance. Looking at the numbers it was clear, that she is running the risk of missing too much class time to cover the content needed to be successful. The student has been living alone for the last two months as her parents were quarantined in another city. Period 1 was often forfeited in favour of sleep and gradually more and more classes were missed. The absence and missed work snowballed, and knowing she was struggling, she gave up. 

These conversations with her were invaluable in being able to support her, and understand her context. The policy was less useful. There is no empathy within the pages of an attendance policy. We discussed both her situation and the need for a written policy. But really, we just focussed on expectations and developing relationships. She was not meeting the expectations that she had placed on herself and this was causing her a lot of stress. Knowing the potential consequences of her actions but not knowing how to claw her way back to success was becoming too much. I placed the policy in the metaphorical drawer and tried to understand her situation. I now meet with her every week.

Sometimes the best action to take is just to be present and listen

Lee Parker

This type of conversation has become more commonplace and more important as the COVID restrictions continue. Yet, they are also one of my biggest challenges. Managing to successfully schedule meetings with an online schedule is difficult enough. Maintaining school expectations under crisis conditions is a challenge again. When working online we are often presented with the data before we gain clarity around the context. The data is often available to teachers who are like me, unaware, at the time of the weight that a student may be carrying. And yet, action is expected. Sometimes the best action to take is just to be present and listen. These continue to be challenging times, self-care and caring for others are more important than ever. I would argue that we are learning more about ourselves than ever right now and that these, are just maybe, the most important lessons of all.

Journeying

Image: Stock: Cyano66

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