Lessons Learnt

Hi Friend!

How are you?

We now have a newly laid terrace which looks like it did when we first moved in all those years ago – tidy, fairly empty and (best of all) free of spiders and cobwebs.

I love it!

I’m now thinking about all the things I want to buy, like outdoor seating that won’t get all rusty like the old set; nice plant pots rather than the boring plastic ones and perhaps some pretty lighting. It’s actually a usable space again which no doubt will delight our neighbours downstairs.

They spent a lot time complaining when they moved in about the noise the girls made when they played outside.

Bear in mind, they were one and five years old.

They’d run to the end of the terrace, stay at that end for a long while playing with dolls or painting or talking and then they’d run back. They were never out there for long but you’d think they were jumping on the spot for two hours the way the neighbours carried on.

To this day, the husband walks past me like I don’t exist, but speaks to Mr E like they’re besties, which I find hilarious.

The funny thing is the noise levels will probably be higher now that the girls are older and like to invite friends round, talking loudly, music at high volume and of course, walking back and forth a million times to use the bathroom…

Fun times ahead!

Anyhoo.

I’ve had three weeks back at work now. How surreal to go back on the 1^st September. Which means I’ll have worked a full EIGHT WEEKS by October half term.

Give me strength, Lord.

The new Year 7’s are in and finding their feet and testing the patience of every adult in the entire school.

I’m serious.

Not only have I printed timetables for certain children at least ten times EACH, I’ve had numerous silly questions and children who will not look you in the eye when speaking to you.

Some of them are terrified. I see it in the way they carry themselves, the way they step tentatively into the office, the way they apologise for bothering me (bless).

Some of them are cocky – too cocky.

But mostly, a lot of them just seem unprepared and that’s concerning to me.

This Year 7 intake has the highest amount of SEN children the school has seen – at least half of the one hundred and sixty-ish students on role. And this is not just the case in the school I’m in but it’s a theme in many schools from what I’ve gathered from friends and parents alike.

A lot of people are saying Covid is to blame for it, with the time children spent out of school the reason behind anxiety ridden kids.

I’m no expert but I have to agree it caused a massive problem.

When I think back to the first lockdown, it was a novelty, a fun thing. I had just finished my temp contract so I wasn’t working but I was studying. This meant sharing two laptops between four of us so, I created a schedule. Little Dude (LD) would have his phonics lesson in the morning and then we’d make something or practise writing – something without a screen. The girls would do their work in the morning too and when they had their scheduled break, I’d do my work.

It was the most organised we’ve been as a family and it worked for us.

But by the second and third lockdown, they were bored, unmotivated and missing their friends. They had to learn how to be social again, how to talk to people outside of our little unit. And whilst they all eventually settled back into things, it wasn’t instantaneous – except for LD who was perhaps small enough to not be bothered.

Not everyone had the luxury of being able to focus on homeschooling without having to work, which meant many children were sat in front of screens for more hours than they normally would be. Which also means far too many children have no idea how to speak to people.

I am constantly correcting students who come into the office and begin with, “I need my phone/an ice pack/a plaster.”

How about “Good morning”?

One Year 7’s lip started trembling the other week because I told him he needs to start with a greeting and then ask “May I please have… ?”

Another Year 7 burst into tears because they thought they were going to get a detention for being late. But I think that’s most Year 7’s really. By half term, they’ll be shrugging their shoulders at detentions and skipping them like their older peers.

When I was growing up, SEN wasn’t a thing; Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) wasn’t a thing; anxiety on the scale it is now, wasn’t a thing.

And while I understand that things were different then to how they are now, I do think there’s a level of pandering to children that doesn’t help the situation.

For example, having SEN doesn’t mean you get a free pass at being rude and yet, I see many children getting away with extremely poor behaviour because they’re classified as having needs.

It’s not okay.

Of course, we don’t need to go back to the days of children being seen and not heard, but I feel society has gone too far the other way. There has to be a middle ground where adults are listening but basic discipline is not thrown out the window.

In this era where children are screaming at parents and teachers alike, something – a lot of things – have gone drastically wrong. And this can’t all be ascribed to Covid.

I’m aware this is going to make me sound old but basic respect for elders has gone and in ensuring that children have rights, society has stripped parents of theirs.

Okay, I’m getting down off my soapbox now.

I’m off to work out what I’m wearing tomorrow and if I need to get the iron board out.

Speak soon x