The Processes and Procedures deployed by the school Management to foster
accountability and responsiveness among staff (Administrative/Grounds/Cleaning),
teachers and learners to salvage the schools’ academic year during Covid19.
Preface: Whilst the
question would seem to want to cover both State and Independent school sectors,
I would suggest that whilst there will be common areas there will also be
clearly defined areas of non -overlapping. I would also wish to question the concept of “salvaging
the academic year”- Why does one need to salvage it? More later!
School Management: Loosely
defined as members of the school who act within designated management areas
and/or roles. These may include teachers and administrative staff.
Covid19 has brought with it
change. Change carries elements of uncertainty and fear within the range of
emotions often associated with change. Change in itself is inherently non
–threatening as the human psyche faces change daily. A change in route caused
by roadworks/an accident/inclement weather can at times bring about a myriad of
reactions. It is not within the scope of this brief though to analyse the human reaction to
change but rather to place it in the open as the Covid virus has invoked change
at all levels of society within a very short space of time and this being so I
would posit that a society that is mature is best prepared to deal with the
various machinations brought about by Covid.
Having stated the aforesaid my
understanding is that the South African society is not a mature one. Allow me
to explain the concept of societal maturity. Societal maturity is best viewed
through the lenses of reaction to life per se.
Again, the space afforded here does not allow a full explanation of this
maturity but I would suggest that in broad terms one is looking at societies
reaction to gender issues/race issues/corruption/how violent the society acts
within a context (trashing of schools/burning of tyres/looting/xenophobia/taxi
wars… These amongst many other, point towards an immature society.
Hence any response by a school
governance body/management sector designed to foster accountability and a
positive response to “saving” the school academic year has to be seen against
this light or through the lens of an immature society. One may counter this argument by suggesting
that not all society needs be classified in this way but without defining the
South African context further into economic/culture or any other groups
(age/sex…this in itself may need deeper unpacking) we will find that definitive
procedures and processes to save the academic school year may not be that
simple to find nor be a “one size fits all” solution.
I therefore suggest that a few
general points be made first:
·
Acceptance that the academic year at school
level has been damaged by the absence of formal teaching brought about by
learners not being at school and under lockdown.
·
That whilst many thousands of learners benefited
by online learning in various forms, this did not nor cannot (under present circumstances)
replace the face to face learner/teacher situation. Society (it seems) is not
quite ready for this modus.
With the above as background
School Management that successfully negotiates the Covid maze and as the
question poses, “salvages” the academic year must:
1. Be
prepared to show servant leadership. For all staff to buy into whatever is
asked of them, Management must be prepared to lead the way. This means…
1.1
Covid demands certain actions…wearing of
masks/hand sanitizing/buildings/classrooms/offices being sanitized on a daily
basis and Management being seen to be part of the process.
1.2
Management cannot be blasé and give the
impression that they believe Covid to be nonsense or easily overcome but be
supportive of the process. Personal bias
cannot be shown.
1.3
Management must be visible at all times. To
listen to concerns and deal with them appropriately…at classroom level/parent
level/general staff level.
1.4
The visibility in particular of the school
principal is paramount. He she needs to be at the forefront of the battle. This
means being at the gate to show the learners the way in/screening/asking the
pertinent Covid Health questions/assuring the parents and in every sense of the
word being the leader.
2. The
Academic program: Management MUST not place in the minds of the staff, learners
or parents that “if we work hard we can catch up”. If this was to be true then
why does the school calendar have an average of 190 school days? One could just
as easily have 100 and complete the academic year as successfully! No, the rule
of thumb is that school is in a process of recovery not catching up. Recovery
allows one to define how/when/what and why things are done. There is no
intention of catching up at all. (I reject the idea that the school year is
extended into next year…this by implication means that every year thereafter
should be extended. One cannot “catch up” in the next year unless one is to
forgo school vacations. This then presupposes the concept of “catching up” is
directly related to time spent in a desk. This is ludicrous and has NO
educational foundation whatsoever. There
are countless examples of young people missing even up to a year or more of
their formal schooling and still being able to finish within the normal frame
of time.
2.1
Working smarter is perhaps a better way of
recovery per se. What is lost in terms of the school year is time. It cannot be
recovered. Neither can the classroom experience which involves a growing and
maturing of the child. It involves a maturation
period which occurs when the child is exposed to a myriad of stimuli
within the context of the school/the playground/the sportsfield/relationships.
The so called loss of the academic year is not a loss at all.
2.2
At present the situation within the school is
alien to the norm of schooling. Masks/social distancing/ methods of playground
separation/eating of meals. These are issues which must be focused on NOT
academic issue per se. The human mind will easily find a way around the so
called work which has not been covered.
2.3
A learned academic Prof Janssens earlier this
year suggested that the academic year as such should simply be put aside, that
the young people be viewed at the level they had attained and allowed to
proceed to the following academic year. This, for me, certainly makes sense. At
present most teachers have had sufficient time with the learners to fairly
accurately judge the academic level of each and every learner they teach.
Whether the child has indeed grasped all the required levels of /basic
sums/geometry or synoptic charts in the grades below 12 is irrelevant in terms
of the big picture.
2.4
When a shipping salvage operation takes place,
very often the salvage company accepts that part of the ship is going to be
sacrificed in order for the remainder to be saved. They do not concern themselves about the lost
part but on the saved part. Part of the 2020 academic and more importantly
SOCIAL year for learners has been discarded but not lost as the young people
have grown immensely in many respects and have learned more about life than
they would have without Covid19. Let us not forget this. Nor forget what they
have learned to take into the future.
2.5
Many have faced loss in terms of family members.
Have faced hunger. Have faced emotions that they have seen etched in parents’
faces. Distress etc. These are things that are far more important for teachers
to deal with than an academic program that has been disrupted. We are in
recovery not catch up.
3. The
digital world
3.1
Perhaps one of the most important processes that
Management has had to deal with is that of the digital revolution which has
been foisted on them. Suddenly ZOOM/TEAM/GOOGLE/SKYPE platforms have become
part of everyday life. Understanding TWITCH/INSTAGRAM/FACEBOOK/TIkTOK and how
they can be used as educational platforms and perhaps even more than that how
they, as management need to be seen as up to the task of dealing with these
digital challenges.
3.2
The new world for the child/learner as well as
the adult is now a digital one.
3.3
Sport is played in an empty stadium with crown
sounds pumped in and the world watches on TV. How does the learner see and
understand this?
3.4
The grade R child with the facemask/screen.
3.5
The fact that the new learner’s face in Grade 9
who started schooling as lockdown started and is now back at school…his/her
face has never been seen.
3.6
The learner/teacher is now starting to
understand expressions in eyes.
In my opening comments I made
note of State and Independent Schools…also of whether salvaging was needed in
the way that society seems to understand the salvaging of the academic
year. I have also suggested that leaders
need to show the way by example during times of trial and stress. That change
needs to be embraced rather than feared. We are on the forefront of a new
world, a new way of life. Many have said that the world will never be the same
as it was before Covid19. Many have said that they certainly hope it will not
go back to what it was.
Teachers/Management/Parents have
the opportunity to move forward in a new way. The old paradigm has gone. We
have all gone back to zero. This is exciting! The opportunities are immense for
all. Challenges aplenty!
What we cannot do is use the old
way of doing things to find a new way of going forward.
The idea that we HAVE to salvage
the academic year is therefore ludicrous. There is nothing to salvage but the
old way of seeing things, and who really wants to do that!
