Embracing change in the 21st century

The ability to embrace change is an essential characteristic of the 21st century.

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In education, this means many things as it is here where the school and home intersect. The pandemic has seen a rapid change in the way that schools have had to function.

It has been a difficult time, but it has given a new meaning and deepened the educational triangle or partnership between the teachers, learners, parents and caregivers.

Being in lockdown for an extended period and having their children at home gave parents and caregivers an insight into how their children learn, as well as how the teachers teach.

This window into the world of learning and teaching was invaluable. It forced teachers to ask questions about their teaching, to use technology and to think about related changes to their teaching strategies, testing or assessment approaches.

Teachers had to think about how they communicate and to understand each learner in their unique learning environment. This last point brought home how important it is to make sure the learner is at the centre of learning.

Teachers couldn’t be sure what and that the learners were learning. Parents were anxious that their child would be left behind and struggled to juggle working from home and supporting their children’s learning.

The importance of the relationship between teacher, learner and parent became more obvious. This shifted the dynamic between parents, learners and teachers.

They became co-creators of the learning and the teaching space. This required creativity and imagination.

Different technologies were used to communicate across different platforms to ensure there was a common understanding of what needed to be taught and learnt.

This meant reviewing, redesigning and refining what was necessary for learning and teaching.

Embracing change is stressful enough, even if it is part of your choice, but the pandemic forced changes that many may have been unprepared for, unable to embrace because of limited access to technology or simply because the level of loss and uncertainty made it so very hard.

Many independent schools, and some government schools, were able to pivot quickly because they were well resourced, and this allowed effective learning and teaching to continue.

But even at Sacred Heart College there were learning losses despite the privilege.

For effective learning and teaching to occur and to ensure learners can embrace and thrive in a post-pandemic world, they need to be part of a school where the partnership between learner, parent and teacher is empathetic and promotes resilience and embraces change.

Sacred Heart College has shown that it is such a school.

The learners have learned skills during this pandemic that will allow them to navigate complexity and interact effectively in a world characterised by rapid change, immediacy and uncertainty.

So have the parents and teachers.

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