‘Even the gloomy clouds have a silver lining’

Jean-Baptiste Karr coined the phrase, “plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose” (The more things change, the more they remain the same). This has perhaps never been less true of life than now under the pandemic.
We asked Mitchell House headmaster, Andrew Cook to provide insight into the way that Covid-19 has changed the lives of learners and those around them.
“If schools are a microcosm of the wider world, all of us, not just scholars and educators, have had to face massive changes in the world as we know it. Stress comes in different forms and is experienced at different levels of intensity: first, we wonder anxiously whether we will survive this virus ourselves or will we become one of those dreadful statistics that are mothers and sons, sisters and brothers, fathers and grandparents? Second, will those whom we love survive Covid-19? Third, will our business/job survive the pandemic? We all face these sleep-defying thoughts at three o’clock in the morning. I am in charge of an enormously privileged school. Covid-19 has revealed how privileged we are because our school is wired to conduct distance learning, our parents can afford connectivity and our learners have been using technology for years now. We have spent little time in adjusting to the changed circumstances of lockdown and we have been able to continue teaching remotely. But what has become abundantly clear is how important face-to-face teaching is for both learners and teachers. It’s not just better, it is exponentially better. As teachers we know what we have taught, but it is more difficult to know what has actually been learnt by our pupils. The relationship between teacher and learner is a dynamic and sacred one. We have missed each other profoundly. We thrive in each other’s company. Schools are not just about academic advancement: they are a complex and intricate web of relationship, of a hidden curricula, values that are caught not taught, of cultural interaction and exploration. Part of this vital process are sporting endeavours that provide crucible moments of agony and ecstasy and prepare our children to face the vicissitudes of life with fortitude and resilience. We have missed this interaction and opportunity for growth and development as whole human beings. In some ways, I am almost more concerned about the kinds of neuroses that will develop as a result of not sharing, not being able to hug and not being free to play, than I am of being Covid-19 positive. So much of the Mitchell House experience is premised on “daring to be more”, risking new ways of seeing and doing things, challenging accepted theory and having the humility and grit to learn from others. One of our core values is to respect others which means, in this time, putting distance between us, wearing a mask and treating everyone as carriers of a potentially deadly disease. Teachers who teach face-to-face then have to teach on-line at the very time that their own families need their attention despite being part of a school that prioritizes family life as next to godliness. So much time is spent on following up on work not submitted and children being left to their own devices that our educators feel exhausted and frayed at the same time. We mourn the loss of a safer time. But even the gloomiest cloud has a silver lining. This pandemic has forced our families together in ways we were too busy with life to prioritise.