THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
OPINION, INTERVIEWS & FEATURES
THE PYJAMA GAME
M ost teachers, if they’re honest, will admit to having had repeated anxiety dreams before they taught their first ever lesson. What if the students don’t listen to a single word I say? What if I suddenly forget everything and clam up, jaw-locked and tongue-tied, unable to answer the simplest question about the Treaty of Versailles? What if I can’t find my classroom, where I’m sure Year 10 is supposed to be invigilating me while I take my university finals, despite the fact I’m two hours late, wearing only my pyjamas, haven’t revised and it’s the middle of the night and … aaagh . The prospect of transferring to remote learning initially reignited some of these old fears. I had heard horror stories (from other schools, of course) of teachers, as well as pupils, being muted and thrown out of the virtual classroom (imagine the real-life equivalent!). Add to this the pressures of teaching from a home I share with a working wife and three children under the age of five, it was difficult not to approach lockdown learning without some trepidation. And yet Dulwich boys have, of course, risen magnificently to the occasion. My Year 12 Politics set has still fizzed with the good-natured joshing of the socialist-leaning student editor of this magazine. At the other end of the political spectrum, Zeb Micic has continued to entertain Year 13 with his groaning bookshelves of Thatcher biographies, as well as his ‘Teams lesson bingo’ grid (‘Can everyone see my screen?’ and so on). Meanwhile, my form has enjoyed setting its own pub quiz, as well as meeting William Rome’s dog. And I was particularly tickled by the Year 11 boy who started the lesson with the Queen as his background picture – and ended it with a picture of Dr Spence perched on his shoulder.
A YEAR 11 BOY STARTED THE LESSON WITH THE QUEEN AS HIS BACKGROUND PICTURE – AND ENDED IT WITH A PICTURE OF DR SPENCE PERCHED ON HIS SHOULDER
The classroom has been replaced by the video link, meaning that teachers and pupils have had to adjust to different routines. Iain Hollingshead and two of his Year 12 students, Eddie Humphries and Jake Reisser-Weston , reflect on remote teaching and learning
We’ve even done some work. In fact, I’ve found most students more eager than ever to engage with their studies, particularly those in Years 11 and 13 who are stretching themselves beyond their usual curriculum. I’ve come away from many of those lessons energised – and even genuinely moved – by the students’ resilience and intellectual curiosity. That’s not to say, of course, that plenty of things haven’t gone wrong. Our middle child has twice ‘done a Prof Robert Kelly’, gatecrashing an online lesson and earning a friendly wave from the screen. I miss the physical classroom hugely, especially during Period 1 when students have been reluctant to turn on their cameras, leaving me addressing black boxes of initials. I even miss all those South Block stairs en route to the History Office. On the other hand, the commute is great, I haven’t ironed a shirt in months, my classroom has never been more fragrant, and I can unload the dishwasher and change a nappy in the five minutes between lessons.
Not the stuff of dreams, perhaps – but no nightmares either.
Iain Hollingshead
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