You know it’s the Summer Term because it’s the Summer Term. In other words, it has been deemed to be so, so be it. It doesn’t necessarily bear any resemblance to summertime, but nevertheless: it’s arrived.
In layman’s terms, this contradiction manifests in post-Easter INSET. The outside temperature will be a balmy nine degrees Celsius. Inside, several degrees cooler, still. Various ‘schoolboy/schoolgirl’ errors are readily apparent: some staff are wearing sandals. Likely, there will be at least one Early Careers Teacher sporting a pair of shorts. By contrast, others will be kitted-out in full ‘North-Face’ winter apparel, optimistically huddled next to a dormant heater in their puffer jackets.
Walking in to 6G (designated hub for the day’s training) is the 4D immersive experience equivalent of the ‘Jeff Banks’ Clothes Show’ (Google it).
It’s freezing. Because it’s the first day of the Summer Term, the boiler has been shut down. See; accepted laws of physics don’t apply in school. Temperature – it seems – is no reason to feel cold. Naturally, there isn’t a single member of teaching staff who actually knows how to reignite the boiler. Rumour has it, the process falls somewhere between recreating the Big Bang and performing a three-point turn in a super tanker. This is no accident.
Because when the children return on Day 2, the temperature rises rapidly. Teaching and learning are like nuclear fusion but with a little more fallout. By the end of the week, there is actually a surplus of energy. Teachers radiate. In a good way. Pupils respond accordingly. There’s a word for this chemical reaction: relationship.
You are, and always will be, the catalyst. Teachers transform lead into gold on a daily basis, and are far more valuable than you will ever understand.
Thank you