It’s that time of year again: Chaos reigns as a plethora of new faces, fresh enthusiasm and excitable voices fill the corridors of an ever-changing educational environment (perhaps more politically and socially changing, as opposed to aesthetically changing). A new day, a new term, a near year, presents itself to a new cohort, who are all ready to tackle the challenges of A-levels.
I’ve been here before and I’d like to pretend that September gets easier to deal with every year, but due to the nature of the job this is never the case, nor do I feel I’d like it this way. Lecturing at college is a ‘topsy-turvy’ vocation that never promised to lend itself to the monotony of routine and it never fails to deliver original challenges that arrive with the influx of new students come the start of term.
So how does it make me feel? Well, to be honest, it terrifies me year after year. There are so many unknowns and we, both teachers and students, are taken out of our comfort zone and have to adapt rapidly to new challenges that leave us lost in the dark, feeling our way through the relatively unknown. Saying this, I truly believe that we develop life skills that are integral to us for the rest of our lives in new beginnings. Whether these skills are social or technical, I feel that every one should occasionally shine a light on themselves in order to reflect and assess our preexisting knowledge, approach and application to a variety of situations.
And so as the nights get darker and we enter another year full of unknowns and uncertainties, I feel that we must never forget to look for the proverbial light switch at college. Colleagues and students alike all require some support and direction at this time of the year and by acting as beacons we can all play our part in shedding light on the anxieties and ambiguities that the dawn of a new academic year produces.
SWITCH Learner Blog 