RESCUING A GENERATION FROM THE COVID-19 RABBIT HOLE
BY : MATTHEW SAVAGE
I
recently rewatched Tim Burton ’ s gothic reimagining of Alice in Wonderland , and , amid what The Guardian aptly described as its “ hydrocephalic nightmare ” and “ funkily crepuscular mood ”, the eponymous hero offers a profound insight into the shared experience of children and young people , then and now . “ From the moment I fell down that rabbit hole I ' ve been told where I must go and who I must be . I ' ve been shrunk , stretched , scratched , and stuffed into a teapot . I ' ve been accused of being Alice and of not being Alice , but this is my dream . I ’ ll decide where it goes from here ... I make the path .”
Reading another in a steady flow of articles about the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the young , I am left painfully aware that , now more than ever , a whole generation is being “ stuffed into a teapot ” of others ’ making , and risks “ being ‘ catastrophically ’ hit by the ‘ collateral damage ’ wrought by the crisis ”. Governments are panicking about curriculum time lost to the lockdowns , and desperate to plug learning gaps aplenty , without realising that the real cost to schoolchildren is one not of learning but of wellbeing .
I have been fortunate to work with hundreds of school leaders from across the globe this year , and the message I have heard , again and again , is that it is students ’ attitudes and wellbeing that we need to measure , and with students ’ attitudes and wellbeing that we need , critically , to intervene . Students who once were brimming with confidence are now hesitant and wary , and students who used to feed hungrily upon positive relationships with both teachers and peers are now experiencing something akin to social malnutrition .
The main thrust of my consultancy is assessment , and data is my bread and butter , but I , too , have shifted my lens and not just moved the goalposts but relocated to another pitch altogether . I have long since argued that attitudes are everything , and that , if we can only grow and embed positive attitudes and mental good health and wellbeing , the achievement and progress we all want for our students will oftentimes follow naturally . Burton ’ s movie finds Wonderland “ plunged in gloom ”: “ The tea party is still going , but all the dishes are wrecked , the cups have sprung leaks , and the event itself is sited in
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Term 2 Jan - Mar 2021 Class Time