As I drive into the school gates each morning I have expectations. I expect to see the school come alive as car parks fill. I expect to hear the happy hum of hundreds of students filling the campus as they tumble out of cars and spill from buses. I expect to see teachers congregate together for worship and then race off to be on time for class. Right now my expectations don’t align with reality.
I’m sure your day is filled with expectations too. You may have set some expectations about how much work you achieve from home, how you will manage your students learning from home and how you will keep a family functioning efficiently and safely during lockdown. Our HSC students expected to be in classrooms with their peers and the teachers they have grown to love and trust. They expected to be sitting Trial Exams in the CLC, but everything has changed.
I’m not great at managing my expectations. I like to think things through, plan, prepare and rehearse. I expect a lot of myself and always feel desperately disappointed when things don’t go to plan. I set the bar high. Right now I am learning the importance of releasing my tight grip on expectations and learning how to be kind to myself.
An important part of being kind to yourself is cutting yourself some slack and acknowledging the things that did go well. Focusing on the positives is always a more productive way to cope. It also helps to see everything as a learning opportunity. I tell myself, "You haven’t got that sorted yet, but you’ll be better at it next time." I also find it helpful to know that I’m not alone. Everyone is struggling to cope at the moment and nobody has it all together, regardless of how things look on their social media.
Ephesians 4:32 tells us to, "Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you." My challenge for you is to not only apply this advice to your family and colleagues, but also to yourself. We’re all in this together and we will get through it together.
Mrs Deb Cooper
Principal
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