Seven years ago, a few months after I had started my job as a Literacy Teacher, I planted some baby spider plants. It wasn't actually me who planted them; I supervised five 12 year old boys as they gently picked the baby plants from their mothers and then carefully planted them. These boys all found school a difficult place to be. They were struggling with reading and writing and as a result had little confidence and very low self esteem. Nonetheless, they all managed to keep their baby spider plants alive, and slowly both boys and plants began to grow and develop.
I would love to say that both boys and plants flourished, but this wouldn't be strictly true. The boys needed more help than I could give them in a few hours of intervention, and the spider plants grew but never really thrived in the classroom. Being abandoned for six weeks every summer definitely didn't help and they suffered from benign neglect the rest of the year.
But during the first lockdown my classroom plants all got re-homed, and were finally getting the care and attention they needed. Now I have a flourishing spider plant, and for the first time in seven years it has flowered. It is literally blooming! With the right care and attention our children can flourish too. This time, while they are at home and having a break from the miseries of school, could be the best time to help them grow. Not just with a few hours of intervention, but with some proper bespoke coaching that will actually make a big difference.
Like my spider plant, some of our children will love being at home. They will be much happier as they no longer have to negotiate the challenges of school. No more lunch breaks on their own, no more pressure to speak in lessons, no more difficult interactions with other children and teachers. But, unlike my plant, they can't stay away from school for ever. Now could be the time to give them the support they need to cope with school so that in the future they too can bloom.
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