EDDi XLIV
May, 2021 (Pastoral Care)
When you are asked what you teach, how do you respond?
Perhaps your answer is: “I teach English”. Or, maybe it’s: “I teach Sums”. Perhaps it’s: “I’m a Year 1 teacher”.
How about though if we all answered “I teach kids”. After all, that’s what we do. And that’s what matters.
Those kids may range in age, and we may deliver different subjects to them, but the core of the job is teaching kids. Long after they have forgotten what you taught them, they’ll remember how you made them feel, the values your lessons developed in them, and the wisdom you gave them.
Which brings us to the theme of this week’s EDDi: pastoral care. Often overlooked, pastoral care is a critical part of the job - there’s a good argument that it is the job.
We have three articles, each touching on a different pastoral theme:
Some Hard Truths: The Joys and Challenges of Pastoral Leadership
Bad and Better: An essay on wellbeing in schools and the role(s) of teachers
Academic Digest: Wellbeing, student engagement and resilience
There is also a related piece from Dr Stephen Whitehead. Offering a free chapter chapter from his recent book, ‘Toxic Masculinity’, Stephen examines one of the key pastoral issues facing schools (and parents) today: how to raise better boys.
Finally, if you’d like your voice to appear in EDDi, the last edition of this year will be a ‘What Next for International Education?’ special.
We are looking for short snippets, quotes or extended musings (well, 500 word musings). You can choose to write about any topic you like and in any style. But, if you need some inspiration, we’d value your thoughts on:
In the immediate term, what might next year look like? Will learning continue to be on, off and blended?
What will the teacher recruitment situation look like?
Once countries are vaccinated, will the flood gates open with teachers rushing home (are we looking at year of broken contracts)?
What will happen to student numbers?
Will the market remain localised, overseas students either remaining locked-out of countries or reluctant to travel, preferring options closer to home?
Where will the growth markets be? Will there even be any growth markets?
What have we learnt or implemented over the last 12 months that education should keep?
We’d love to share the EDDi readerships view of ‘what next?’
Have your say via the submission form here.
Happy reading (and writing)
EDDi
INTERESTED IN INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION?
The Teacher’s Guide is getting around!
Seen here up a cliff face in Thailand. When we said ‘a companion to your international adventure’ we didn’t quite mean literally!
Grab a copy to take on your own adventure.