Everybody Loves A Change
Everybody loves a change, nobody likes things to remain the same. Phrases like “a change is as good as a rest” have become clichés and, when you ask most people to describe situations in which they become bored, they will tell you that they are situations they have been through many times before and that this in itself produces dullness and tedium. The desire of the human race to take on new challenges and to revel in different experiences is one that marks us out from all other species and has led, in part, to our current position in the world.
I mention this in order to provide the context within which we have all embraced the installation and operation this week of a new software database which commenced on Monday. We are all very proud to be a pioneer school for this system, appropriately entitled “Progresso”, and the excitement amongst staff when Monday dawned was palpable. We had all got used to the old system, finding information on it was easy and, frankly, everything was becoming a little too straightforward and run of the mill.
I also mention everyone’s love of change because I fear that one or two people may have forgotten this in the past few days in the overall enthusiasm and sense of adventure engendered by finding our way through the minor diversions and, on occasions, cul-de-sacs provided by the new system. The moment when we learnt that all the information we could ever want was there but nobody could see it because usernames and passwords had all expired was one to treasure, as was the discovery that any teacher who had been here at any point in the past 25 years showed as available for deployment to any room that could be found within a word search puzzle that had replaced our old, boring display which simply listed rooms in order.
One of the most vital of qualities that we are required to inculcate into our students is that of resilience, an ability to overcome obstacles, to experience failure as no more than a learning opportunity and an unquenchable desire to forge on, having faced adversity with a calm good cheer. I would like to commend all those staff who have modelled these behaviours for our students during the past few days, never letting impatience or irritation cloud over the sunshine of change and the promise of a bright tomorrow. Well done, everyone, and remember, it should be years before we have to do it again!