Baker’s Beacon Blog – Week 1
6 September 2024
Dear Parents,
After conducting interview preparation with the boys, I always ask them to let me have any feedback after they attend the actual interview; how did it go, what was the format, what sort of questions did they ask etc.? The questions and format are usually fairly predictable but some interviewers do ask some tricky ones, and we add these to our list of past questions for all future boys to peruse and think about before they attend such ‘quizzings’ in the future. One I particularly liked that a Year 7 boy reported back to me last term was, “Are you worried about your parents’ screen time?” – a great question and one which really turns the tables of the more stereotypical notion that it is children that spend too long on their devices…and the adults, well, we’re just perfect and our screen use is entirely proportionate and appropriate…
All children will model learned behaviour from adults and we, as teachers, have as much of a role in that as parents. As such, we agreed in the first staff meeting of term that collectively we will, as much as is practically possible, consciously keep phones, laptops and electronic devices out of sight, and ensure they are in sight only when there is a defined purpose. Until recently, I would routinely sit down and place my phone to one side, out of habit predominantly as such a weighty item was cumbersome in my pocket. That was until a friend of mine saw this and said, “Is that just in case something more interesting and important than me comes up?” Suitably chastised, I have kept my phone on silent and in my pocket ever since…
There is so much benefit and efficiency from electronics, in the education sector as much as anywhere else, but it does feel sometimes that it is taking over every aspect of our world. Proportionate use and a ‘default setting’ of face-to-face and human interaction has to be the way forward, particularly here, where the whole Beacon community are such great company.
Have a good weekend,
Nick Baker
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