It's kindness, not Kardashians, we value most | Verity Lush

If there is one thing that our current situation has led to, it’s time to think and reflect.Many things in life have been unavailable to us for over a month now – so how much of it did we really need?
Maths teacher Joanne Fairley, from Mayfield School, Portsmouth.Maths teacher Joanne Fairley, from Mayfield School, Portsmouth.
Maths teacher Joanne Fairley, from Mayfield School, Portsmouth.

What will you go back to when ‘normal’ life resumes, and what will you now discard?

Vacuous celebrity of the Kardashian variety is more inane than ever, the nation is surviving without manicures, and most of us females have become accustomed to bearing more of a resemblance to Joe Exotic (only with less facial hair, please God), with each passing day.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

When the chips are down, we are left with what really matters. The core foundation of community spirit, of care and morale, the importance of our NHS, and of education.

These are all vital components of society and life, and they have pushed through to the fore.

People across our city have seized the chance to help, to make a difference and to offer up something, anything, that they can do.

Schools have donated their science goggles to QA, and others such as St Edmund’s, Priory School, and Admiral Lord Nelson, have opened their tech departments to make visors for those working on our NHS frontlines.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

At Mayfield School, teacher Joanne Fairley has joined forces with other staff, including those from Priory, Mrs Chapman and Mrs Munday, to make scrubs bags for care workers and NHS nurses, in order to try and support our community at a time in our lives when support was never more needed.

Mr Jeapes, headteacher of Mayfield, and Mr Vaughan, head of Priory, have been in thorough support of the staff, who are using both the school fabric supplies and also donations from parents and other teachers, who are stitching up a storm.

I think we will all agree once this is over, that it is kindnesses such as these upon which our world is balanced – not the Kardashians, nor the trivial celebrity with which we entertain ourselves.

Instead, it is all about the little things. For truly, they are vast.

Motormouth Morgan has captured the nation’s mood

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Contributing to the oddness of 2020, is that Piers Morgan has become the mouthpiece of the nation.

Shouty Piers, who rarely allows an interviewee the chance to speak, has become the person asking the questions that have been boggling and infuriating all of us. Why was Cheltenham allowed to go ahead? Why did the government not act back in January? Why is the situation in care homes so atrocious and how will this be managed? Who is accountable?

This week, Piers even criticised the buffoon that is Trump. The mood of the nation has been encapsulated in Morgan. Who’d have thunk it?

Don’t worry, home-schooling is not about learning by rote

The Lush Home School is back open after the holidays. This term I have included film-making and birdhouse construction in our new curriculum.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I am fortunate to have a garden to get them out in (PE is in the form of swingball) and my eldest daughter has drawn up timetables. They need routine but I’m not expecting them to sit still for hours, learning by rote, and nor would their schools encourage it.

This situation is not normal. It is unlikely to occur again in our lifetime, and mums, dads and carers can trust schools will adapt their learning to reflect this once kids are back.

For now, we home-schooling parents can only do our best.

Related topics: