Inside King's-Edgehill School
My roommate from school grew up on a cattle farm. I loved spending time there. Once, while walking through his barn I saw that his family had a horse and goat together in a stall. They looked very happy together. I was told that horses are social animals and happiest in a herd. Left alone their behaviour changes, and symptoms of their loneliness include everything from eating too much or too little, to aggression and violence. Not being able to afford a herd, my friend’s family purchased a goat to keep their horse company. Although not as good as a herd, a goat is actually great company, and my friend’s horse was quite healthy.
We are social creatures too. For most of us, physical distancing is really difficult. Getting a goat, although kind of amusing to think about (!), isn’t a solution. In some ways the routines and structure of our Distance Learning Programme have been wonderful. Classes have Zoomed together, friends have been meeting online, and teachers have been sharing virtual coffee breaks together each morning. There has been a purpose to each day. This has helped keep us healthy. Instinctively, I think we have all realized that “being in this together” means that we each feel less alone. The stories of people reaching out, sharing funny jokes, helping with homework, singing or socializing together online, are heartwarming. Well done KES!
However, I am mindful that we are all struggling with a significant emotional load. We enter the Easter weekend separate from our families, a time when normally we would gather together. I am reminded that our Chinese students’ families felt the same way when they were unable to gather for their annual New Year’s celebration on January 25th. (That time feels both long ago and just yesterday, doesn’t it?) Many of our Chinese students have not been able to return home and won’t for some time yet. I feel for them too.
At the end of March last year I stood on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro with 26 KES students and staff. Every single person in our group made it to the highest point. Although each person was tested physically and emotionally and made it to the summit by themselves, it was the strength of the group that kept us all going. We could not have done it without each other’s encouragement and support.
The days and weeks ahead will test us in many ways. I trust that we will be each other’s “goat”, that we will give each other what we need to get through the challenges ahead.
Sincerely,
Joe Seagram