2020 – The year of forgotten children

It’s been, regrettably, some time since I last blogged. Sometimes it feels like a luxury to sit down at the computer and simply write. Other times, I can be hard on myself and with rather magnificent persuasive skills, tell myself that I have nothing of value to write. But happily, these thoughts are fleeting, as thoughts often are. So, I have taken the time today to sit down and reflect on this past year as we quickly approach Christmas and ultimately the new year ahead. What’s coming up today for me? This might be my last blog of 2020, and so, I want to be able to reflect on something that I feel is genuinely important to learn from this year. Of course, we can only reflect on our own experiences and for me, most of my year has been taken up with teaching – both online and in person. As a drama teacher and performing arts school owner, I work with young people on a weekly basis. Working in drama for my whole adult life, and for most of that with young people, I have dedicated much of my life to the development of my ‘surrogate’ children. My thoughts, actions and time is largely taken up with considering what is best for my students and how I can best serve them as a teacher. It is a great responsibility.

Therefore, today, I want to write about young people and consider how this year has affected them in my own experience through the eyes of their teacher. I have been genuinely concerned over the course of this past disastrous year. I’ve seen boys and girls of all ages withdraw into themselves, battle depression and anxiety, suffer socially, emotionally and mentally and at times, lose their vibrancy for life. The aftermath of COVID has infected our children physically, but it has also attacked almost every other aspect of our children’s lives. Their schooling. Their families. Their friendships. Their natural development. We none of us really know how the next generation has been influenced by the events of this year. Will they grow up to become stronger, more resilient adults because of these experiences? Or will they become more fearful, more withdrawn; less likely to take risks in life and go out with a ‘let’s conquer this world’ type attitude?

I see it in my own daughter too. A sense of confusion about the world which I dearly wish wasn’t in her awareness at 7. Sincerely, all I wish for my daughter at 7 is to play, to have fun, to explore the world with open eyes, seeing the beauty of the world through all her imaginative power. Sadly, she lives in a world where playing with her friends is sometimes forbidden, sometimes not. Some days she can see her family, some days she cannot. An ocean of mask wearing adults with no facial features to read and learn from. A culture of uncertainty that feeds down to her from the adults in her life, whispers, lowered voices. We think they don’t hear us, but of course they do. Children are smart. And very vulnerable. We cannot know how this will mould them in the long term.

It is a grand statement, but the government forgot our children this year. In my opinion, their education was already fundamentally lacking in its duty to teach children life skills. Don’t get me wrong, I believe wholeheartedly in education – schooling does a tremendous job to educate, to advance the academic skills of our children, but it does not teach children to love themselves, to self-care, to contribute meaningfully, to heighten their own understanding of the value and beauty of life. Life is a wonderful gift – toddlers know this, everything is new and exciting, but once children start school, that wonder starts to diminish. They become educated instead. And now, more of these wondrous doors to life have been further shut off for our children. They have become used to: ‘we can’t do that at the moment’ or similar expressions, which basically tell our children, NO, on a daily basis. A life of no instead of yes. In the midst of this, there has been no emotional or mental support from the government. Not a single campaign that I am aware of which supports children (and parents) in this crisis. They have been forgotten, dare I say, they will be known as the lost generation.

During the course of this year, children have lost so much. Younger children no longer interact with older children in their schools, thus losing what I call the role model influence; a vitally important aspect to development by witnessing older children interact. Schools have had to make mask wearing compulsory – as a drama teacher, I cannot express enough what covering your face does to children’s mental health and how it stunts emotional development by blocking facial expressions. Children have lost relationships with their grandparents – this connection is one of the most valuable connections of childhood. Children no longer go to parties, to the theatre, they no longer sing in school, go on holiday – all these social occasions can mark some of the most impressionable moments in our young people’s lives which shape and sculpt them.

I hope 2021 sees a children’s revolution. It must. So many industries and companies have been forced to evolve and reflect during this time. I hope education does too. I hope more people fight for our children’s future. Childhood memories are the sweetest. Children should be children. They need to explore, to play, to learn, to fall, to get up, to be curious, to be amazed, to laugh, to cry and ultimately to be loved and not be weighed down by the burdens of life, for that will come soon enough.