DERRY JOURNAL Editorial: Lockdown home schooling leading to new appreciation for school staff

The right to an education for all children is something we now take as the norm in society although that right was hard won by generations past. And when you break it down, the fact that our children can go into a building at the pre-school and primary ages of 3, 4 or 5 and emerge able to concentrate, read, spell, write pages on anything and everything, learn their numbers, express themselves, gain in confidence, and acquire skills in various sports is a miracle. And then later in secondary school we see them build on all this to become junior experts in everything from Irish history and anatomy to global economics and algorithms.

We often take all this for granted, but when you pause to think about it, as I am sure many a harassed parent has had cause to do over recent weeks, the work that principals, teachers, classroom assistants and support staff do each day in our pre-schools, primary schools and colleges is nothing short of astonishing.

And there are numerous examples of how our schools in the north west have revolutionised teaching. Many go above and beyond to help every child, to build them up. And if anyone is in any doubt about this, you only need to cast your mind back a few weeks to the start of the pandemic when principals and staff here did something extraordinary. They decided they would put themselves on the line and shield our children by taking on the system and telling them no, they were not willing to potentially allow children and families to be put at risk by reopening schools.

That firm stance forced the hand of those reluctant to close schools earlier than Britain and their actions have been instrumental to limiting the spread of COVID19. Today some of these same people are back in class looking after key worker and vulnerable children. All these people are frontline heroes, not just during a pandemic, but every school day of the year.