Thinking otherwise ... our “new normal”

Written by:
Maria Turner, Dr.-Jaufmann-Mittelschule, Bobingen, Germany
(1 May 2020)
​

---

​Development remains the fundamental challenge faced by Europe even as other issues such as migration and Brexit dominate news headlines. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the Paris Agreement and the New Urban Agenda (Habitat III) are internationally binding agreements that pave the way towards transformative policy.
 
The educational response to underpin this transformation ………….
But suddenly our – and the worlds’ - focus changed to a totally different topic:
A VIRUS forced us to reorient ourselves, school and teaching, as we have known before - reinvented completely.

---

​Home-schooling let teacher, students and parents struggle for quite a while, until all got used to, more or less.
 
Digitization of schools, previously on everyone's lips, more theoretically, suddenly became practice and pushed everyone to their limits.
 
From this experience, everyone involved, learned to appreciate school again.
 
My first day back again in school was a real special moment.
 
Students who automatically and conscientiously followed all hygiene regulations entered the classroom and sat at their tables expectantly, with a minimum distance and mouth protection – awaiting lessons.
 
This was such an extraordinary moment – unforgettable, irretrievable!
 

---

​These days, the world has ample opportunity to reflect on old values, to think about what is really important. Our goals of "thinking otherwise" became mantra in no time.
 
Let us take advantage of this opportunity and the possibilities that lie in all horror and reflect on values that are beneficial to our earth, to people and school in particular!
 
You all stay healthy, happy and get back to school as soon as possible.
 

---