The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected the lives of almost every person in the world. Due to time restrictions on visiting public places, students are forced to study remotely, and teachers have to work from home. During this complicated period, it is essential to support each other and keep in touch despite the absence of opportunity to communicate in person. The principals of the Midway Park School, Liesl James and Sarah Williams, had recorded a video in which they sing a famous song, “Hold On.” This video reminds their students and colleagues that all limitations will end one day, but their connection will last forever.
One of the most important duties of any leadership is to establish a collaborative culture in a team. Precisely this practice is reflected in the video of two principals of the Midway Park School (Ms. Padilla, 2020). Besides, in the middle of the video, the principals demonstrate a photo of approximately 100 smiling participants of an online conference (Ms. Padilla, 2020; 1:19-1:25). If one pauses the video, it could be noted that these participants are not students but adults, i.e., teachers. From this, it could be inferred that despite the forced self-isolation, the leadership still manages to gather all teachers and staff members together to remind them that they are not alone.
The given recording is an excellent source of support for all the members of this schools community and a reminder that self-isolation will come to an end. Teachers could treat the actions of the principals as an example of how to engage students in distance learning. More precisely, Liesl James and Sarah Williams sing a song and show pieces of paper with the key message they want to communicate to the audience (Ms. Padilla, 2020; 00:45-00:49; 03:07-03:17). This way, the teachers could introduce this activity to their students to keep students actively engaged in the learning process and facilitate their cooperation.
Reference
Ms. Padilla (2020). “Hold On” Principal Edition [Video]. YouTube.