New Year is an interesting time. What will 2018 look like? Will it be better than 2017 ? Will it be the year the novel is published, the exams passed, those extra kilos shed? We all have hopes and aspirations and maybe a few fears. Some will have resolutions.

I am refusing to think about resolutions this year. They don’t work for me. As soon as I feel ‘locked into’ a course of action I start to regret it. It seems to me resolutions are just another way to make us feel inadequate rather than accepting who we are.

I am finding this sense of inadequacy more and more in my encounters with students. Our students are bright, capable and joy to teach – mostly – yet many of them just don’t realise how good they really are. Our job is to show them. It saddens me how the constant treadmill of testing and levels has worn down their confidence. Our parents are a fab supportive bunch who just want the best for their children and support them to the utmost degree – the lack of self esteem comes from the system. SATs, Kent Test, termly testing and a crowded curriculum – no wonder children feel pressured. Pressure equates to stress, which in turn equates to anxiety. And this old tutor has decided she has quite enough of all 3.

So this year, no resolutions, no pressure. Just some hard work, some playtime and a realisation that who we are is OK. We don’t need to commit to changes, just to being the best ‘me’ we can manage.

Happy New Year to you all,