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From the Chair

I I am writing this submission for inclusion in the March issue of the journal on a dark Saturday afternoon in November wondering what I can write that will stimulate thought or even encourage reading. I feel incredibly privileged to be taking over as chair of NAPCE, even at a time of supposed reduction in the role of teachers in Pastoral Care, and feel the pressure to produce reflections worthy of the role. I am particularly missing my friend Archie Howat (In Memoriam – Vol. 24 – September 2006) to whom I would have turned for inspiration and advice for this task. Instead, I have searched through the past issues of the journal to see how Archie and other revered educationalists have approached it. In doing so, I found that the same thing happened as when I first picked up a copy of the journal over 20 years ago; I got so engrossed in the contents that I forgot my original purpose. Flicking back through previous editions, I discovered again so many articles relevant to the issues that I have had to deal with in the past 12 months as a Deputy and Acting Head in an urban comprehensive school. In my Acting capacity, I was required to lead a team to construct a vision for a new school under the Building Schools for the Future scheme. Our school advisor Kevin Buckle, himself a former NAPCE secretary, encouraged us to be as creative as possible in the process. With this brief we got completely carried away, creating what we felt was a perfect 21st-century neighbourhood learning centre that we equipped with VLEs, portable IT access (we were encouraged not to use the word laptops as this might well be an outdated concept in 5 years’ time), retina recognition for access, 3601 classrooms and plasma screens everywhere. However, at the very heart of the school, we positioned our student support area where all student services, medical, careers and guidance, induction, counselling, peer mentoring and student council would be housed. We recognized that although the technology and the curriculum may change, the needs of the individual child to feel supported, cared for and safe remain the same as they were when NAPCE was formed 25 years ago. When it was formed, the association had a commitment to meeting the needs of the whole person and this is just as important today. Teachers are required to deal, on a daily basis, with children who are personally, socially, emotionally and behaviourally challenged. The latest research suggests that so many of our young people display anti-social behaviour because they do not spend enough time in the company of adults. As teachers and educationalists we continue to have an important role to play in promoting the importance of the emotional aspect of our students’ development. In the words of Aristotle, ‘Educating the mind without educating the heart, is no education at all’. Our role in supporting, guiding and building relationships with our students, enabling our young people to become caring, supportive and loving parents of future generations is as important today as it was 25 or even 2,000 years ago.