It's ok not to be ok: January 2021 Editorial

At the time of writing, vaccinations have begun to be rolled out across the UK, and at last an end to COVID-19 restrictions may be in sight.

But, things did not magically reset at new year, and ‘recovery’, for music education, will take longer than people think. A lot was asked of you in 2020. Alongside the huge toll taken on freelance music, music departments came under pressure to double down on the academic aspects of the subject and had to come up with creative ways to be a showpiece and release valve for the whole school.

For every blitz-spirit story about merrily drilling holes in practice room walls so you could hear an accompanist in the next room, and those moments of release when a problem got solved (pencil case samba, anyone?), there are a thousand stories that haven't yet been told of music teachers wrestling with unfamiliar technology in the middle of the night on an overheating laptop, carrying a huge weight of expectation on their shoulders, and of physical and mental health issues that got brushed aside, by students and teachers alike.

A recent report by the ISM, The heart of the school is missing (see News, p.7) highlights just how damaging 2020 was for school music in the UK. And from a first-hand perspective, David Guinane writes in this issue with powerful honesty about the expectations put on teachers, and the toll it took on him personally to put together a collaborative performance video (‘Come hell or high water’, p.32).

It is important, as we go forward, to be honest with ourselves as teachers and as a music department about our musical, physical and mental health. It's ok not to be ok this January. It's still ok not to be ok come September, or even come September 2022. It's ok to be realistic with parents and your SLT about what is achievable; to set healthy targets; to say no sometimes; and to be firm on what is in the best interest of you, your students, and the long term musical health of your school.