Thomas Hardy is most well-known for his tragic novels but his great love was in fact poetry. One of
his most moving poems was called ‘The Voice’, published in 1914, which began with the lines:
“Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to me, / Saying that now you are not as you were.”
After a while the poet realises the voice is not that of his former love but in fact just the wind,
leaving Hardy to conclude with the lines: “Thus I; faltering forward, / Leaves around me falling, /
Wind oozing thin through the thorn from norward, / And the woman calling.”
In 1940 Sir Winston Churchill took office as Prime Minister and declared, “I have nothing to offer but
blood, toil, tears and sweat” in warning the British people of the hardships to come in fighting World
War II. And In 1959 Alan Sillitoe published what became an acclaimed short story entitled ‘The
Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner’, which followed a poor working class boy with bleak
prospects who found long-distance running as a means of physical and emotional release.
Why do we consider these different statements? Right now, many of us are looking back wistfully to
the teaching that we once knew, teaching that is not now what it was. Online teaching is not the
teaching with which we fell in love; it almost literally but certainly metaphorically offers “blood, toil,
sweat and tears” as we too face particular hardships. Right now, we are experiencing the loneliness
of the long-distance teacher. We feel like a 100 metre sprinter who now has to run a marathon
(uphill, on ice, against wind, blindfold, barefoot). But as the young boy found a release in running, so
we too may find such helpful release in our long-distant teaching from tips for long-distant running.
Long-distance running is all about perseverance, a word that pertinently contains the words ‘severe’
and ‘race’. It also contains other words that help us understand its meaning and deal with its
difficulties. Firstly, within the word ‘perseverance’ there are the letters P – A- C – E. We have probably
all seen it: in just about every Inter-House athletics or cross-country event, one youngster will tear
off at the beginning of the race at a frantic pace and no doubt will have his ‘moment in the sun’.
Often other runners are also caught up in the stampede and go with the flow. However, as the race
goes on so the other athletes begin to glide past and our intrepid hero’s pace wanes, first to the
point of walking and ultimately, even, to a standstill. We must not be that runner.
Secondly, in that word PACE, the letter P comes first. Cultural boffins will know that the symbol ‘p’ in
music means “soft” or “quiet”; so in long-distance running, pacing yourself will generally mean start
quietly, slowly, not flat out. The glory does not come in the first lap; it does not matter one little bit if
we are last in the first lap. Thirdly, note that ACE comes at the end of the word PACE; the best part
comes at the end of the race – the key is how we finish. Fourthly, look further at the word PACE and
you will find PACE on the outskirts of the word ‘PAtienCE’. The secret of perseverance is pacing
yourself and the secret of pacing yourself is patience. We do not need to do everything at once; we
do not need to lead at once. All these truths apply to us in our long-distance teaching.
Long distance runners are also encouraged to have small goals, shorter strides, gradual increases,
regular stretches, occasional walks; they are encouraged to train smarter not harder; they are
inspired to have positive thoughts but to be ready for the tough parts (knowing they will come
sometime); they are uplifted by focusing on their own race, not comparing to others or to previous
years. The long-distance teacher will be helped by following such practices too.
Elvis Presley once sang the beautifully lyrical song “Are you lonesome tonight? Do you miss me
tonight? Are you sorry we drifted apart? Does your memory stray to a brighter sunny day…?” As with
‘The Voice’ above, we may look back with longing to our former love of teaching, and wonder if it
will indeed “come back again”? He went on to pick up Shakespeare’s line that, “the world’s a stage
and each must play a part”; we each are indeed playing our part even in this long-distant marathon
called online learning. Are we lonesome today? Long-distance teaching is lonely but we are not
alone. We are not racing against others; we are running with others and for others. Keep on running.
We may be faltering forward but we are still moving – and teaching is still calling us.
