Real People - Alun: A Teacher

During the next week or so I plan to post a number of interviews with Christians about how this crisis is impacting their work lives. Most of them are people working in the medical sphere. Today is a bit different. I asked Alun Ebenezer, Head Master of Fulham Boys School, if he could share with us. (Fulham Boy's School was deliberately built with a Christian ethos as one of its three core pillars: Faith. Boys. Enterprise. See: https://www.fulhamboysschool.org/about-us/christian-ethos/).

Perhaps it is not surprising that he was just too busy to stop and talk right now! Alun is a great guy, always ready for some chat and banter - so this says something about the pressure that he and other teachers are under too. As we remember those working on the medical frontline, let's not forget that teachers are doing a huge amount of work too - doing their best to provide an on going education for our children via on-line resources and keeping schools open and functional for the children of medical personnel. They need our prayers, gratitude, and encouragement too!

However, Alun did have the time to share the goodbye 'pep' talk he gave the boys at Fulham. With his permission I will post it here unedited. Addressed to the boys in one school, I think it contains some great advice which will be helpful for any of our young people who are worried about their exams and their futures. Perhaps you can pass his encouragement on to the young people who you know. This is what he said:

Until We Meet Again

"We are living through incredible times. So much so, that from 2pm on Friday 20th March The Fulham Boys School closed to nearly all of its pupils without knowing when we’d meet again. Before the boys left, we held a final assembly both for those in school and for those watching from home. I gave them twelve pieces of advice to take away and hold onto during the tumultuous months ahead.

Look after yourselves. Wash your hands; be clean; remember the importance of social distancing and follow government advice. When you wash your hands, apparently singing ‘Happy Birthday’ or ‘God Save the Queen’ helps. If you want to get them really clean, sing ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’.
Work hard. Even though you are not in school, physically, all of your lessons are on Google Classroom . Year 12 are in their first year of A-Levels, and are obviously anxious and worried. Don’t be: just work hard. Everyone is in the same boat. For Year 11, if I had just heard that my GCSE exams had been cancelled, at first I would have thought “Cha-ching!”; then, I would have been disappointed and deflated; then I would become quite anxious and worried and uncertain; but now I would think “Here we go”. Because if you work hard at all you have been set, you’ll be providing the evidence for predicted grades which I imagine your GCSEs will now be assessed on. So I would think, “Here. We. Go. I am going to prove, without any doubt, that I can get the best levels I possibly can.” To all year groups, Year 7 through to Year 12: don’t waste time, work hard.
Make sure you have a routine. Get out of bed early, get washed, get changed, and try and follow your normal school day as best as you can. Have some exercise. Don’t just be lazy and go stale, have a routine.
Keep in touch. Keep in touch with your teachers via email. Don’t go where we can’t find you or go to ground. We want you to know that we are just at the other end of an email, or maybe in some cases at the other end of a phone. I will also be sending out a video message to you at least once a week.
Show compassion. Compassion is the Christian value of this half term and I cannot think of a better time to show compassion. Help people, maybe your Grandparents. You won’t be able to see them for a long time so send them messages, do practical things to help them. There will be old people where you live, maybe you can do some shopping for them. Just think of practical ways that you can be kind and show compassion.
Build, strengthen, and repair relationships with your family, because you are going to spend an awful lot of time with them. Maybe you have got brothers and sisters you don’t get on with, maybe you’ve been hard work for Mum and Dad, but over the next few weeks and months, build relationships, strengthen relationships and put things right. You could come back saying “My family life is so much better, we get on so much better, we spent so much time together”. Be good boys; Mum and Dad are probably going to have tough times ahead, they are going to be worried and anxious, so be good for them. Do the right thing.
Be resilient. I am sure, like me, you’ve felt an. energy and a buzz in recent days. But as the weeks and the months go on there will be times when it will get harder and harder, and you boys must be resilient. You have got to dig in, and keep going.
Hold your nerve. There will be lots of people saying lots of things - lots of worrying things - and people will be anxious about what might happen.. Rudyard Kipling said this, “If you can keep your head, while all around are losing theirs, you’ll be a man my son”. Hold your nerve.
Be brave. I am sure, like me, there might be times over the next few days and weeks where you will be a bit scared, but be brave, show courage.
Ask for help. The bravest word a boy can sometimes say is ‘Help’. If you are on your own, or if you are struggling, and finding it hard, send me an email and say “Sir, I need some help”, and I can make sure that the right people can give you that help. Don’t be frightened to ask for help.
Think. Think about all the things you have heard in this assembly, all the things that Mr Brown has said, and consider them all. You will have lots of thinking time ahead.
Be thankful. These are tough times, but we have still got so many things to be thankful for. While many pupils have not been able to come to school, your teachers have come in and looked after you. Even those who are ill and at home have sent work in for you.

Let me end by giving you some advice which is not my advice at all, it is actually found in The Bible, in Psalm 121,

“I lift my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made Heaven and Earth. He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you, will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel, will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper, the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil, He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out, and your coming in, from this time forth and forevermore.”

Look after yourselves. Work hard. Have a routine. Keep in touch. Show compassion. Build, strengthen, and repair relationships with your family. Be resilient. Hold your nerve. Be brave. Ask for help. Think. Be thankful, and look to God.

Take care, and I look forward to seeing you on the other side."

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This transcript was originally posted on-line here: https://www.fulhamboysschool.org/news/90-until-we-meet-again/

You can watch a video of Alun's speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9o8v7o3Vp4&feature=youtu.be

You can read more news from Fulham Boys School here: https://www.fulhamboysschool.org/news/89-how-can-christians-respond-to-the-coronavirus-guest-blog-by-sam-brown-chaplin/

Alun has also written these books, which should be available via your local Christian bookstore: