The Bulletin
Friday 1 May 2020
Issue 161
From the Headmaster In years to come we may well feel the need to add a whole new section to our guidelines for staff, on an aspect of school life which we would never even have considered until just a few weeks ago. This is, of course, the etiquette surrounding online meetings or video-conferencing. Without doubt, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp all now dominate our daily lives. The fact that we are working remotely necessitates a number of meetings and I am proud of how the staff have adapted so smoothly to this new way of working and have continued to ensure that both operationally and strategically the RGS functions as normally as possible. To coin a phrase, however, it is undoubtedly true that never in the history of mankind have so many meetings been conducted by so many in such a short time! On the off-chance that a day of remote meetings at work fails to satisfy, then evenings contain further opportunities for mass online interaction with group chats with friends and family; it seems we are unable to escape the lure of collaborative screen time! This eruption of meetings has, however, created its own challenges, none of which of course afflict the RGS, I am delighted to say! Inspired by an article on the dangers of video-conferencing it got me thinking as to what pitfalls we should educate our staff on; the following reflections may well resonate with you: WhatsUp?: In the midst of the worst global pandemic in history, the Chair starting the meeting by asking “How is everyone?” to be faced by a cheery chorus of “Fine”, “Yes, good thanks”, “Not at all bad” or, my personal favourite, “Could be worse”. Anyone-got-anything-to-add Affliction: The awkward and seemingly endless silence when a question is posed and no-one replies, only interrupted by a sudden, simultaneous explosion of everyone talking at once, followed by, just as immediately, stark silence returning. No, after you! Disorder: After the cycle of Anyone-got-anything-to-add Affliction being repeated, all attendees doing the very British thing of saying "No, no, no, you go" or “No, after you!” which starts up the whole Anyone-got-anything-to-add Affliction cycle all over again. It’s a Teams game: Coming up with an in-your-opinion strong suggestion which is either greeted with stony silence or a succession of blindingly-obvious, valid reasons why this is totally unworkable, only to comment “Well, it’s good to look at alternatives!”. Oops Moment 1: The frustration of delivering a word-perfect, articulate, inspirational, award winning speech, only to find that you were on mute the whole time. Only to un-mute yourself and forget completely what you were intending to say. RGSGuildford
Registered Charity No. 1177353
Oops Moment 2: Being asked your opinion during a two-hour meeting just after you – for the first time, having waited for ages, after internal turmoil – have nipped out to the toilet/to grab a drink/to answer the doorbell (delete as appropriate). Sudden, unexplained loss of wi-fi may provide the only get-out clause. Hang-ups with hang ups: At the end of the meeting, a succession of individuals saying “OK, thanks!” followed by ten seconds of awkward silence while everyone frantically tries to find the hang-up button while desperately striving not to look like a complete gormless technophobe. And my personal favourite, which I unashamedly quote from the online article which inspired this reflection, Elephant in the Zoom: The glaring issue that nobody feels able to mention, e.g. one participant has dramatically put on weight, suddenly sprouted terrible facial hair, or has shocking taste in curtains, clothing, furniture etc. I wish you all a restful and relaxing weekend, which I hope is blissfully free of meetings. I continue to thank you all for your support and kindness during this remote phase; your words of gratitude are very much appreciated #RGSTogether.
RGSGuildford
Registered Charity No. 1177353