“We shall never have more time.
Arnold Bennett
We have, and have always had,
all the time there is.”
We are in that season of last things, those of us on the last days of a holiday break. This probably means looking at the things not ticked off the list, or rumination over the broken promises, or renegotiating new ones.
Thoughts turn to what Monday will be like, bleary eyed and shocked at the shift in routine, perhaps a touch miffed that daylight savings just started and you lost a precious hour of sleep when you needed it most.
There is also a slight sense of mourning about the shrinking of your own time and the handing over to the profession we chose, this inherent act of service, and all the demands and implications of this choice.
Strive is a word which pops up too, a short, punchy verb with complex implications. The Oxford dictionary defines it as making ‘ great efforts to achieve or obtain something’ and to ‘struggle or fight vigorously’.
The Cambridge dictionary says it is ‘to try very hard to do something or to make something happen, especially for a long time against difficulties’.
Well, this would be a word which comes to mind as we confront a new term, for it is at the core of what we do as teachers in schools, isn’t it?
It follows that the other thought, that of living on 24 hours a day, also comes to mind as we embark on that plate spinning, dynamic and hectic cycle of prioritising and slicing our attention into the requisite parts to get it all done. Wouldn’t another hour each day work wonders in keeping on top of all those hands in our pockets?
As a reminder that this is not a new problem, or limited in any way to teaching, Arnold Bennett wrote a book about this in 1910, a kind of proto-self help book way ahead of its time, titled ‘How to Live on 24 Hours a Day’, which if nothing else reveals how little things change, no matter how much things change.
While the dated turns of phrase and gendered language and assumptions stand out like the proverbial, the message remains the same and aligns well with the concerns of those who battle this paradox: How do we manage time and effort while also seeking growth and improvement?
For this is the essence of striving – working over a long time to get better. It is the fuel for progress, achievement and satisfaction as long as it doesn’t fly out of control.
Bennett calls this the ‘desire to exceed one’s programme’ and if this is not striving, then I can’t read English.
However we square this circle, so to speak, it is worth reminding ourselves that there is no magic pudding of more time and indeed, we have what we have, for now.
Good luck to all you strivers – it matters if we are to honour the gift.
Charlie Hynes 