Dear Friends of Pilgrims,

Welcome to another issue if HLT: a bi-monthly journal full of timeless ideas and insights for teaching. We’re so glad to have you with us.

These days, when I think about how I can become a better teacher, the recurring thought is that there is no better strategy than TO IMAGINE what I would ‘buy’ if I were on the other end. In other words: what do my students expect from me? What can I give them? What is reasonable? What’s doable? What’s not? There is no ethos, in my opinion, that is better for any teacher to have: through asking questions like that, not only do I embark on introspective work that I consider vital, I also feel I win the respect of my learners, I EARN the deserved trust of the people I’m dealing with in the classroom, and there is HUGE pleasure in life to be obtained from getting deserved trust, don’t you think?  For, AT THE END OF THE DAY, the only sensible, lasting reward for us teachers is emotional.

As I write, at Pilgrims we’re putting the final touches to our summer school in Limerick (2022): as you know, we’ve had to cancel our TT programme for two consecutive years, COVID oblige. While the world is by no means out of the woods yet with regards to the pandemic, (especially the less fortunate countries with scarce or no access to the vaccine), my impression is that the worst seems to be over. Last year we felt it was very much ‘the end of air’, as TS Eliot would say. Today it feels we’re starting to breathe again. Let’s just hope it lasts and things will continue to get better until everyone is safe, everywhere.

 On top of our summer school in Limerick, Pilgrims will run several one-day and week-end workshops in Paris, Segovia, Edinburgh, Heidelberg and Geneva. Please keep an eye on our website for the details. An important novelty concerns our Café online, which will now run bi-monthly.

To conclude, many of you will have gone back to teach in the classroom, many others may have to continue to teach remotely for some time, and some will be doing both. Whatever you are doing, wherever you are,  happy teaching!

Stay in touch, stay safe and until the next time.

Chaz

Chaz Pugliese

Director of Education and Teacher Training, Pilgrims.