At the beginning of September 2019 I started the journey of becoming a conductor. For me completing my first semester was a big achievement. My passion for Conductive Education grew and I was eager to begin semester two. Unfortunately due to Covid-19 the plan for year did not quite work out as the UK went into lockdown in March. When this happened I personally felt disheartened and worried as I had just started to build up my confidence in practice and was unsure how this would impact on first year.
Despite not knowing how first year was going to end, Birmingham City University, and NICE Conductive College adapted to the situation quickly and as a year group we were still able to complete our lectures online.
Without realising, studying Conductive Education personally helped me be able to adapt to the change positively. In my short time of studying Conductive Education, every conductor I have met along the way has had such a positive attitude. In groups I have facilitated in, conductors have always demonstrated the ability to adapt to change quickly. Ensuring the participants achieve the best outcome in the session they are in even if it isn’t what the conductor had planned for. While in lockdown, I began to think with this mindset that although Covid-19 changed what was planned for in Semester Two, there were still so many ways to learn and improve for when I eventually go back into placement.
Using the Internet regularly became the norm for the majority of people in lockdown. Previously I mentioned that placement was cut short. Although being in lockdown came with its disadvantages, one of the main advantages was having free time. This gave me the opportunity to discover Conductive Education settings not only in the UK but also abroad online. Many centres began to post on their social media sites regularly to show their participants or their participants’ parents and carers and how they can carry out Conductive Education at home. As a student this helped me massively with completing my assignments. I benefited from watching a variety of different conductors and used this as tool to teach me new techniques and think about new ideas on how I could improve when I go back into practice.
Overall, when I began my journey of becoming a conductor I never thought I would be a student studying through a pandemic. At the beginning of lockdown there were so many questions about how Covid-19 would affect my journey and if I would even be able to complete first year. With the help of my lecturers, second and third year students, my practice tutors and even Conductive Education centres across the world, I completed first year. Although there is still so much uncertainty about Covid-19, my passion for Conductive Education is even stronger and I am eager to begin second year and continue my journey of becoming a conductor, no matter the circumstances.
Lucy Meredith is a second year student on the BA in CE/QCS course at Birmingham City University/NICE Conductive College.
