IT STARTED as soon as the car door closed, schoolbags shrugged off shoulders and seatbelts in place.
That end-of-the-day chatter, a jumble of who-said-what-and-what-happened-when, has been absent from our lives since lockdown began, and I have missed it very much.
It was different from the usual first-day-back-blether, of course – they had five months of catching-up to do, five months of missed chat and daftness with their friends, five months starved of all the things tweens and teens should have in their lives.
They had whole new regimes to get their heads around, from handwashing and one-way systems to split timetables and lunchbreaks which seemed, for the teachers at any rate, to last about four hours.
There is no doubt the last few months have been difficult for children; without the structure and support of school, some young people in tough circumstances have floundered. The priority has to be getting those pupils back on track. Others have struggled with the loneliness of lockdown and the uncertainty of what lies ahead.
Generation C, some commentators are calling them, particularly in the recent exam results chaos. The ‘lost generation’, hit from all sides.
‘Let’s call them The Covid Generation,’ said one article writer, considering the impact of the virus on young people across the globe. Well, no, actually. Let’s not.
Do we really want this pandemic to define young people who have shown remarkable courage and adaptability during one of the most unsettling periods of their lives?
Read more: Opinion: Ann Fotheringham - Let's all go back to Malory Towers
Look at all the stories of creativity and courage, of strength in the face of adversity, which have emerged during lockdown. Edinburgh University student Holly McConnell ran online British Sign Language classes for children, parents and teachers; 15-year-old Glasgow pupil Alex Cohen used his 3D printer at home to make face shields for healthcare workers; teenage student nurse Nicole Cornfield moved out of her family home in Airdrie to protect her asthmatic brother while she helped battle the virus; 16-year-old Karen McSporran, from Glasgow, baked and baked cakes to thank foodbank volunteers working flat out … the list could run and run.
Call them Generation Resilient. Call them strong, brave, powerful, resourceful. Support them, listen to them. Just don’t call them Generation Covid.
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