Like many people I’m not very good with heights. This is how I started to face my fear.
My fear of heights started with a failed attempt to abseil down Avonmouth Gorge in 1994. Even going on the London Eye in 2007 me feel rather wobbly and I’ve tried to avoid heights ever since. In the last academic year I ended up confronting and overcoming my fear of heights by following a piece of advice I have often given to my own children: face your fears.
I had the opportunity to accompany a group of pupils as they visited Gloucester Cathedral. Going down into the crypt was the easy part. Climbing the 269 steps of a winding medieval spiral staircase to reach the top of the tower was a different matter, even with two stops to see the ringing chamber and bell chamber, while also having to negotiate a short section that took us outside of the Cathedral at about 30 metres from the ground. It turns out that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t relish this part of the visit. There were a handful of pupils who were genuinely anxious, to the point of tears, not just about how high we would go but also dealing with the feeling of claustrophobia in the staircase.
To reassure them, I revealed that I had a fear of heights but wanted reach the top of the tower and see the view on a clear November day. We would all go up together in a small group. There were some nervous moments as we ascended but we were rewarded by fantastic views across the city and beyond. Actually, the biggest challenge turned out to be avoiding slipping on the tower roof – it has been raining earlier. My overriding feeling was one of pride for the pupils who had dreaded the climb but completed it. Later I realised that I had been inspired by the courage of this small group of pupils to face my own fear of heights.
A number of months later I would face my fear of heights again during an activity-based residential (which will be the basis of a future blog) but the idea of ‘facing your fears’ has strongly resonated with me.
We all have our own fears and, quite naturally, we often do what we can to avoid them. There are times, however, when we have little choice but to face them. As teachers we often impart words of wisdom to our pupils as they face various challenges but how often do we follow our own advice?
Perhaps we should actively seek to confront our fears because, as I discovered, it’s not always as bad as you think.
BRC
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