Hello Friend.
Education is in the press again for all the wrong reasons.
As a teacher, sometimes it feels like nothing you do makes a difference.
So let me tell you a story. My story.
I’ve come a long way from where I am now. I had a troubled childhood and really hated school.
For reasons I won’t go into, I was a very angry, unhappy, rebellious little boy who always picked fights, never listened to anybody and generally wanted to cause havoc.
My motto would have been, ‘If life's 🤬 for me, why don’t I make it bad for everyone else?’
When I was 10, it was horrible. Most people gave up on me.
Then Ms Pearce came into my life.
When I joined her Year 6 class, I was really off the rails. I gained a bit of reputation, which I revelled in and, at the same time, secretly despised. But when she was teaching me, she looked at me differently than the other teachers.
Through her mahogany eyes, she saw the real me. Not the brash, rude, wild child but the boy who was hurting, misunderstood and needed someone to believe in him.
Ms Pearce always smiled at me and, most of the time, listened to me patiently and kindly. She gave me responsibilities and care while other teachers told her she was foolish to nurture me. Yet, she always trusted and believed I would eventually make the right decisions.
She made me 6B’s book monitor, and although my career was patchy at best, this is what helped my love of reading to flourish. In ‘show-and-tell,’ when the other students groaned when I brought yet another book to review, she beamed and encouraged me to speak on the things I cared about.
But I wasn’t always nice to Ms Pearce. Sometimes, I would shout at her, be rude, throw things, and hit out because I was ‘emotionally hijacked.’ Looking back on it now, I know I must have been tough to deal with. There must have been times when she wanted to give up on me. Times where she might have wanted me to be removed from her group.
But she didn’t. She sanctioned me appropriately but always told me that she knew that I would come good. She believed in me when I didn’t believe in it myself.
Several decades later, here I am. I wish I could tell you everything fell into place when I left primary school, but it didn’t. It took a loooooong time for the seeds Ms Pearce planted in me to blossom. But they eventually did.
I genuinely believe that the first turning point in my life was when Ms Pearce taught me. I recently tried to find her to thank you for being such a wonderful teacher. But alas, I was unsuccessful. Even with the great Internet, I don’t know what became of her.
But I sincerely hope that somehow she knows how much she meant to me and how grateful I am for her kindness. Part of the reason I can do what I do is that she took a chance on me that no one else bothered to do.
Thank you, Ms Pearce.
Dear educators, in your career, you may educate hundreds, possibly thousands of students in your tenure. Yet, as time passes, you may forget their names and faces as they descend into the sea of your memory.
But if you are the outstanding teachers I imagine you to be, they will never forget you. This gig can be incredibly hard, and sometimes you want to chuck in the towel. But remember, you are planting seeds in your students that can improve their lives - and they will be forever indebted to you for that.
The world needs educators like you more than ever before. Despite all the mayhem that seems to be in the education system and our world, your classroom may be the only sanctuary of peace your students have.
You should be proud of what you do and I just want to thank you for your service.
Look after yourself.
The next newsletter comes out on Thursday 20th February 2025.
See you then.
Karl
