Teachers. We've all had them at one point or another in our lives. Some we can remember for all the right reasons. Some we can remember for all the wrong reasons. Some we can't even remember at all. The point is, our school teachers form a big part of our lives - whether we want to admit that or not. I think we can all agree that over the past year, in particular, it has really come to light how truly amazing teachers are and that we'd all really struggle without them. So, this is for all the teachers out there who have impacted mine and your lives in one way or another.
I'm sure that when you think back to your school days, there are some teachers that will stand out in particular for just being really amazing and a true inspiration to you. I know I can certainly think of a fair few, particularly when it comes to my primary school teachers. For me, the best teachers I had were the ones who had a real passion for teaching and the subject (or subjects) that they taught, as this really came off in the lessons they gave. The main ones I can think of, in this respect, were my history teachers as all three of them had such a passion for history and this really influenced me in my choice to take history at both GCSE and A-Level. They also played a really big part in making me become as history obsessed as I am today. They were the type of teachers who would want respect from you (I mean, who doesn't want a bit of respect?) but would also show you respect back in return (which quite a few of my teachers definitely did NOT do). They would always (well, not always, but most of the time) make their lessons relatively fun and always managed to get the balance right between actually teaching us and giving us fun and interesting tasks to do. I will always remember them as being some of the best teachers I ever had, who, in some weird way, managed to make me want to work with children in the future, and I know for sure that if I ever end up working in a school, I will try and take the things I learnt from them and put them into practice.
As I mentioned above, my primary school teachers were definitely the ones who had the biggest impact on me. I think pretty much all of them, apart from one or two, had a very positive impact on my education during the time I was at that school. I think primary school teachers have a pretty hard job as they are having to plan and carry out lessons for children who are all developing at very different paces. The majority of my primary school teachers were able to carry out their lessons really well and with so much enthusiasm for all of the different subjects they had to teach. This is definitely something I have come to appreciate as I have gotten older and actually started studying early childhood education and have, particularly in more recent times, realised how difficult this must be if you are not so confident in some subjects. This is the reason why I'm not entirely sure I should be a primary school teacher (although I haven't ruled it out entirely) as I don't think I could show that much passion and enthusiasm for the subjects I don't particularly like/am no good at - particularly the core subjects. While I was at primary school, and for a lot of secondary school, I never really understood why anyone would go through school and at the end of it want to become a teacher. Now, however, I do understand why people want to do that. This has definitely helped me to have massive respect for my primary school teachers and I will always try to embody how they taught me and the kindness and compassion that they showed me in both a personal and professional context.
I would have to say that the main teacher that had such a big impact on my life was my A-Level psychology and health & social care teacher. She was probably everything you could ask for in a teacher. She was kind, knew how to make her lessons interesting and engaging, was compassionate, and would show respect towards us (her students) for as long as we showed respect towards her. She was probably one of the only teachers who I felt I could trust and that I could go to her about anything - which is something that I very rarely feel towards anyone. She took her role as a teacher and went above and beyond what was expected of her and would have time for everyone - something not many of my other teachers would do. She was the teacher who truly made me realise that I wanted to go into working with kids (either that or it was the fact that a fair amount of the two subjects she taught me involved children and that was what I enjoyed the most out of both subjects). I really wish I had taken the time to really thank her for everything she had done for me, whether that was advertently or inadvertently.
I really think that teachers don't always get the thanks they really deserve. Sure, at the end of term some kids might get their teacher(s) a card or a little gift to say thank you for everything they had done over the last year, but I think teachers deserve way more thanks than that. They have to put up with so many things, whether that's kids acting up, having to work over-time, having to spend a lot of their time marking homework/exam papers and planning lessons, and having to cover classes due to a lack of teachers (we LOVE a budget cut) when they don't know anything about the subject.
If you are a student, know a teacher, or are a parent of a child who is in school, please thank your teacher(s). Now, more than ever, they deserve all the praise in the world and this world would definitely be a lot different if it didn't have teachers in it.
Love Beth xx
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