As my eldest sits his final school exam, I’m grateful to the fine teachers who helped me parent him

‘My son’s teachers have gone out of their way to hold extra lessons, provide moral support and stand outside exams with spare supplies and healthy snacks,’ Ranjana Srivastava writes. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

“I hope you’re not going to do something like this,” warns my son on his way to attend a surprise 18th birthday party courageously arranged by his friend’s mother. That tone squelches any desire I had to do something similar.

“Never thought of it,” I shrug with a nonchalance I don’t feel.