Teaching must be one of the most difficult jobs on earth. Especially in this country, with such high levels of poverty and domestic abuse. But when you’re a teenager, you believe that teachers live in school and have nothing more important in their lives than getting on your back about your coat and shoes.
Most of us will have a list as long as our arm, of the names of the teachers that hated us. And we’ll remember their words as long as we live. But then there’s that one incredible teacher, who took the time to really talk to you, and make you feel like you’re more then just one of the crowd.
I’ll always remember Mr Heron, a geography teacher who was probably the first person to ever tell me I was good at something. At a time when my home life was chaos and my behaviour in school reflected it. By year eight I was very rapidly falling from set one to set four in maths.
READ MORE: Liverpool mum shares positive reality of home schooling
READ MORE: Is it time we stopped always using 'dad's name'?
Just in time, this one teacher noticed I was struggling and made the effort to convince me to take geography to GCSE. Because I was finally good at something. Me?!
Mr Heron’s encouragement eventually filtered through and changed the way I approached most other subjects at school. I started to climb back up the sets so I could do the higher paper GCSEs and really started to see the importance of my work. Come results day, Geography was my highest mark.
Because of Mr Heron I went on to do geography at A level and was the only person in my immediate family to go to university, where I studied a human geography and social science filled degree, met some incredible friends and moved to the city I love today.
Contrary to my maths teacher's predictions. He’d have us write lines about enjoying a career working in the Snack Factory, if he kept us behind at lunch.
A somewhat skewed way of encouraging us to have ambition. Which was unusual and difficult, in an industrial town where literally every adult you know worked in a factory, or didn’t work at all.
I still love geography now - anything to do with rivers, clouds, tourism, eco systems, national parks, AONB’s… that’s area of outstanding natural beauty. Some things you never forget!
I spoke to a few friends about their amazing teachers and here's what they said:
Nic said: “I’m just thinking of my teacher that used to tell me - a cripplingly shy girl with problems at home, sat in the bottom set - in front of a whole class of bullies 'you’re too clever to be in this class, it's for idiots, you should be in the top set'. It was a geography teacher too! I wonder if it was the same one but I can’t remember his name.”
Pamela said: “A lot is changing, thankfully. If there is that 'naughty' behaviour in colleges I know we are asking the question of what happened/or is happening to you rather than why you acting like that? (In a negative way)."
Nina added: “Mrs Haigh. Literally went above and beyond. She drove us to fixtures in her own car. She got me stuck into Netball when there wasn’t really much out there for girls at the time. Genuinely a lovely person. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t think I’d be Head of PE now.”
Lois said: “Mrs Huxley-Blythe, an absolutely sound English teacher who made me feel like I was cool and that I mattered. Like what I said was interesting and important. I’m forever grateful.”
I hope all the hero teachers are enjoying their summer holidays, knowing that their words and their work will be remembered for a lifetime.
Get the top stories straight to your inbox by signing up for one of our free newsletters
READ MORE:
- Liverpool mums priced out of the workplace by crippling childcare fees
- Meet the Liverpool designers who each started their own kids' clothing brand from scratch
- Read more of Liverpool Family news and things to do
- 'I deserve the family I've always wanted' - women 'overjoyed' after using sperm donors
- Woman baffled by rich old school friend's 'condescending' demand
