13 Mar 2016

You begrudgingly trudge into English. You don’t want to be here and truth is, neither do I. It’s too early, my weekend went too quickly, and Saturday night remains a mystery. My phone is filling with messages from guys I met in bars and of my girlfriend’s descriptions of how the weekend really went down. Like you, I would prefer to be curled up in bed, or lying by the sea or being pretty much anywhere but here.

It’s easy to see your teachers as bodies of fluid and flesh that spent their entire lives in an educational institution- primary school, high school, university and then returning to where they started. Maybe a part of you doesn’t really respect them for that, you see them as a physical manifestation of the Department of Education, the very department you’re losing respect for as each day passes because of the stifling nature of school.

I hear you snicker about the fact you saw me at Woolworths on the weekend barefoot and still in my pink and white checked pyjama pants and you probably can’t imagine me heading out with the gals for a few cocktails or even something simple like cooking myself dinner in my apartment. You don’t see me as a person outside of school and that’s okay, I didn’t really see my teachers as people either (unless ‘that guy’ made them cry and it reminded me that they had thoughts and feelings too).

Maybe you’ve forgotten the true reason why we remain in this institution. Maybe you forget that for most of us, we see this profession as something more than just good holidays, good pay and a breezy time in free periods.

Most of us have become teachers because we believe in the power of your generation, because we see the potential and greatness that you have regardless of grades and behaviour. We believe we are equipped with the ability to stand in your classrooms and help you develop skills that will benefit you in every facet of your life. Sure, the content is contestable, some of the texts that I prescribe to you are horrible- but the underlying skills are there and they are what matters. Sometimes you’ve got to push through the mundane to reap the benefits, and that is mirrored in so many aspects of your life outside high school.

So, while you feel like sh*t this morning, remember that I do too. But don’t forget I’ve got a $30, 000+ University debt because I’m passionate about showing up every day and teaching you guys. Sometimes you’ve got to pause and look around to see the sacrifices, the dedication and the love that what I’d hope all of your teachers embody.

Be kind to me because I showed up and I’m prepared. Do the work I prescribe because it matters to your grades and to your skill development. I promise that if I thought it was pointless I wouldn’t do it. Trust me.

I’ll see you in class tomorrow and don’t be late.

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