Dot, dot, dot #4

 

Teachers are my heroes.  Miss Gentry, Mr Graham, Miss Edworthy and Mr Dudding were extraordinary people and I have very fond memories of my time in their classes (year one, year four, year seven and my secondary school English teacher respectively – not that year groups were labelled that way back then).  They shaped my life: I credit them with my love of English and my commitment to learning; they inspired me to line my teddies up at the weekend (my hapless little brother on the end), call the register and teach them Maths and, of course, eventually to properly follow in their footsteps.  It wasn’t long into my teaching career that I developed the strong belief that every child and young people at school deserves teachers of heroic stature, that society needs teachers of that calibre and that teachers ought to have that status.  As we applauded the very real heroes of the Covid pandemic from our doorsteps during lockdown, I imagined those doctors’ and nurses’ own lists of the teachers who inspired them and set them on their paths to successful careers.  We want our children to have the confidence, understanding, abilities and imagination to build a bright future for …