This is an entry that I’d not quite finished and didn’t get published. I thought I’d pop it out there anyway. I can’t remember exactly when it was, but I remember the day and it was fab!
This week has been a funny old week, but in a lovely way. I’ve been running around like a airborne insect with a cobalt-posterior and that does tend to be how I navigate life. Mr Dr Ross has been away so that doglets and I have been making the most of sleepovers (for some discussion of dog-co-sleeping, see here), which has been lovely and warm and fuzzy… and that’s the feeling I will wallow in for a moment. We just have to ignore the snoring and the fidgeting along the way.
A grand day out
On Saturday, I was at the Swindon Outlet Village with Mr Dr Ross and his mum. The weather was gross and we just wanted a nice chilled out day together. I got some more black boots, which was fab, Mr Dr Ross got new shoes and we had a great day. Just as we were leaving, I thought saw a former student and it turns out, I did see a former student. She was one of my first cohort working again in a school and I had the privilege of supporting her 1:1 with her GCSE maths, as she found it a bit tricky. She worked her socks off and got herself a grade C then went on to 6th form. I have bumped into her a couple of times over the year 4 years or so and I have worked with her younger sister, also a lovely student, and it did take her a while to find her ‘thing’. On Saturday, she told me that she’s found her ‘thing’ and is now doing the maths and science she needs to become a chiropractor (like her dad). She also said that almost cries every time she sees me- apparently, I have that effect on my students!
We meet again
But actually, there in the middle of the Outlet Village in the dizzy heights of Swindon, I also nearly cried. There we were, two women with the connection of teacher and student, both of whom are now in the world of grown-ups and we were right back in that maths room where we first met. That is the impact of teaching and my job working with those who find learning tricky and wobble with bits of the curriculum. It is my former students from Yorkshire coming to my wedding; it is the coffees at Meadowhall when I’m in Sheffield; it’s the catch ups I have when I bump into Mr Mayor at Tescos in Warwick and the tears I have in my eyes for the support that he gave me through Physics A-level; it’s the massive hugs that Mrs Edwards and Mrs McConaghy gave me when I popped into my secondary school to learn more about maths teaching. These people helped me along the way both as my teachers and as my students.
As educators, we are charged with some of the most important moments in our students’ lives and we need to respect that, and walk through their journey with them supporting them through the wobbles and triumphs.
You never know when you might bump into someone and nearly cry in a shopping centre and when you do, it’s worth absolutely everything!
