We should all say THANK YOU

20th June 2025

Things to write about this week? Many and so much more positive than the past few weeks. How about: The weather? Or the visits and field trips? Or sports day ? Or Year 11 leavers? Or the weather? Or England against India – cricket at Headingley?

You know what it’s going to be. It can only be the national Thank a Teacher day. I do know that the schools and college rely on a whole host of professionals and without  all staff pulling in the same direction, with the needs of the children, young people and their parents and carers in mind, we’d be and do nothing. In our schools and in the college all that we do, all that we aspire to do is built on the fundamental foundation that the teaching and learning experience needs to be as great as it can be. Without our teachers we aren’t a school or a college. Without our teachers we have no value, there’s no point to us being here.

And so… a very warm, heartfelt, generous and important THANK YOU to all of our teachers.

There has been so much said and written throughout the week. In the wider public, across the media (social and traditional): some of us have been cynical – fine (even hollow) words but without the substance; some have complained that ‘it’s just their job’, some have noted that teachers should be recognised more regularly, some have noted that the day/the words don’t improve terms and conditions. Oh dear! Why can’t we just accept the day as it’s meant and conceived. We don’t need to over analyse the background noise. Let’s just accept that every single one of us has been, or will be, positively impacted upon by a teacher. You’ll know who they are for you, what they did for you and how your life might have changed as a consequence of those moments. Was it a quiet bit of advice? Was it seeing your value, when others didn’t? Was it giving you a voice? Was it just noticing you? Was it incredible enthusiasm for a subject? Was it that extra-curricular input, which allowed you to access something different and beyond your home circumstances? Was it the safety of their classroom? You’ll have your own ‘Was it..?’ You don’t need to share it but it is worth reflecting upon.

Our teachers may not know who they have made a difference for but, let me reassure you, they will have changed lives, whether they’ve been teaching for a year, a decade or for (as it seems to some of us) a lifetime. Every interaction has the power to change a life. Every interaction can make a difference. Every interaction has the potential to be remembered for decades to come.

There were so many teachers that made a difference for me. When I reflect upon my schooling I know, very clearly, that I am where I am solely because of the impact so many teachers had on me. As a result, I have a passion and drive to pass that on to the next generation(s). It’s been over 45 years since I left primary school, over 40 years since I left secondary school and sixth form college but I can still remember those who changed my life. The very best of the seventies and eighties gave me their knowledge and experience, an enthusiasm for learning, so many sporting opportunities (in-school and out of school), school trips and residentials and they gave me their time, they believed in me and that I could and should be and do better.

As I have said, you’ll have your own stories and memories. Take some time to remember the good that you received and, if you are a teacher, bask in the difference that you make, the lives that you improve and the value you add.

‘A teacher affects eternity; he (she) can never tell where his (her) influence stops.’ Henry Adams

‘Most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives.’ Andy Rooney