Teachers change our lives

BENJAMIN Disraeli in 1874 said: “Upon the education of the people of this country, the fate of this country depends.”

I have always believed that the most important role of the teacher is to identify and encourage from an early age the potential, interests and passions of each of their pupils.

It is essential to realise that all individuals have, at the very least, one particular gift, with the majority having many more.

How easy it is to put pupils into a box, indicating unwittingly that they do not and never will have any talents. This attitude couldn’t be more damaging.

Children are sensitive and perspicacious and soon become acutely aware of what a teacher thinks of them.

Good teachers are aware, as they start their day, of the long-term impact they can make by what they say and how they say it.

Former pupils will be able to recall clearly at least one particular comment made to them by their teachers. They will never forget that moment for the rest of their lives. A genuine belief and interest in a child is non-negotiable.

“Are you going to treat pupils as what they are, or as what they might be? Morality requires that you should treat them as what they might be,” said Bishop William Temple.