Best teacher in the uniVERSE!
IN 1978, a teacher and his class appeared in the M.E.N. with a poem they had worked on together.
Exactly 42 years later, the teacher has worked on another poem with a new generation of students. Between 1974 and 1978, Mike George taught at Burnage High School – during his last year at the school, he worked with his class to produce a poem.
The poem, based around skateboarding, went on to appear in the paper on February 1, 1978.
Mike said: “I submitted the poem to the editorial team as I really wanted to showcase the hard work the class had done.
“We got a photographer to come over and take our photo, and our poem was published in a ‘Junior News’ feature. We were all so proud.”
Mike, from Moss Side, would go on to teach at Haveley Hey Primary School and would later work at Marketing Manchester for the council’s adult education service until his retirement in 2007.
It was during this time that he would be recognised with the Chief Executive’s Award for a long and dedicated service.
Prior to completing his teacher training, Mike even appeared in the Guinness Book of Records for a non-stop piano playing time of eight days, three hours and 17 mins.
He is also a co-holder of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service for his volunteering role at Wythenshawe Community Radio.
Now, at the age of 75, Mike has returned to Burnage Academy for Boys as a volunteer teacher to help assist students.
Article in the M.E.N. in 1978
To mark the 42nd anniversary of the poem, Mike decided it was time to create a new poem for a new generation of students. He said: “The new poem, titled Living the Game, is the work of class 7n2. In the 70s, skateboarding was the top trend but it’s totally different now – it’s all about video gamin0g.
“We had a few different ideas about what the topic for the new poem would be and then put it to a vote.
“Of course, there are some negatives to gaming but we wanted to focus on the positive and social aspects, and how people can live in their own world.” Mike says that it has been a ‘wonderful experience’ to work on the poem. He added: “It’s been just wonderful.
“It’s as if I have never left. The class has really got into the poem, and we made sure that everyone was able to have an input into it.
“The students have said how they wished all lessons were as fun as this and it’s an amazing feeling to be able to hear that.”
David Lingenfelter, assistant head at Burnage Academy for Boys, said: “Michael has always had a caring nature. It was obvious in his first teaching engagement at Burnage back in 1974, he taught me maths as a pupil in his year eight class and his determination to do his best for the students was always foremost.
“Since his return, working in a volunteer capacity, he has continued in the same vein, helping students maximise their potential through personal oneto-one support or by helping the classroom teacher deliver topquality lessons.
“It has been a real pleasure to welcome Michael back to Burnage Academy for Boys and we look forward to benefiting from his continued support in the future.”
The poem was created by students Muhammad, Abdullah, Ismail, Mughees, Muhammad, Ammar, Adan, Ismail, Ahsan, Wali, Mohamad, Yasin, Qusam, Mohid, Shahaan, Omar, Abdullah, Furqan, Omari, Ammar, and Zeeshan.