Education matters

I heard a story from England today of an author called Chris Young who wanted to find his old English teacher, a lady called Miss Ward, to thank her for what she did for him when he was in crisis as a 13-year-old in the 1970s. 

He didn’t want to thank her for instilling a love of books and writing that led to him becoming an author or anything predictable like that, because he became an author later in life as a result of his life experiences; he wanted to thank her for filling him with hope in a time when he felt utterly hopeless. 

At age 12, his mother died which led to his father entering into a downward abusive, alcoholic spiral through his inability to cope.

Understandably, Chris was beginning to enter into a spiral himself and was falling behind in his studies leaving him in the bottom quarter of attainers in the school. 

It was Miss Ward, however, that pulled him ‘out of that ditch’ and made him feel blessed and special at a time when that was the last thing he felt. According to Mr Young, she believed in him and what he was capable of, building his confidence and showing a genuine interest. 

As a result of this intervention, he went on to lead a productive and meaningful life as a social worker, helping others stuck in ditches of their own.

Now, this is an interesting story for three reasons. Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, it is the story of the immensely positive impact a good teacher or head teacher can have on a child, an impact often only recognised through their legacy. 

Secondly, the nature in which the search is being conducted is a stand out example of how social media can be used so positively to spread love and messages of thanks to those who really deserve it, but don’t necessarily expect to receive it. 

The message to date has been retweeted 30,000 times and while Miss Ward hasn’t been found yet she probably will be based on the reaction the story has received, which leads me to the third reason why this story is so remarkable and that is the impact it has had.

What Chris Young has done, unwittingly you might suppose, is to set a trend, even start a movement, because he has got people to reflect on those teachers in the past who helped them in ways that perhaps couldn’t be fully understood or expressed at the time. What he has done is to spread a message, that even though everyone experiences school, those experiences are not always the same. But in schools around the world there are some who can recognise what children need, who see their job as much more than a pay cheque and long holidays but who take the responsibility and privilege of working with children, young people and their families seriously.

So who was your Miss Ward, the teacher that you think of when you think back to school and what would you like to thank them for? 

You don’t have to, but taking inspiration from Chris Young and taking advantage of the technology available to us, why not track them down, the teachers who have stuck with you ... and do just that because sometimes we don’t know the impact that we can have on people until they tell us themselves.

And you can also share your stories on the letters page by writing to editor@gulfweekly.com