Parting Thoughts

 

It is that time of year again.  It’s that bittersweet time for teachers when we say goodbye to those students who are leaving us or if we are leaving them to take up a new job elsewhere.

Primary school teachers in the UK will be seeing their little charges disappear into the  perceived Hellscape of Secondary schools whilst the Sixth Formers party off into the educational world of university or the cut-throat world of business and trying to earn a living.

Or, if they’re loaded and bored, off for a Gap Yah.

It can be a rather poignant time as we look back with pride at how our students have turned out and cherish the fond memories that we have of them.  Because, make no mistake, most  of our students are kind, co-operative and nice to be around. Statistics suggest anywhere between 50 to 60% of our students can be bracketed in this way.*

And that’s a nice statistic.  Some others that are chucked around include the 5 to 10% of students who are unbelievably nice to the point where they reaffirm your faith in humanity.   These are the ones you notice and try your best not to show any favouritism to in the classroom even though, deep down, you know you’re a human being and being a human is still an incredibly powerful driver of our daily interactions.

These are the ones you know you’re going  to miss when you see them at whatever passes for the graduation celebrations at your school.

There are also the 5 to 10% of students that  you just did not click with, for whatever reason.  This is perfectly normal for any teacher no matter what Educational Experts say.  It isn’t anything to beat yourself up about as long as you recognise it and try your best to be as fair and as equal as you can in the classroom.  Of all of the attributes that I have asked my students about over all of these years, treating each student fairly and equally has come up as the most important of all.  When you see them for that final day you’ll probably feel some regret that you weren’t able to achieve a closer relationship.

But, again, it is important not to admonish yourself about.  It happens.  It’s life.

There are also the 1 to 3% of students that we can label as Utter Bastards and that we are very glad to see the back of. 

I’ve been told that by saying that then I am unprofessional.   Or that the student is just a misunderstood angel really.  Nah; some students (like some adults) are just genuinely unpleasant people — not just struggling, not just having a bad day, but consistently rude, manipulative, cruel, or arrogant or all of those put together.  It is a truism.

These students exist.  No one is being done any favours by denying their existence.   They can’t be liked because they are unlikeable.  As a teacher you just have to survive them and remember that these types are rare.  

Just be happy that they are no longer your problem and try to remember the good kids that had the unfortunate experience of being  in their class and how you were united in an effort not to let that student derail the learning that was happening in your classroom.

We will, of course, ponder and wonder what life will have in store for those students alongside all of the rest.  That’s natural for all of us, I think.  If our students are poor, will they be able to fulfil their potential despite the financial barriers?  If they’re rich will they be  able to use their knowledge and skills to make the world a better place for them and for others?  

And it is with that difference between poor and rich that we turn to when we consider the future that all of our leaving students will have. 

It is a sad fact of life that differences in life outcomes will depend to some extent on the money that each of your students has available to them.  The good news is that it isn’t the overriding factor in many cases. 

So, for example, the chances of your students publishing a book; being regarded as a racist; a girl later playing football in a female team; any of them having between 1.5 and 1.8 children; drinking tea; becoming a politician; becoming an Influencer (God forbid); keeping dogs and cats; becoming a TV star; being transgender or gender diverse or identifying as gay are all categories of a future life that are roughly equal no matter what your income.

And, yes, there are some pretty random categories there.  Look, I was curious, okay?  You just wait…

There are lots of other categories where being rich will have a statistical effect on your outcomes in life (again, it isn’t pre-determined but just averaging). 

Going to university is a percentage much higher if you’re loaded.  Becoming a teacher is more likely if you’re not wealthy.  

I quite like that last statistic, for a variety of reasons.

Anyway, a huge % of poor students will find themselves living below the poverty line if you’re from inner-city areas as opposed to those who live in suburbia or beyond.  The richer you are the more likely you are to become a professional musician.  The poorer you are the more likely you are to engage in prostitution; be in an abusive relationship or even be the perpetrator of abuse in a relationship. 

Oddly enough, being wealthier means you are more likely to die by suicide but the opposite is true of becoming a victim of street crime.  Divorce rates are higher for poorer students as are the chances of ending  up in prison.

You’re more likely to stay in touch with a teacher if you are a wealthy student (I really don’t know why) and you’re much more likely to enter a science career if you’re rich and from Asia rather than Europe.

Students from Asia are much more likely to marry into a different country or culture and they are much more likely to live beyond 65.

There are some truly horrifying statistics available that I am somewhat reluctant to share but feel it might  be necessary to impart.  Inner City British students are four times more likely to like Marmite than rich kids from abroad.

I know.  It makes me gloomy as well.

It is also my sad duty to report that inner city kids from the UK are three times more likely to enjoy having pineapple on a pizza than rich students from Asia or Southern Europe.  Speaking as a former inner city kid myself, this shames me.   

It is interesting to note some of the differences in outcomes that our students might find themselves in as they grow into the adults that we have to let go to be.  Obviously we want only the very best for them.  This is another truism.   Teachers teach because we are, generally, people who think we can make a positive difference to the charges that are placed in our care

Once they leave our care then we can only hope we have said something or taught them something that allows them to deal with the challenges in life that they face.  And that they let us know how it’s all going. 

Of all of the gifts that my parting students have given me when they have left me, one stands out amongst the cards, flowers, wine, ties, pens, gift vouchers, books and even pictures of elephants  and is still prominently displayed at home ten years after I was given it.

It is a nicely framed quote that says “Teaching is the greatest act of optimism, thank you for all that you do.”

It’s from one of those students who didn’t stand out, didn’t demand my attention and one that I didn’t click with closely.  He was a nice kid.  I liked him but there wasn’t anything remarkable about him. 

And that makes his parting gift to me even more poignant in many ways.   He gave me something to really think about.  Isn’t that what we want from all of our students?

Paul

 

*It’s difficult to gather more accurate data given the very subjective nature of the subject matter.  And it  really does vary from year to year and from cohort to cohort.