It’s the teachers, stupid

Teachers really matter to students. Long after they have left school they vividly remember their teachers, the outstanding or good and the less successful or less understanding, but they will not necessarily remember vast amounts of the subject material which they learned for tests and examinations.

Teachers are well aware of this fact, but some of those in charge of education seem not to know it. We teachers are often seen as far less important than examination systems and results or school structures.

Recently, we held our annual alumnae reunion weekend at school. We began with a drinks reception on the Friday night, followed by a lunch and then tea on the Saturday. About 140 past students came to these events; the oldest was aged 97 and had left school in the 1930s and the youngest had left only last summer. One alumna came back from America, having last been in the school when she left in 1967 – she saw a friend she had not seen in all those years and they talked and talked.