‘It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge’ quoted by Albert Einstein.
With news about students not returning to schools for a while due to safety it had me reflecting on my own experiences within education and hobbies. I did enjoy most of my time in Primary and Secondary school and when I went onto further education at Sixth Form. I feel a massive part of the enjoyment of school was how well I got on with my peers and the teachers I had for each subject. I strongly believe the relationship teachers have with students has a massive impact on how students get on at school and in their future careers.
I can now reflect on my relationships with different teachers over the years from being aged four at a nursery to finishing Dance College at twenty-two. Education plays a massive part in our lives spending a huge amount of our time with those members of staff.
When I joined Claverham Community College for Secondary School I had enjoyed writing and being creative at home with poems and making imaginative stories yet when I was in English lessons I seemed to be struggling. I had been placed in set two out of five above my best friend which I was disappointed with as I was sitting without her. Each lesson the teacher would ask me to read in front of the class and as lessons continued, I started to struggle with words. I continued to want to do well and would submit my essays for homework first. Yet each time the teacher would forget and end up marking and giving back other students before she got round to mine. I would always get my work back with a tick but with a lower mark than I wanted. It seemed to be a continuous cycle – I went to ask for her and she would reply with ‘continue doing what you are doing but more of it’ which did not help me understand what I needed to do. At the end of Year 11 on results day, I received a grade lower than expected for both English Literature and English Language which even though they were good grades I was disappointed in. Also, I asked for the essays that I had written for my final coursework back and she suggested she would find them but sadly never did. Sadly, this teacher was also my drama teacher and the same thing occurred where I did not manage to reach my predicted grade. The long-lasting effects are still with me today when I am writing essays, I feel the need to check them first with others or I feel this is a weak area of mine in interviews.
‘What a teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.’
I was lucky when I was at Claverham that I had the same form tutor from Year 7 up until Year 11. He was a kind teacher that allowed me and my friends to sit in his classroom at break and lunch to escape the whirlwind of the canteen or playground. This safe place for years allowed me to form friendships with peers and continue to study escaping anxiety about upcoming exams. He would stay at the end of each day after PM reg to listen to me and my friend chat about everything that had happened that day or the latest of what we had found out. This support really helped give us confidence and continue to work hard on our own goals at school. When choosing GCSE’s, we were expected to choose History or Geography (I did not mind either). I ended up choosing Geography and part of my reasoning was because there was a 50/50 chance of having him as my teacher and my friends being there. Luckily for two years I then went on having him as my Geography teacher and being seated next to my best friend (when we were not talking too much). We both received good grades for Geography at the end of Year 11 and I understood clearly what I was expected to do in my exams.
When I went to Federal Sixth for Sixth Form, I had picked math’s for A Level as this was my highest A grade at GCSE and knowing I had found it fairly enjoyable in class even with a maternity cover for most lessons. When I started out at AS Level it was a massive jump, but the first term went well, and I was finding the work okay. Suddenly another unit exam came along for math’s and I was really shocked at the jump but my teacher at the time was incredibly patient. Every time I would stare at the examples on the board blankly, he would know I did not get it and allow the class to go to the books but do another example of the board for me to understand. If I still had not got it, he would never change his tone of voice and patiently try to come over and get me to understand. Every lesson I still felt I was making progress. Each time I would understand a new section he would give me praise for completing and each week I would be shown I could complete more questions on the C2 papers. I went on passing my first year in math’s AS Level even with time out to dance.
Sadly, my math’s teacher announced he was retiring, and I had another teacher put in his place. Lessons became harder, examples were no longer shown on the board and I was reminded daily I was falling behind which resulted in me pushing away and accepting I would not pass math’s A level before I had even practiced papers. The result was I did not get a good grade for my math’s A-Level which I still feel is something I could have achieved to this date.
Teachers in creative arts and musical theatre outside of school also had a massive impact on my future. When I started dancing, I had an incredibly wise and kind ballet teacher who made classes enjoyable. I enjoyed learning to do ballet throughout Primary school and working hard to be placed in the groups. When I started having private lessons to learn new routines for local dance festivals, she would remind me of phrases that have stayed with me for years – ‘you are a duckling, my dear, one day you will grow into a swan.’
‘There is no recipe to be a great teacher, that is what is unique about them.’
I changed dance school in my teens as I realised I wanted to start taking it more seriously and start to learn other disciplines including modern and tap. This was a new dance school, and it had a lot of strong dancers who were my age in my classes. The lady who ran the school I did not know greatly but had had her teaching my classes on occasions. During these early teen years, this teacher inspired me with new choreography and helped me to win my first ever medals and awards. The confidence and the extra time she invested in me over those few years was invaluable.
Throughout this time every time I got something wrong or was panicking, she would be patient at the side of the wings, or she would leave me entirely to it to calm down and learn to handle the situation. She pushed me in private lessons and classes and reminded me ‘you can do it’. She was the first person to give me the main parts in groups or believe I had qualities to make it to dance in the future. I will forever be grateful for this teacher investing time and teaching me that if I work hard I can achieve just like anyone else. She gave me the confidence to push myself further onto new dance schools and beyond.
This encouragement led me to try out new opportunities including Easter schools, Summer Schools, and singing lessons. As time went by, I was very privileged to be supported by many different teachers passionate about dancing to guide me into auditioning for Dance Colleges to continue dancing as a career.
Unfortunately, a teacher that has had a massive negative impact on my dancing was a ballet teacher in Dance College. Ballet had been the first dance style I had started when I was four years old and I had solely concentrated on grades until Secondary School. When I joined Urdang Academy I spent the year in the top set for Ballet and was always picked for routines that were the classical or lyrical style. I thrived off it being a ‘skill’ or something that I was good at pushing myself harder into being more technical, able to produce harder moves, and being more supple.
When I joined London Studio Centre there was an increase in numbers, but I was placed into set 2 out of 5 which I was pleased with for Ballet alongside other girls I knew to be good at the discipline. I was excited for this class to see how far I could push this discipline. It became apparent exceedingly early on that the teacher was not pleased with the way I executed the classical style. I tried to remain optimistic understanding that the industry I wanted to go into was difficult and maybe she was pushing me in a good way to get the best out of me. She was incredible to watch when she performed exercises and I was in awe of her as a ballerina. I felt I needed to suck up how I felt and should be grateful to have her as a teacher.
As weeks went on it was easy to spot that if she was unhappy with jumpers being left on in class, she would target this comment only at me while everyone else removed them. If she was unhappy at our warming up, she would aim it at me. Many negative comments were expressed about ‘seeing my Weetabix’ when starting class and my ‘penguin feet’ on daily basis. Negative comments I became used to and was able to block out over time however the constant embarrassment was hard to shake off. She would physically scratch at my tights to say I was not pulling up, poke at my stomach to say I needed to shift it, and throw empty water bottles to make an impact to get moving. It came to Christmas and all the class was able to now move onto jumps however another girl and I were not as our feet were not at the correct standard.
I repeatedly tried to think of ways to make her happy. I thought if I really try and go to the front and stand out this will make her pleased, but it did not. It only seemed to make her more frustrated that I was blocking girls behind me. Then I thought maybe I should ask questions or try to practice her exercises before she came in the morning, but nothing seemed to work except seem to annoy her more. Eventually, it turned into dreading the morning lesson and wanting to hide in any corner of class I could to not be noticed. I would physically try to hide and not have a go so she would not make a comment to the class ‘this was not how to do the exercise’. I have to say the year I had this teacher stripped so much confidence away and left me feeling very disheartened about a style I once loved. It also practically meant over the year I lost marks towards my overall degree in Ballet, a discipline I believed to be my strength. I started her class on a 2:1 for ballet but left that first year of Dance College having been given a 3rd from the teacher.
I am sure she had her own intentions or did not know the effects it was having but it has been difficult since that year to pass by this experience. I was then encouraged for a further two years of ballet classes to lift my chin and believe in myself. The ballet teacher I had in the second year worked incredibly hard to give me confidence by showing the class my attitude positions and telling the class ‘this was how to do it’ but it did not seem to shift previous comments.
An inspiring teacher was my Contemporary teacher. When I joined London Studio Centre, I had only had one year’s lessons of structured contemporary lessons that were in the style of Cunningham. When I entered the studio to meet my contemporary teacher it was apparent, he was going to teach us in the style of Martha Graham, and I knew I was going to find this a challenge. I knew I had to study this for two years to get a grade towards my degree and after shaking off the voice inside my head that ‘I wasn’t good at contemporary’ I settled into learning the discipline.
‘The best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.’
My contemporary teacher, as well as being an inspirational performer and incredibly musically talented, was a fantastic teacher. He had a gift for not showing favorites and giving feedback to all the performers in front of him. He was able to respect that we all have days when we want to hide in the back row and not be focused on. Then there were days when I would push myself to sit at the front on the floor work and he would show me how to make the shapes I could not make. Over time, I could see in the mirror my body was starting to create the shapes he had once described to me which spurred me on further. I started in term one of the two years with a low 3rd grade predicted to my degree and by the end of two years, I was awarded two marks off a 2:1 for contemporary at an Academy Level which I was proud of (I wanted a 2:1 for my teacher).
This teacher had allowed me to have a voice in class on occasions expressing ‘I can’t do it’ and was able to tell me I can and will in time. He was able to not just tell me how to do moves but show me and mold my body to try to make these shapes knowing we are all different.
‘It is the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom.’
Other teachers at Dance College that had an impact on my confidence were singing teachers. I had limited singing experience when moving away to London. I had also chosen not to do singing in the first year as I wanted to concentrate on Ballet and classical movement. In the Second year, I decided I had made the wrong choice and chose singing options which were against the grain of most students who continued their same path. At no point did my singing teachers suggest ‘I was behind’ or make me feel I could not achieve a good grade at the end of my course. Their direct informative feedback yet calm approach allowed me to start enjoying singing classes. Even if I discovered a weakness there were other parts of the lesson I could enjoy, and I started to listen and practice a lot more in my daily exercises. This showed me enjoying classes makes a student want to come along and want to practice without making them do so.
I am thankful to all the teachers and professionals that have shown me how to improve and took time to care, supporting the direction I would take one day. I am positive all interactions influence our daily lives – let us try to remember this when we are asked questions. I am incredibly lucky to work in a Secondary school with a lot of young people and am enormously proud to be part of their journey in education. My own journey has inspired me when I am working with students to try to be patient and every time I am asked something to find time for them no matter how busy I am. I always try to remind myself if I am frustrated with trying something one way, we are all different and I need to try another way to be able to support them further. I understand that it may take time with different students and one small piece of kindness can be really appreciated.
I hope one day I can continue to support students and young people to reach for their goals and they will remember me in years to come or send me a postcard to tell me they did become what they wanted to. If you are reading this and you are a teacher remember you are having a massive impact on the students, you come into contact with every day.
‘Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can be.’
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