Susan Ward - British Young Teacher of the Year

We had a civic reception for Susan Ward the British young teacher of the year whom I wrote about before. It was great to see her and many of her friends and colleagues as well as her family there as the city recognised her achievements. In Scotland we are too often reticent about celebrating the achievements of individuals. Some suggest that its our deep rooted Calvinism that warns us from self glorification. That might be helpful when it comes to questioning those who seek fame for its own sake but should not stop us saying well done to folk like Susan and the many others who give so much of themselves in service to others and should be allowed to enjoy some real recognition. It was a teacher that inspired me to stay on at school at a time when I was having a really tough time. In many ways it wasn’t how he taught his subject matter, it was simply that he treated me like a person, like I mattered. We cannot quantify the effect teachers and other adults who look after our children have. The seeds they plant can take years to grow. Yet those seeds will be as important in many ways as the things we do use to tell us whether our teachers are doing the job we ask of them.