Teachers: What we say can change a life....

This post is for all my fellow teachers and retired teachers and it is to remind you all that what you say can change a life. Having set up my own business, I asked one the parents of a pupil I teach for a testimonial to post on my website. I felt shy about asking and told her that one or two sentences would be plenty. She sent me so much more, all of which overwhelmed and humbled me. However, one thing really stood out for me. Apparently, on the day I met her son, I turned to him and said: "You are someone who would be very welcome here, you would fit in well and there's no reason why you won't do extremely well." I don't remember saying it, but apparently it was the first time this particular young man had heard such enuragement from a Senior School teacher and it set him on the path that I am still walking with him today. So far, he has achieved all A*s at GCSE and an outstanding 96% in his Extended Project Qualification. Of course, this is almost entirely down to his own hard work. All I have done is to continue to believe in him and give him some tools to help him fly. Nevertheless, it makes me wonder how many successful and happy people out there in the world were changed by the encouragement of a teacher. All in all, it's pretty certain that a number of our past pupils still carry in their hearts words that we have forgotten we ever said. Fellow teachers, I salute you!