Educators are not just in classrooms.

The role of an educator, is more than just a title or a job full of descriptions. It’s more than marking papers or yelling at students. It’s more than taking a moment to enjoy the canteen lunch you had your eye on. In which you’re now taking sneaky bites in class because you didn’t leave enough time to eat. 

No…being a teacher is more than that. It is a purpose. A role that should make you overlook those 7 letters.

Now I’ve never been the teacher, always the student but you know what’s funny, sometimes I find it difficult to see teachers as anything beyond what their title say they are. That I actually forget they can be so much more.

Within every special teacher there is a guidance counsellor, a mentor, a social worker. There is a friend when you need one, core blimey if you’re lucky sometimes there’s even a hairdresser. Then sometimes within those special moments there is a family member.

These are the teachers we carry with us. The ones whose names are written on our wedding guest list, long before we have even met the person we will marry. The ones we wish were our aunties or uncles, maybe even mum or dad for some. The ones we do not want to let go of but have to leave behind so that the students under us can receive the same love we did. They are the favourite teachers. The ones who carry the capital V in the word value on their back without ever ceasing.

We all have that one teacher. The one who was never just a 9 o’clock lesson but a presence. The ones we don’t mind slugging out of bed for. Mine starts with a K and ends with an S. Twelve letters that somehow feel too small to hold the weight of what they truly meant to our class. Even when I’d shorten the name, the value effortlessly remains. Now for privacy reasons, I never share personal details about the people in my life. However one thing I’m lucky to have the opportunity to do, is sharing the impact they hold with the world. I truly believe that as important a name is, it’s often the impact that matters more than the specifics… as it’s the impact that ends up staying with us forever.

I share the kindness and respect we received as a class. I share the way one person could walk into a room of students, full of anxiousness and stress and shift the atmosphere without even trying. The way small details about our lives were remembered, that we forget we had even shared them. The way encouragement was given so naturally that, it didn’t feel like an end of the month pay check job. It felt real. I share the calmness that he installed in us and especially within myself when I used to always punish my mind with unrealistic expectations. 

What has truly stayed with me is not simply the topics we learned or anything to do with the classroom (although I do treasure those moments). It was the injection of belief that was poured into us each day. That was there to encourage us, to the point where I believed I could fly to the sun and back in one hour. That feeling alone shows the clear difference between those who simply are doing a job and those who genuinely love what they do.

In a time and generation where education has literally never been more important, real human connections has never been more needed. It becomes increasingly important to have teachers who offer more than information. As students we need guidance, patience and encouragement. We need someone who fills us with an abundance of hope and the confidence to believe in our own potential. I’m speaking about the potential of a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20) and how when that level of faith is planted, it stems into an even greater level of purpose.

So when I say being an educator is more than a job, I mean it wholeheartedly. I speak as someone who was once a student and who was once in need of patience and understanding.

This was written listening to Tems – Burning (love it!!!) – AK