A change to my planned post for today.

Last night I received a ‘gift’ from the children where I teach. I want to share with you this gift, as it is possibly the best gift I have ever received from my teaching. 

In the Summer, I wrote an article about the new trend which seems to be getting more and more popular of buying gifts for teachers. I have been a teacher now for over twenty-five years and I have to say that receiving a gift for doing my job, has never sat comfortably with me. I have met many teachers in my professional life, who love receiving bottles of wine and boxes of chocolates. I once knew a man, who in the build up to the end of term would tell pupils that he liked a nice bottle of expensive red wine. You would see him on the very last day, loading crates of the stuff into his car, with a gleeful look on his face.

I came out of working in senior management in schools, as I felt that I was spending less and less time teaching and more time analysing statistics. I love working with young people and encouraging them to achieve their goals. That is why I became a teacher : to make a difference in the lives of the young.  Therefore I made a decision to leave senior management behind and  work in a private tuition centre instead,  where I can really make an impact on students’ learning. To me, teaching is possibly one of the most rewarding professions. It’s lovely when students return and tell you how you have helped them to grow and it is especially lovely when they tell you that you have changed their life in some way.

I have written this blog post not to brag or blow my own trumpet. I have chosen to write this, to show just how unnecessary it is to buy a teacher a bottle of wine or a box of chocolates. The rewards we receive as teachers and for doing our job well, far outweigh anything material.

Last night I received my Christmas gift from the owner of the private tuition centre where I work. It was in a large white envelope. The gift I received will last forever and it is one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given. Inside the envelope was a card and when I opened the card I saw a sheet of A4 paper with comments typed onto it. This is what some of the comments said,

Dear Elisabeth, I really appreciate the time you have taken in helping me to improve but also more importantly establishing my confidence in my work.

Thank you for all your support and encouragement this year it has been great fun learning from you.

Elisabeth has inspired me to aspire and be the best I can. I could not love her anymore.

Exquisite Elisabeth has helped grow my confidence so much I am starting to believe in myself love you.

Thank you to Elisabeth for your continuous support especially throughout my GCSEs.  You really helped me with my revision and gave me confidence to believe in myself.

You helped me to achieve the grades I wanted to get into the college course I am studying today. I really value the time I spent with you.

Thank you to Elisabeth for her support for the last few weeks. She has thoroughly enjoyed her sessions and feels her confidence has grown and results improved, so she can handle maths lessons with more ease! Comment from Mum – it’s one thing I don’t have to nag her to do.

I can’t thank Elisabeth enough for all help and because of her encouragement I now enjoy maths and ‘get it.’  Thank you

 I like it that you help me and help me get my work done. you are a very nice person and I appreciate all the games you let me play. Thank you for always being an awesome tutor.

This gift brought a tear to my eye and I will treasure it forever. Isn’t it lovely to think that long after they have stopped attending their lessons, I will continue to live on in these students’ memories as having giving them the confidence to achieve what they want?  I feel so  fortunate to do such a rewarding job.

Now, you tell me what you would prefer, a bottle of wine or this?