When I was a young girl going to school, I often felt that school was my second home.
My teachers saw me day after day. They knew when I was happy. They knew when I was sad. They could tell when I hadn’t slept enough, when something was bothering me, and sometimes even when I was trying my best to pretend that everything was fine.
I grew up with my grandmother, and she provided for me in the best way she knew how. This isn’t about things being bad at home. It is about something different.
There are things, especially as a teenager, that you sometimes find easier to talk about with a teacher. I knew I wasn’t the first young person to feel confused, worried, embarrassed or simply in need of someone to listen. A good teacher had seen it before. And that mattered to me.
Today, many years later, I understand the importance of that attention even more.
I now have foster children in my life, and I have witnessed firsthand just how important teachers can be. It was because teachers noticed. They paid attention. They listened. They recognised when something wasn’t right.
That attention helped children reach a place where they could be surrounded by warmth, care and nurturing.
Teachers do so much more than teach reading, mathematics, science or languages.
Sometimes you are the person who notices the quiet child.
The change in behaviour.
The tired eyes.
The smile that isn’t quite the same today.
Sometimes you are the trusted adult a child feels safe enough to talk to.
And sometimes, without even knowing it, you help change the course of a child’s life.
So as we prepare for another school year, I want to say something from my heart:
To every teacher who pays attention, who listens, who encourages, who protects, and most importantly, who truly sees the child in front of them — you have my highest respect. ❤️
Thank you for everything you do, including the things that will never appear on a report card.
Some lessons last a school year.
Some teachers leave a mark for a lifetime. 🍎✨