My years in high school were revolutionary in many ways. I grew as a person, matured, but perhaps equally as important, I gained insight to the way that things worked. Teachers to me as a child were a source of unquestionable authority on their subject. However, as I grew up, I began to realize that teachers are human, make mistakes and are too, still learning.
This is not to devalue the work that teachers do, but it is to say that I understand that they are not perfect. That being said, moving through high school, I began to observe a curious phenomenon. Often, students who had just finished sixth form would return to school to fill positions that were vacant. This could be anything from Mathematics to Social Studies, provided that they had gotten their associate degree they were welcomed. I describe the situation as curious for a few reasons. Firstly, as I entered my later years of high school, I could not see these returning teachers as just teachers. I had known them as students, colleagues even. We interacted on a familiar, friendly basis through house and club activities, and it became very difficult for me to regard them as this unquestionable authority; I had seen them grow and develop just as I had. They were my peers. Secondly, as a student, I worried for my own academic success. It is not that the teachers were not adequately qualified, but there was a feeling of unease brought about by being taught by someone who had just finished learning what I was. I felt as though I couldn’t ask reaching questions, and as if I was limited by their understanding of the curriculum. If anyone has a hard time understanding what this felt like, think about if you would trust yourself to teach someone a year younger than you something you learned last year, and then think about if you would still have confidence if you were in my situation.
Yet, if they hadn’t filled that position who would have? Is it better to have no teacher at all? I believe the students who come back to teach are well intentioned, to say the least. They recognize that without them the school probably could not function, and I am sure they are all cognizant of the doubts that older students have in their abilities– doubts that I am sure they have in themselves yet, they put all of that aside and come back to teach anyways. They are young and inexperienced, but this does not mean that they will be terrible teachers. What I have found is often returning students are the most empathetic; their time as a student is fresh in their mind, and as a result, they are much easier to reason and work along with. I think the best approach to have, as a teacher is to be honest about your own shortcomings, with yourself and your students. I would rather tell as student that I don’t know something and refer them to someone else than mislead or confuse them. If we are honest with each other, at least I know that I have put the student’s best interests over my pride. It is not an ideal situation, by any means, but it is the one we have, and we must make the best of it. The fact that many students will go to lessons is not an excuse to teach poorly: in fact it should be incentive for you as a teacher to ensure that the child is getting the best possible education.
