Teachers are such an important part of growing up. To celebrate World Teachers Day, we have an extract from Claudia Winkleman’s new book Quite about why she loves teachers.
I am in awe of teachers; they are, simply put, the most patient group of people on earth.
You know when you throw your kids a party? Twenty-five kids over to yours for marmite sandwiches and some pass the parcel, a disco with a foam gun (thanks Uncle Ollie) and cake and blowing out the candles and here’s a party bag. Remember the exhaustion, the looking at your watch and the where-did-Iput-the-black-bin-bags panic? Do you recall the overwhelming ‘someone-pour-me-some-wine-and-put-me-in-a-dark-room’ feeling that came over you the second the last child has been picked up? (‘Sorry we’re late, we lost track of time!’ – WHAT?) And of course that promise you make to yourself at the end of every one: next time he can have two friends over and we’ll get Dominos and invest in Disney+.
Well, teachers do that every single day, not once a year. They manage up to 30 kids all at the same time, day in, day out all the time. They have to like the naughty ones, the shy ones, the showy off ones, the nervous ones, the attention-seeking ones, the ones who never say please and thank you. They have to wait for kids to get their answer out while they nod and mutter encouraging words.
Claudia Winkleman’s new book Quite is out now. You can buy it from Amazon, Waterstones, Hive, or your local independent.
