Teach-Primary-Issue-19.7

www.teachwire.ne t | 23 I know you probably don’t feel like a hero. You came into this profession to make a difference – but somewhere between marking, policies and the endless requests for data, it’s easy to forget why you started. Some days it feels like no matter how much of yourself you give, it will never be enough. So here’s the truth. You are making a difference. I know, because everyday heroes like you literally transformed my life. Statistically, I should be dead. Or lost in a world of exploitation. Or addicted to substances. I’m not, because teachers just like you chose to focus on what was behind the front I erected. There’s a huge disconnect between home and school for children with my background. Children (and adults) show up in school as either chaos navigators or order navigators. My own children have cosy beds, washed and (occasionally) ironed clothes, and parents who are available to read You Choose for the 14th time that week. They turn up at school with the equipment they need and ready for whatever challenges lay ahead of them. In contrast, chaos navigators may have responsibility for getting younger siblings up, fed and off to school. They may be battling daily hunger or trying to avoid the pressure to sell drugs by a gang member on their estate. If they do turn up at school (which is a miracle in itself) they’re likely to be wearing the wrong clothes, having attempted to pull together something that resembles a uniform. I was a chaos navigator, and what I knew from a young age was that at school I wasn’t a good fit. School was designed for order navigators. At home, I became an expert in survival – how to fight, steal and lie to stay safe. School promoted a different set of values, including holding education in high esteem. Like Robin Williams in the restaurant scene in the film Mrs Doubtfire , I was running between each place trying to remember the exact person I had to show up as in each place. School felt more like home to me, but I struggled. One of the barriers to accessing belonging in school was language. The impact of seeing my records (or rap sheet as it felt like) at 16 was enough to make me decide I would never write any words about a child that I wouldn’t be prepared to print on a T-shirt and ask them to wear. Vulnerable. Disadvantaged. Challenging Behaviour. These words are shortcuts for us as adults, but can be incredibly wounding when you’re on the receiving end of them. For me, w .teachwire.net | 17 A letter to... When times feel tough, please remember you could be saving a child’s life... just by being you, says Jaz Ampaw-Farr ... Each issueweaskacontributor to penanote theywould love to send Everyday heroes Jaz Ampaw-Farr is a former teacher, and a writer, international speaker and self-described ‘resilience ninja’. Jaz’s book, Because of You, This Is Me (£16.99, Independent Thinking Press), is out now. jazampawfarr.com VO I C E S as a chaos navigator, ‘vulnerable’ just wasn’t accurate. I had exhibited more resilience by the time I was seven than many of the adults in my life ever had. In my keynotes, I’ve asked leaders what term they use for the children who aren’t disadvantaged, and I’ve had replies like “non-disadvantaged’’ and even, “the normal ones”! ‘Challenging behaviour’ implies a Dennis-the-Menace-esque character lying awake at night thinking of ways to annoy the adults at school. A better phrase is ‘distressed’ or ‘safety-seeking behaviour’, or even ‘I find this child’s behaviour challenging’. It’s the smallest things you do that make the biggest difference. It might not always feel like that, but I promise you this: there are young people alive today whose lives have been transformed because of you. Full disclosure: being human in this job comes at a cost. It’s tempting to armour up; but imagine what your life could look like if you were just 10 per cent braver. Children don’t need superheroes. They need you, showing up as your full-fat self and fighting for their highest good! So, thank you for your service to education. Please take care of your greatest resource – yourself. And never forget, because of you, children like me grow up to write letters like this. From, Jaz “Children don’t need superheroes. They need you, showing up and fighting for them”