Best & Worst

Best and Worst. Teachers tell us about their highs and lows.

Best: the real winner

At our school, pupils don't have swimming lessons until Year 6 and, for many, this will be the first time they've been in a swimming pool. My best moment was during the pool's swimming gala. My team included a 'private lesson' swimmer, aged four, whose only previous experience was on holiday in Benidorm, and Leanne, who was just out of arm-bands. We knew we couldn't win, but I wanted to give them a chance to compete.

Soon it was time for the relay. Bang! The race was on. We were doing well, keeping up with the teams from other schools. The last racer was Leanne. They were off. Except for Leanne. Nervously, she dipped her toe in the water, climbed in and gently pushed off, swimming her best breast-stroke, perfectly.

As she swam, the crowd started to stand and clap. She was well behind the others, but she was the one they gave the standing ovation because she was doing her best. When she climbed out of the pool, I gave her a big hug, blubbing. We came next to last, only because another team was disqualified, but that didn't matter. Leanne had won the hearts of the crowd.

Worst: all part of the service

Another memorable moment came at the end of a parents' evening. After a long, stressful teaching day, I spent the evening re-juggling the schedule for latecomers, listening to parents offload personal problems and informing them of their children's expected national test outcomes.

Eventually, the last of my appointments entered. We had the usual informal chat, then we went on to discuss her son's progress. We talked about where he was at and I went through his work pointing to areas for improvement. The knock on the door indicated the allocated 10 minutes was at an end.

Politely, I accompanied the parent to the door, saying: "Well Mrs Smith, lovely to see you. If I can help you with anything else, just pop in and see me, OK?"

"Well, there is something, actually," the parent said. "Yes? How can I help?" I replied. "Can you lend me a tenner 'til the end of the week?"

For the first time that day, the room was silent. The parent left — without, I might add, my tenner.

If you have a best and worst moment to share, email or write to us at the address in the You Write page. A £50 book token will be given for each Best & Worst published.

This content was published in July 2004 and may not reflect current policy