It’s like chain mail that covers the soul,

I could swing at it lovingly

With a clunking great mace

And hardly a chink

Will blemish their suit,

But when there is progress

And the flesh starts to bleed,

I can hardly believe

The world that I see.

I’m assigned to a tutor group as part of my placement and, rather unfortunately, I’ve been assigned a Year 11 group. For those of you not in the UK that is the students aged 15-16.

When I first walked in and sat in front of them I had this terrible feeling that they all hated me and they would never warm up to me. The bored look on their face was excruciating and they didn’t even say a word when I wished them a good weekend.

But over the past three weeks I’ve shown up and continued to smile and I’ve realised that when you put a herd of 16 year olds together, they tend to be quite lethargic and grunty. It’s not personnal, it’s just the way they are.

Anyway, today I delivered the tutor activity and they actually started to engage a bit. My heart was beating fast and I was desperate to stay cool even though I wanted to do a little happy dance.

And then, when they were leaving, one of the girls actually showed me the photos she had taken of the toddler that lives next door as part of her photography project. I felt like I’d bludgeoned my way through armour.

I obviously don’t want to see my students bleed! But it actually felt like such an honour to have something back from one of those older students. It’s taught me that relationships in school can’t be rushed. Trust needs to be earned and that takes time.

Take the time; it’s worth it.

Much Love

Rachel xx