"Mr Drew is a fair, honest, man."
The Romance Academy team has a new favourite programme:
Educating Essex – the latest Channel 4 fly-on-the-wall documentary, following the lives of the staff and pupils at a Passmore High school in Harlow.
Mr Drew and his students.
It’s been 10 years since I, (Andrea) left school but this programme makes me feel like it has been 10 minutes. How can uniforms, rammed corridors, endless gossip, ‘in’ jokes, tenuous friendships and “fight, fight, fight!” be so long ago?!
Remember all of those morning decisions (post paper round)?: - what shade of acrid eye shadow shall I wear today? Which bra is going to make my developing chest look the best under my white shirt? How do I stand out without being too different from my peers? Crisis.
I was going to say something about how simple life seemed back then but then I remembered: THERE IS NOTHING SIMPLE ABOUT ADOLESENCE. It’s a full time job and once you’re in it, you can never imagine a time when feeling uncomfortable isn’t the default.
Somehow though, I still manage to look back at the school days with fondness. It’s such a unique time with unique experiences. Despite the angst, unrequited “loves” and bad hair dos, I do remember laughing a hell of a lot. We thought we were the wittiest people alive. Even now, I’m not convinced that Andrea, now, is as sharp as me at 15. If only I could have bottled it…
But what most interests me about Educating Essex, is the way that so far is has managed to capture that unique love/hate relationship between pupil and teacher.
“Mr Drew is a fair, honest man” – Sam (pupil), Educating Essex
Mr Drew, (the deputy head) and his students are a remarkable example of this relational paradigm. He is dynamic, funny but firm and is clear about the expectations he has for his students. In return they are cheeky, witty and at times, down right irksome but there is clearly a level of mutual adoration. He isn’t afraid to tell them about themselves and whilst they might kick and scream in response, ultimately they respect him for it. It’s beautiful to watch - the power of someone believing in your potential so much that they are willing to bear the brunt of your misguided adolescent rage.
This kind of inspirational leadership is part of Romance Academy’s unique and transformative approach. We’re passionate about young people having access to ‘wisdom sharers’ rather than just information providers; additional adults in their life who will commit to journeying with them. This is why the type of relationships we have with our teachers can be so significant. Whether we liked it or not they were contracted to be with us for the duration of our school career.
Teachers helped to set boundaries, which helped our hormonal teenage brain know its limitations and possibilities. They gave us safe environment in which to develop and they doled out discipline because they didn’t want bad choices to have a lasting impact on the rest of our lives. All this whilst still trying to teach us maths or science or history. No teacher is perfect and I think we can all remember the vile ones, but surely there was a favourite? In school or out?
I strongly encourage you to take a moment now to think about why they were so good and what significant thing you learnt as a result of knowing them...then maybe let them know.
I want to publicly commend my A-level English Literature teacher; an amazing woman called Carol Groves. I still remember Carol for her patience, her grace and her interminable passion for students and literature! She really cared about me and encouraged me even when I had reached the end of my Othello rope. I had enormous respect for Carol and even though there were times when I knew she felt disappointed with me; times when I hadn’t met her expectations, I was flippin’ glad she had them because I knew that she wanted the best for me and believed in my potential. (Carol, if you’re reading this, I apologise in advance for my poorly constructed sentences!) I went onto do to really well in a degree that I loved as a result of something Carol said to me and I don’t think that to this day, she knows the impact that it has had on my life since.
Talking to young people about relationships can be like that at times and you might not see instant transformation or even ever hear about it. But if you’ve cared enough to take the time to invest in a young person, you can be sure that somewhere along the line they will draw on the wisdom you have sown and THAT is the transformative power of inspirational leadership.
RA are looking for exceptional youth workers/youth volunteers to become part of our army of relationships educators.
If you think you fit the bill, then come and be trained at one of our regional days this autumn and help make SRE* memorable:
Inspirational Leaders, click here
*Sex and Relationships Education