Lads,
I don't know what else I can do now. It's breaking my heart that I am writing this post. I am not a teacher for the holidays, the pay, the pat on the back when someone says, "I couldn't be a teacher, must be tough", I'm not a mercenary and I'm not a glory hunter. I teach because there is nothing in this world that I've wanted to do other than this. I do it because I love it when young people are empowered and when I was your age I had some fantastic people who cared and wanted me to do well, and I thought, wow, to give someone that feeling, that someone cares about their future and they don't need to be related to them, that must be so rewarding for their soul. So off I went, did a degree in something I loved, and then went on to pay to do my teaching qualification.
Today, as I'm sat at home on my laptop looking at your work I'm wondering where I've gone wrong. Maybe you've misunderstood when I'm having a go and pushing you, to be me hating you, so you think you don't want to work? Maybe you think that there's no point? Whatever it is, I'm devastated as a human being that some of you seem to be so full of self doubt, or lack self respect that you would actively choose not to do work that will get you an AS level. Are you not doing AS levels to make a better life for yourselves?
If I thought any of you were not capable of doing this course or getting a half decent grade in your work then I would have told you by now, I would have had you removed from the course. I have always believed that each of you can do well and I have put in so much time and effort going through each of your essays, looking at new ways to teach you information, doing research to make sure that you have the most current facts and figures. But you're not working with me anymore, I can't do it for you, I won't, it won't help you as a human being.
My job is not to teach you media, it's to give you skills that will help you be better than me, achieve more than I ever could with my life and go out and make yourselves feel proud of what you accomplish, that is worth more to me than anything else.
I know that most of you will not read this, about 10 follow the twitter that has been set up to help you revise and get additional help and info about the exam topics. I can't care enough for both me and you. I have to draw the line for my own health.
I will continue to give feedback and advice, I will continue to teach and mark and plan every hour god sends as every once and a while one of you will do something amazing...something that makes me burst with pride and make my life's dream worth it. At the moment though, it is truly destroying me that some of you don't have that care for yourselves. This isn't a dress rehearsal, this isn't a mock, this is it. The government want you to do badly, you have got it tough and my heart breaks when I think about how difficult it is to get jobs or university funding, but be the best you can be and things will happen for you, you will make them...if not you may as well resign yourself now.
Please lads, meet me half way, act on feedback, I'm not saying something looks bad because I want to hurt you, I'm doing it to help you be better...I know what the competition is, I've shown it to you...step up and show the world that you're all amazing.
Until you take some pride in your work all I can do is carry on giving out E's and D's...nobody has achieved anything above this yet.
I'm sorry if I've let you down.
Miss Walsh
