There are managers in our schools who direct teachers to stick strictly to the syllabus. How boring! How unrealistic their ideas are about the meaning of education.
Telling stories was / is an ongoing part of my teaching practice.
Many years ago I was in the school library when a fourteen year old girl (let us call her Mary) approached me. It was obvious that she was distressed and had been crying. She asked if I was
Mr Todd. I said yes and asked her what the problem was. Mary gave me a brief account of her life of misery which was being caused by a boy in her year (let us call him George). I suggested to her that she approach her year adviser. Mary quickly indicated that such an approach would prove useless. I asked her if she would like me to try and find a solution to her problem. Her eyes lit up and I then realized why she had sought my help.
Our meeting took place in the morning. A short while later I pulled George out of class and spoke with him.
Later, in the afternoon, I was doing after school duty just inside the school boundary fence. Mary rode past on her bicycle. As she past me Mary looked back and cried out at the top of her voice; "I love you Mr Todd, I love you."
I never spoke with Mary again. George never bothered her again. When I tell this story to my students they invariably ask me what it was that I said to George. I tell them that I made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
