It’s a good question to ask as we race off into the start of the school year isn’t it? And, although you probably had a good old whip-round at the end of the school year and sent the class rep to the mall to buy a shopping voucher or a scented candle to show your gratitude to the lovely person who takes your kids off your hands for the best part of each working day, let’s just stop for a minute and think about what a good teacher actually means to you.

Is it someone with whom you can have a nice chit-chat at the classroom door in the morning, and who doesn’t ask you to spend all of half term making a scaled replica of Dubai Airport out of loo roll, water bottles and newspaper? Someone who doesn’t shout too much when your Year 3 forgets his reading book or your Year 8 hasn’t revised for her vocab test? Or does it mean more to you?

I bet if you think back to your own school days, you’ll be able to name at least one teacher who inspired you in some way, whether it was to work harder at a particular subject, to dive into the deep end of the pool for the first time, to sing a solo in the school play, or something on a more personal level, because teaching is about so much more than academics. It’s about making a connection with pupils; about finding out what makes each child tick, and tapping into that to bring out the best in them.

Although we might not see it in the tiny snapshots we get at the start and finish of each day, teachers inspire our children; they awaken our children’s curiosity about the world. They give them the confidence to go out and try new things and to take risks; they encourage and support them while they learn new life skills both inside and outside the classroom.

And, as our children get older, their teachers taking on a mentoring role, giving a different, and perhaps more objective, perspective to mum and dad when it comes to weighing up important life decisions. Perhaps, by the time they’re in their teens, our children listen more to their teachers than they do to us. But all of this comes down to one fact: good teachers care about our children.

What’s more, research has shown that good teachers ‘matter more to student achievement than any other aspect of schooling’.  Yes, this is the person who matters far more than any inspection report; more than an impressive library; and certainly more than any amount of spanking new sports facilities.

So how do we return the favour? We think it’s simple: we let these amazing people do their job. We don’t hassle them about their decisions at the classroom door. We show them that we respect and trust them professionally. We support their work at school, and we don’t undermine them at home. We respect their decisions, and we follow the school rules.

Showing appreciation for our teachers is not so much about talking the talk at the end of the school year; it’s about walking the walk all year round. A good teacher will set your child up for life, after all, not just for the time spent in the classroom.

Read more:

Top tips for choosing after school activities in Dubai

Starting school at 3 years old in Dubai

The British Mums top 10 back to school essentials

Choosing a nursery in Dubai

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