Growth spurts and successes

Last week I watched a wonderful leaver’s assembly. At the end, the children from this particular grade all traipsed along the stage to receive various awards for their achievements during the year. 

Parents and classmates cheered, whooped and hollered for each child and the whole assembly was conducted with a sense of celebration and attainment.  It was a very nice way to spend half-an-hour in school during the summer term.

As I watched the children walking on the stage, it dawned on me just how many of the students were wearing trousers that were now too short for them. 

The phrase to describe this phenomenon when I was at school would be to say that their trousers were flying at ‘half-mast’.  

When a flag flies at half-mast on a flag pole, it is a sign of respect for somebody who has passed on, usually somebody who is of great importance to a country or group of people. When a child in school wears their trousers at half mast, it is a sign of how much they have physically grown since the beginning of the year. 

It is a sign of a developing maturity as much as it is a sign of parents waiting until the end of the summer holidays before buying new trousers for the year ahead!

Watching these children proudly walk across the stage with more of their socks showing more than normal, I also noticed how proud the children’s teachers were of their students’ achievements as well. 

At this time of year in schools, you will often see teachers and students conversing in a more relaxed manner. This is because over the year teachers and students get to know each other very well and whilst the last few weeks before the summer vacation might be busy with exams and revision, they also signify an ending of this relationship. 

Over an academic year, bonds are made between teachers and students that are very strong. Teachers want their children to achieve in exams and go on to become successful, just as much as parents do and this is because for the few hours a day that those of us in education who get to work with children in schools have, we are in some ways their parents too. 

For me, the Latin phrase ‘In Loco Parentis’ best sums up the role of the teacher. It means ‘in place of the parent’ and for the six or so hours a day that is exactly what we are. We guide them, educate them and care for them daily so it is natural for strong bonds to be formed and when we celebrate the achievements of our students we are often just as happy as the parents who are sitting in the audience clapping. 

I have never met anyone who doesn’t remember a favourite teacher at school who wanted them to do their best or recognised talents within them and then encouraged them to improve but it is often long after we have left school though that we really appreciate what these teachers did for us. 

That’s why in some ways, the half-mast trousers of children at the end of the school year act as an unknown mark of respect to the teachers who have helped them to grow academically and personally as much as they have grown physically throughout the year.