The last word

I remember a boy in my first ever class (you can always remember the names of those who were there at the beginning). Derek was a lively eight year old. Alongside him, I was struggling to explain something, subtraction with carrying perhaps, and he gave every appearance of listening attentively, his face fixed upon mine. I paused, briefly, and he suddenly said: ‘My Dad’s got a tie like yours.’ For me, it was a needed message that teaching is about so much more than instruction.