Andy Baker

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"A teaching moment that stands out for me is teaching a young autistic boy. I taught him in year 7, 8, 9, 10. Not year 11 because I went on maternity leave, but then again in year 12 for English Communication. We worked really hard together to get him that VHA he so desperately wanted, and he exited year 12 English Comm with a VHA. On the last day of year 12 he gave me a letter and I could already feel myself tearing up because we had been through so much together. We worked really hard on not just his academics, but his social and emotional regulation and wellbeing. So, unfurling that letter I knew it was going to be heart wrenching and I thought he'd be thanking me for his first ever A or the tireless work that I put in to helping him, but it turned out that what he was most grateful for was that my classroom environment helped him feel safe and comfortable on a hard day when he was having trouble regulating his emotions. That just floored me because, really, he just said that he would line up at the beginning of the class, see my smiling face and it would just put him at ease immediately. I just thought, I need to be that ray of light for more students because ultimately, kids won't remember what you taught them, but they will remember how you made them feel. If I'm helping my students to feel safe and calm, then I'm doing my job and I'm helping them not just learn something but learning how to be a human, an adult who can function in society. That really stuck with me for a long time and really bolstered me on those hard teaching days by just remembering that even when I'm not feeling resilient in myself, to put on that smile, be that ray of light and to help my students get through their hard days too." 

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