“I don’t know how you do it”. “I couldn’t do your job”. “Keeping up with my own kids is more than I can manage”. This is what parents say to teachers.

As students gather en masse at the next school assembly, take a minute to notice that although they may all be wearing the same colours, they will never learn at the same pace. The skills of reading ebb and flow for each child, each day.

School has a big element of uniformity, largely as a consequence from the unchangeable number of minutes in a day. Let’s give grace and understanding to those limitations. Teachers are at the helm of finding a manageable balance between:

1. an essential focus on individual growth, and

2. the practicality of supporting multiple individuals, each with complex needs.

Parents though, have the privileged ability to focus on their own child’s educational journey. This privilege occasionally comes at the cost of forgetting equal individual attention cannot be practically provided by one classroom teacher. At home, the freedom and responsibility can be enjoyed with your kiddo as learning a love of reading is nurtured.

No uniform required.