The moments that make teachers cry (in a good way)

With pride

It really, really tugs your heart strings when your pupils crack it.

Every time I watch the kids on stage. I feel so incredibly proud of them when they get up and perform. 

"I cry when they act, when they dance, when they sing. I feel so incredibly proud of them when they get up and perform. On one occasion, a Year 9 caught me crying and thought there was something wrong with me, so hugged me, which made it even worse.”

“When you watch pupils you've taught stand up in assembly, sing in choir and interact with others on school trips.”

“When a pupil tells you they want to continue your subject at A-level or university.”

With relief

Sometimes getting where you need to go is a struggle. But it sure is worth it.

“When a boy with autism's EHCP (education, health and care plan) was rejected, and we appealed and fought as hard as we could, and won. He now has the funding for the teaching assistant support he needs and it was a time I truly felt I've made a difference to a child's life. One pupil was struggling with his maths and I was worried he wouldn’t pass his GCSE. But he really knuckled down and worked hard on it. When he told me he got a C, I had to try really hard to hold myself together."

When he told me he got a C, I had to try really hard to hold myself together.

With sadness

All those hours learning together can build up some strong bonds. Which makes saying goodbye even harder.

“When I left my first school one of the kids I was teaching made me a cake at home. He didn’t know how to make a cake. He made it without eggs and only with flour and chocolate and had carved into the top ‘goodbye Mr MacAlister’.”

With laughter

What's the next best thing to a comedy club? A classroom.

My pupils asked me if I was too old to have a mum. When I said ‘no, I live with her still’ their little faces dropped and they exclaimed "DO YOU HAVE A BUNK BED?!

My pupils asked me if I was too old to have a mum.

“On a trip to the farm with my reception class last year we were petting small animals and a child said ‘so miss, when does this guinea pig become a real pig?"

“One boy asked me: ‘Miss, what are you going to be when you grow up?’ Another chipped in and said: ‘Married to Zac Efron doesn’t count.'"

“Watching Romeo and Juliet, the version with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, a boy sat frowning then burst out: ‘I don’t understand: he’s dead! He died on the Titanic, what’s he doing here?”

“One student asked: ‘If you punch yourself and it hurts, does that mean you’re really strong or really weak?’”