Pages Sunday, 18 November 2012 My Response To The Tribute In The Previous Post Well how lovely to receive your message this morning. I want you to know that your words meant such a lot to me, honestly they do! Teaching is an extremely demanding job and there are many times when teachers feel dispirited (especially those who are teaching now). It is so wonderful to have something like Facebook which allows people from one's past to communicate together as a community and, for me as a former teacher, it is fascinating to see ow my students have faced the adult world with all its difficulties and challenges. To be remembered so fondly is an honour and I do feel privileged that students feel able to say such nice things about their time in school after all these years. I know that I was always conscious of the need to try and treat my pupils with care and respect. I wanted them to feel as though their opinions and views mattered and that they were taken seriously. As an RE teacher I always strove to create conditions in which people could express really important issues openly with honestly and tolerance. I wanted us all to be able to come together in order to share our common humanity. Over the last few years I have actually met some of my former students individually usually in Costa's over a long coffee or two. I would love to meet more of you to