After forty years at the chalkface,

Retirement enticingly beckoned.

Time to reflect on a teaching life

Of missed opportunities,

Of driving the unwilling,

At the government’s behest,

To the shores of Lake Knowledge

To oversee their drowning

Whilst faithfully recording the results.

Schools have created many a pig’s ear

From the finest, expensive silk,

By trying to deliver the curriculum

As one would a pint of milk.

 

Learning is not an exercise we can

Airily impose on the young.

“Here, drink this cup of Knowledge, son,

It will do you some good

In the long run!”

 

One day, on the road to Hebden Bridge,

With William chatting away in the back,

I had a flash of revelation, a eureka moment,

I realised that learning was a two-way street.

 

William was teaching his grandad,

As much as I was teaching him.

The joy of music, the flight of birds,

The accumulation of brand-new words.

He gave fresh meanings to stories

I thought that I was telling him!

 

Learning is a magical chamber

Filled with emeralds and diamonds,

Rubies, sapphires and gold,

A voyage of discovery

With wonders to behold!

A journey of enlightenment

Supplying the knowledge that we lack.

You’ll soon be in the front seat, William,

And I will be in the back!