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Written by: Cordero Telesford, Educator | Public Servant | Youth Advocate.
In a few days, the school bell will ring again.
Our roads will be filled with children in freshly pressed uniforms, some with new shoes, new bags and neatly labelled books. Parents will take the traditional first-day photographs. Some little ones will hold tightly to a parent’s hand, while others will walk through the school gate as though they have been waiting all summer for this moment.
But if we could look beyond the uniforms and school bags, we might see something else.
Because every child walking through that gate is carrying more than a school bag.
One may be carrying excitement about seeing friends again.
Another may be carrying the pressure of being told, “You have to do better this year.”
One may be entering a new school wondering, “Will they like me?”
Another may already be afraid of the subject they struggled with last year.
There may be a child whose parents have sacrificed greatly just to get everything ready for school. Another may not have everything the other children have and is quietly hoping nobody notices.
And somewhere among them is a child who did not do well last year and is wondering:
“What if I fail again?”
To that child, I want to say something before the first bell rings:
A bad result is not the end of your story.
I know what it feels like when an examination does not go the way you hoped. I also know that an examination can measure what you were able to produce on a particular day, but it cannot measure everything that is inside you or everything you can become.
So go back to school and try again.
Ask the question, even if you think everybody else understands.
Study a little harder.
Put down the phone when it is time to focus.
Choose friends who encourage you to do well.
And if you stumble, get up.
You may fail at something, but never allow failure to convince you that you are a failure.
But students are not the only ones returning to school. In a sense, parents and teachers are going back too.
Parents, after we buy the uniforms, books, shoes and supplies, our children still need something that cannot be bought in a store: our presence.
Ask about more than grades.
Ask, “How was your day?”
Ask, “Is something bothering you?”
And sometimes, just listen.
Teachers, you too will receive children carrying things you cannot see.
Some will test your patience. Some will struggle. Some will appear uninterested. But sometimes the child who is hardest to teach is the one who most needs someone to believe that there is more inside them.
Correct them. Challenge them. Hold them accountable.
But encourage them too.
A child may forget the lesson you taught on Tuesday morning, but remember for the rest of their life the day a teacher said, “I believe you can do better.”
And students, while you are chasing good grades, please remember to be good people.
Do not make another child afraid to come to school because of their shoes, appearance, ability, family circumstances or because they are simply different.
You don’t know what is inside someone else’s school bag and you certainly don’t know what they are carrying in their heart.
At the end of this school year, I hope we celebrate the A’s, the distinctions and the outstanding results.
But I hope we notice the quieter victories too.
The child who finally learned to read confidently.
The student who moved from 50% to 70%.
The one who failed, tried again and passed.
The child who became kinder.
The student who almost gave up, but didn’t.
Those victories matter too.
Soon, the bell will ring.
The gates will open.
And thousands of our children will begin another chapter.
As they walk through those gates, let us remember that beneath every uniform is a child with a story, a dream, a fear, a struggle and enormous possibility.
So students, carry your books; but carry hope too.
Parents, pack the school bags; but send encouragement with them.
Teachers, teach the lessons; but never forget the child behind the grade.
Because eventually the uniforms will come off, the school bags will be put away, and the examinations will end.
But what our children become will matter long after that final bell has rung.
Perhaps that is why one lesson from my own school days has remained with me:
“WE LEARN NOT FOR SCHOOL, BUT FOR LIFE.”
May every child entering a school gate this year be given the opportunity not only to learn, but to grow, to believe, to try again and to discover just how much possibility they are carrying.
END
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