Tread Softly on my Dreams

As we near the end of the school year and I watch the teachers go home every day after school with piles of marking, I inevitably find myself reflecting on the power and influence which teachers have had in our lives during our own adolescent years. I think all of us, even now as adults, can recollect a teacher who by their positivity, or their enthusiasm, or their belief in us ensured that we faced the world with just that little extra confidence. Those teachers all those years ago who went the extra mile, are the ones whom we inevitably remember much later as having made a significant difference in our vulnerable years.

Teachers have taught us to value learning, to be curious, to think for ourselves, but more importantly they have taught us lessons, not by what they have said, but through their actions. As youngsters, we used to watch them and unconsciously learn about life. The best teachers urged us not to be afraid of making mistakes and they gently gave us second chances - and third chances. The result was we understood the benefits of failure and the value of fighting back.

Was William Butler Yeats thinking of teachers when he wrote ‘Cloths of Heaven’ in 1899?

I would spread the cloths under your feet

But I, being poor, have only my dreams,

I have spread my dreams under your feet,

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

As I watched this new generation of teachers walk to their cars with the hopes and dreams of their classes in their bags, I thought back fondly to those teachers who carefully and expertly nurtured my own dreams and early aspirations as I fumbled and stumbled my way through Shakespeare, Maths theorems and incomprehensible chemistry equations. They encouraged me as I lagged at the back of cross country runs and picked me up when I was inconsolable after a failure which meant all the world to me at the time. I have no doubt that every adult can identify similar teachers.

I salute the teachers of Springfield today who are experts in ‘treading softly on the dreams’ of our girls. I thank them for nourishing and nurturing these cherished dreams which, who knows, might become reality in years to come just because someone took the trouble to encourage and support them.

Keith Richardson

Headmaster