Thank you to the teachers who’ve been my family’s village all these years | Rebecca Whitfield-Baker

Australians have a lot to say about teachers. You’d think we’d say this more though, writes Rebecca Whitfield-Baker.

Never has the timeless parental adage, “the days are long but the years are short” rang truer for me than this week, as the youngest of my two sons prepares for his final Year 12 school exam.

He is among about 12,500 students across the state who’ve sat SACE exams this month with Geography, scheduled for this Friday afternoon, to be the last for the 2024 cohort.

Rebecca Whitfield-Baker with her youngest son Harry, 17, ahead of his year 12 formal earlier this year. Picture: supplied

In our household, the valedictory cheers – and tears – have been had with just the one exam and a speech night to sit through before school is officially done and dusted.

It hails an end to our family’s school journey, spanning two states across the public, Catholic and independent sectors.

After a decade and half of school being at the centre of family life, the idea of the final bell ringing takes a bit to get used to; no more lunches to pack, no more crumpled school uniforms to pull from sports bags and no more notes to write to the teacher to explain why the sports uniform is again being worn in place of the formal one.

There’ll be no more dreaded calls from the school to detail the latest “bad choice” made in the classroom, no more school diaries to sign, no more school holidays to juggle and no more school sport to cheer on.

Young brothers. ‘When your kids are little, you think they’ll be that way forever’ writes Whitfield-Baker. Picture supplied

It’s hard to believe the adorable but Energiser Bunny-like baby who’d not sleep more than 90 minutes at a time for the first 15 months of his life but was blissfully happy when being carried by his mum, is almost 18.

Or, the little blonde-haired boy who, at age five, was summoned with his young Mallee school mates to the principal’s office after cheekily dropping his pants to show off his Bob-the-Builder undies to the girls in the library, is now proudly part of the “old-scholar” cricket and football sides.

When your kids are small it feels like they’ll be little forever; it’s impossible to imagine – as your eyes well with emotion and your heart with pride – on their first day at “big school” just how quickly the time will come when they no longer need their oversized school backpack.

But you soon come to realise that each advancing school and life stage moves faster than the last with high school passing at breakneck speed; you learn to stress less about the things that really don’t matter.

The reality is, before you know it, your kids have got their “Ps” and, to borrow lyrics from the timeless Cat’s in the Cradle, are asking to “borrow the car keys … see you later, can I have them please?”

My dear, late Dad used to often say he wished you could “bottle moments”, so that you could go back and savour them, time and time again. I now find myself sharing his sentiment.

Before you know it, your kids will go from being in primary school …

… to getting their P plates.

But mostly as I look back on my children’s school years, I am filled with gratitude for the many, many wonderful school teachers, sports coaches and mentors they’ve had along the way.

Those who have helped shape, in no small part, my sons into the young men they are today, and will grow into in the future.

Not least is “Ms G” who has overseen and nurtured both younger and older brothers, each less-than-model students, during their final years of schooling.

With an uncanny knack of really knowing her students, the wise-beyond-her-years educator is tireless in her efforts to get the best out of each and every student, steadfastly striving to have them see in themselves what she does, willing them to believe in their strengths and potential.

I’ve no doubt the quiet lessons she has shared and inspiration she has provided will remain with her students well beyond the school gate.

It’s said it takes a village to raise a child and for our family the various school communities we’ve been part of have been integral to that.

I will remain grateful to ”Ms G” – and the many other amazing individuals who’ve helped teach and guide my boys along the way – always.

Last week, wishing the school-leavers at his Westminster School well, principal Simon Shepherd said: “We congratulate and thank our Year 12s for an amazing school journey … (we hope they) continue to live a life of purpose, kindness, gratitude and humility. Go well, Class of 2024.”

Hear, hear.

Originally published as Thank you to the teachers who’ve been my family’s village all these years | Rebecca Whitfield-Baker