The Educator

The Educator

Mark Taylor, known as Sir or Mr Taylor at work was a career driven teacher when he was in his twenties. He wanted to fly through the educational ranks and eventually become a Headteacher. Great wages, respect and a fantastic position of responsibility. 

Mark attended the University of Brighton and specialised in English. His dream was to work extremely hard, retire at fifty-five and become a novelist. That gave him around thirty-two years of graft and then his dream move to Devon. 

However, not all plans work out the way people want them to. There are many obstacles that can derail a plan of action. Life can sometimes get in the way. 

Now he finds himself in his thirties and he’s flagging. The years have taken its toll, he felt like a used punchbag. Standing in front of children day in day out is a thankless task. The wages don’t reflect the level of responsibility or the amount of abuse and hassle one receives.

Straight out of university he got offered a job in a public school in West Sussex. It was fine for a few years, but after a while the stuffy atmosphere and entitled pupils made him want a new challenge. It was called Cuckfield Castle School, and had a great reputation of excellence, along with a hefty yearly fee. 

When he received the news that he had been offered the job, Mark was over the moon. He couldn’t believe his luck; it had a great reputation and was set on beautiful scenic grounds. The South-Downs were in view with their flowing hills and large ancient trees. 

Inside the Grade II listed building, the walls were adorned with oak panelling and expensive original artwork. There was a Steinway and Sons Model D Concert Grand Piano in the main reception room, and it also had a paternoster lift, one of the few left in the world. A paternoster lift doesn’t have doors and rotates nonstop. It was built in the Victorian times and was now more of an attraction than a usable lift. Mark thought the school would make a great museum.

The pupils were extremely well bred, the uniforms were traditional, and they were going to be the leaders of the next generation. Debate clubs were training the wannabe politicians, chess clubs were helping them build strategy, but they were lacking in lessons for politeness and integrity. 

His university days were brilliant, he had made some great lifelong friendships and had a beautiful girlfriend called Sammy. She was also a student, and they were together for a few years. Sammy had long blonde hair, long legs and had dreams of becoming an actress. They got on really well, but she was far more ambitious than Mark was. 

They began living together in their last year, they rented a small house in Scotland Street, it was cheap but up a massive hill, which was a nightmare if they had shopping to carry. Sammy became pregnant in her third year at university, it was a big shock, and she didn’t want to become a mother at twenty-one. They had discussed their options, but Sammy had made up her mind, she wanted an abortion. They fought over it, but Mark couldn’t stop her, but he could stop something, their relationship! 

He decided he didn’t want to be with someone who would never listen to his point of view or take him seriously. He was heartbroken about her decision. Sammy moved out of the house and into her friends for the last few months of the term, they never spoke again. 

Whilst at the Cuckfield Castle School, Mark began to apply for roles in local secondary schools in West Sussex. He wanted a new challenge and wanted to work with children who needed the extra support. He thought that working in a deprived area would give him a more rounded perspective on teaching. Guiding pupils from single parent families or children in care would be the opposite to what he had experienced before. He was excited when he received interviews from a couple of schools and over the moon when he received an offer. 

The new school was on the outskirts of Brighton called Whitehawk Community College (WCC). Whitehawk is one of the most deprived areas in Brighton, it has challenges with poverty, health inequalities, and underfunded community spaces. It was perfect for Mark, he wanted to help the rough diamonds, rather than polishing the one carat luxury jewels. 

It was like going from playing football in the Premier League to playing in the Sussex County League Division Two. It looked like a school, it had corridors, classrooms and a canteen, it just had it without the cleanliness, discipline and the latest technologies. The Headteacher seemed like a nice person, they just missed the sparkle in their eyes. The words they were using just didn’t coordinate with their body language. Mark knew this was going to be a challenge of a lifetime, and to quote Frank Sinatra, “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.”

Mark enjoyed his six weeks of summer and went camping with a few buddies. He was able to relax and enjoy the peacefulness with his wife and two children, before his new venture. A week before his new appointment, he got his haircut and brought some new clothes to fit in with his new environment. His wife, Lin, loved the area and had made their humble home into a palace. 

Lin was very proud of Mark’s decision and told him,

“I really think you can make a difference to the students. Just remember how you were helped by Mr Jones, you once told me that if it wasn’t for him you would’ve failed.”

When he eventually started at the WCC, he witnessed what he had been expecting, lateness, rudeness and a lack of effort. The discipline was not what it should have been, and the students took advantage of it. Mark tried to play it firmly which didn’t go down well with the children, but he thought that they would just take time to get used to it. He was not going to lower his standards and was strict but fair. 

Time flew by quickly and he believed his ability was making a difference. Mark enjoyed the nurturing side of the job and during tutor time he was able to help with problems and advice. He was gradually building trust and confidence with his pupils. “Sir, my dad’s been arrested for burglary, how long do you think he’ll get?” was a question similar to others he was asked. 

His staff colleagues were fine, there wasn’t an awful lot of mixing, but he was fine with that. He didn’t want to cross the boundaries and become to close to staff members. However, he got on well with James, he was an art teacher. James was older and had been at the school for many years, he had it all worked out. He would say, “it’s a marathon and not a sprint”. Mark spent more and more time with James and as the terms rolled on, they turned into years. Mark would watch James with the students and see how at ease he was with them. His confidence and charisma shone through, and he was as helpful to the students as they would allow. A lot of GCSE students take art as an easy subject and James knew that. He was able to separate the serious students and the drifters. 

Mark had made it to become the Head of Year 8, he had more administrative responsibilities but had less classes to teach. He enjoyed it to some respect, but it came with more hassle as he had to oversee discipline which made him unpopular with a certain group of youngsters. 

It started when the group began bunking lessons, then vaping in the toilets, setting fire alarms off and bullying other students. It was causing mayhem and as they were Year 8’s, Mark had to deal with them. He did the usual, detentions, suspensions and had their parents in. 

There was one boy called Ben, he was a nightmare, he just didn’t care. No matter how Mark spoke to him, he didn’t listen. School was just a place to muck around and cause chaos. He found it hilarious; the whole school was a playground to him. What really annoyed Mark was that Ben was an intelligent boy and reminded Mark of himself in some ways, he was just wasting his talent. Ben would say, 

“I don’t care Sir, this is pointless, I don’t need qualifications. My stepdad will give me a job. Kick me out, you’ll be doing me a favour.”

Mark invited the parents in for a meeting to see if there was anything that could be resolved rather than the inevitable expulsion. Ben’s stepfather attended, Mr Price, unfortunately Ben’s mother was busy with her other children. 

Mr Price arrived in a large white van and parked in a disabled bay, he put his cigarette out on the floor and walked into reception. Mark whispered to Kate, the receptionist, “That’s not a good start, he looks quite angry.”

Mr Price signed in and was shown to the meeting room. The discussion began with the introductions and then the reason why the meeting was being held. Mr Price grunted his way through it. They then discussed the positives of Ben’s behaviour and then the negatives. Mr Price was defensive as expected and said,

“Your teachers don’t know how to teach him. He’s not challenged enough, and he gets bored. If it wasn’t for the law, I’d have him working with me, earning some money.”

Mark was diplomatic and tried to reason with Mr Price. He tried to understand what the school could do better for Ben, but he wasn’t getting anywhere. It ended with Mark explaining the expulsion process and what that would mean to Ben and his future. Mr Price didn’t really care, and the meeting ended abruptly without any satisfactory results or plans. 

Life carried on for a while as the school were obtaining evidence for Ben’s dismissal, but the behaviour had changed. Instead of the group being antisocial to everyone, they concentrated their efforts on Mr Taylor.

Graffiti was adorned in the toilets calling Mark derogatory names. He had items like food and drinks thrown at him. This was ongoing for a few months and Mark wasn’t receiving any support from the Senior Management team, it was as though they were concerned about repercussions aimed at themselves. Mark decided that enough was enough and he was going to leave in the summer and find a new job. He was being bullied, and it was affecting his stress levels and mental health. He didn’t want work to have a negative impact on his home life. 

Things began to get worse for Mark. They somehow found out his address and started the childish prank of knocking on the door and running off. They hung around the local shop and whenever Mark went there, they gave him all sorts of grief. They were calling him names and talking to locals about him. Ben was always the most aggressive, he had a terrible short temper. Mark tried to laugh it off to begin with, but that tactic didn’t work. He knew that if he lost his temper, he would lose the battle, the bullies would get exactly what they wanted. 

Mark had to change his movements to avoid this group of thugs and thought that it was only a matter of time they would turn violent. He also knew that the police would take the children’s allegations seriously and take positive action, which would mean he would be arrested. He would also lose his career. 

Back in school he was able to get the main boys expelled so he didn’t have to see them during the day, however, that didn’t stop him from the abuse at his home. Gradually it got worse, and he couldn’t see a way out of it, he put his house up for sale and thought that a move would solve the issue. 

When the for-sale sign went up, the group escalated their terror campaign, it was awful. The sign was stolen, the windows had eggs thrown at them and their car was scratched. The police were called but as there weren’t any witnesses they couldn’t take any further action. Their lives were like a horror movie. Mark didn’t know what else he could do; his wife was scared to leave the house and Mark was ready to explode.

One night he was driving past the shops and saw one of the boys walking on his own. He watched and saw it was Ben; he hated Ben. He was the worst behaved out of the whole group. Mark pulled over and watched him, Ben didn’t look like he had a care in the world. After everything Mark’s family had been through, he was livid, absolutely fuming. He tried to help these boys but instead he was targeted, they were like a pack of hyenas, wild and ferocious. 

Mark thought about the torment his poor family have had to suffer, and he snapped, he had a terrible short temper. Mark started his vehicle and picked up speed, he mounted the curb and struck Ben from behind. He hadn’t set out to kill him he just wanted to knock him off his feet to show him that there are consequences to his actions. 

The impact hit Ben on his right side, and he flew through the air and into a fence. It made a loud noise and as Mark drove off, he could see in his mirror that some of the neighbours had come out to see what had happened. Mark continued to drive and eventually drove home. Reality hit and he couldn’t believe what he had done. He checked his car and fortunately there wasn’t any damage, he didn’t see any witnesses, but he wasn’t sure if there was any CCTV in the area. 

Whilst at home he was shaking and poured himself a glass of whiskey. His wife had the news on TV and there was a local reporter presenting a breaking story. 

“A thirteen-year-old boy has been taken to hospital in a hit and run. It is too early to tell but it looks serious. The police have cordoned off the road and the ambulance has taken the victim to hospital.”

Mark was in pieces; he was dumbstruck and couldn’t move. In his head he was thinking that the boy was going to die. His inner voice kept repeating, “You are going to prison for the rest of your life.”

He couldn’t sleep that night, and, in the morning, he put the TV on. A woman was sat between a couple of police officers, she looked familiar, and she was sat next to Mr Price. She was asking for witnesses to come forward as Ben was in a coma. She was crying but looked really familiar, then it suddenly struck him. 

It was his ex-girlfriend from university, Sammy. Her hair was different, and he hadn’t seen her since their university days fourteen years ago. 

Mark was in a panic and went to have a shower, he kept thinking, “what a weird coincidence”, he didn’t even know Sammy lived locally. It was a nightmare. He knew his actions were disgusting, but this had made it even worse.

Then it hit him like a comet striking the earth. Sammy didn’t have an abortion; she had lied to him at university.

Ben looked up at his reflection in his bathroom mirror and said,

“Oh my god, I think I’m Ben’s father!”

The End