An editor’s perspective on the teacher who helped his student follow his dreams and a student who never gave up.
If you want to know how teachers can inspire their students and help them to realise their dreams, then take a moment to read this true story that took place last week at Masada College.
Will Kostakis, a guest author came to talk to Year 6 about his journey as an author. Will knew that the Acting College Principal, Mr Tait would be in the audience, but Mr Tait did not know that his former student would be the guest speaker. Will told us his story about how he always wanted to be a writer and how his teacher at the time, Mr Tait, had played a big role in assisting him to achieve his dream.
When Will was in Year 6, he was in Mr Tait’s English class and Mr Tait assigned books to all the children. Will told us that he really wasn’t enjoying his book and decided to write his own story instead. Will’s friend in the class started to read it and found it so enjoyable that he asked Will to continue writing another chapter. Soon all the children in the class were reading Will’s book and Will was enjoying the constant writing. Nobody in the English class was reading the assigned book, instead they were reading Will’s book.
Now here comes the part where Mr Tait was such an inspiration. Mr Tait called Will into his office and instead of being angry at him for not reading the book, he complimented Will on his excellent story and asked Will one question that he didn’t expect, “What’s next?” Mr Tait recognised Will’s talent and encouraged him to write more. Mr Tait cared about Will’s passion and wanted Will to cherish that and continue writing. Mr Tait told us that Will was a very strong student, was winning writing competitions at school and was getting distinctions and high distinctions for all his work. He was always impressed by Will’s motivation and passion for writing and he felt proud to be his teacher.
Will’s experience in Mr Tait’s class marked the beginning of his journey to becoming a successful writer. It was not always an easy journey and Will discussed how he sent his book to many publishers and got many rejections. Finally, in his last year at school Will got an offer to publish his book and become an accomplished author. This story has taught us many lessons, such as the importance of hard work and to never give up. Perhaps the most important lesson is about how teachers can inspire and encourage their students so they can reach their potential and their dreams can become a reality. As Mr Tait commented in his interview, “I felt proud that I was Will’s teacher and it was a good feeling to see someone follow their passion.”
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