For JACK

I apologize for not being there. I meant to be. I had promised to be. I chose not to be.

It wasn’t your fault, and I am sorry if others have given you to believe it may have been. I can explain myself now, as I couldn’t then. You might choose to ignore the explanation, or not. You have my permission to do as you will. Know that I wish you well.

I lied when I said why I was leaving the school. I was being harassed and my students were being used and abused to get to me. None of my students lives were threatened, but there was a tragic twist in which a former student of mine, Hamidur Rahman at another school, died from neglect related to my abusers. With you, I had done what I normally do with students where I work. I shared books, like ‘Watership Down’ and mentored, which is to say that I made myself available to you in a number of ways to help with your schooling. When I became aware that my abusers were targeting students I had mentored, I felt I was left with no choice but to leave. I was only aware of the worst after I left.

Unrelated to you was my decision when I first started teaching to report a teacher to school authorities who was abusing children. The school did not know how to respond to the issue, and felt the best way they could deal with it was to transfer me to another school. I do not know what became of that teacher, and do not care, so long as they are not involved with children.
My actions caused some jealousy among former colleagues who were probably embarrassed that they had turned a blind eye. I was badmouthed then, by those colleagues. That would have been the end of the matter. I was at a new school, then I went to another school. But the teaching community is small.
I was working during the day at your school, and at night I was tutoring at another school. The school where I was tutoring wanted me because I mentored students. But when I applied for transfer there was an unfortunate meeting between my old head teacher and the new one, and my tutoring school changed their mind about me, and tried to have me sacked. I didn’t give them reason, but they found a way to get rid of me. I discovered Hamidur’s allergy shortly before they got rid of me. I told them and they threatened to have me sued for discussing a child’s medical condition. They assured me that the child was safe, and staff told. In fact, they never told staff and a year later the boy died because the staff had not been told.
I later discovered that it was my head teacher at your school that had badmouthed me to my tutor school. The result of what was said was that the boy died. I do not know what was said, but can guess.
Meanwhile, I was being abused at your school. When I referred students to my head teacher, they were coming back worse because my head teacher seemed to be trying to make an allegation against me. They had me referred to a specialist unit to see if I was too fat to teach math. They failed at that last, but they kept trying, resetting a year 12 general test in 2005, and remarking a year 12 trial test in 2006 .. with the result that kids in my class got fewer marks than kids in other classes for the same questions with similar answers.
When a year 7 girl was humiliated for no other reason than that she was in my class .. and so she left the school for a private school, I took action. I asked the department of education to put a stop to the harassment. They would do nothing. I approached the minister of education and he said he could do nothing. Resignation was my only option for speaking out, but it also meant that you would not be targeted.
I don’t know how you were approached, or spoken to. I was told to not work with you. In approaching the police, recently, I have allowed myself to approach the press and tell my story. So I am now free to tell you, too. You might have been ignorant of this, you might not. I don’t wish to intrude further on your life than I should, but I could not leave this alone, either. I am not asking for a response from you. I wish you well. And, JACK, everyone knows who you are, what the promotion (vandalism) was .. I wish you well.

Encouragement for a Former Student

There is no such thing as a satisfying degree in terms of study. Study is not natural. One embarks on a course of study with an idea, a vision, of what one wants to do, to achieve. But no one knows what it is that will actually happen.
You can still enjoy what you do, but you shouldn't expect plain sailing. Your vision may still be achieved, but it probably won't match exactly what you had once thought.
I love teaching. I love psychology too. Neither is what you might think it is. I don't know how it might be that you might transfer. I suspect you can get course credit and not have to do every year for the entire B.Ed. course, but four years is a long time, and then you will probably find it isn't any better than your initial choice.
If you complete your current degree, you can do an M. Teach. You might even be able to get a scholarship.
I firmly believe, from experience and observation, that changing course is rarely worthwhile. Your dream will be spoiled again and again, but you can hold those broken fragments (not too tightly) and see your way to the end. The future is also more richly rewarding than what you know or guess.