Irish Teacher: 'The reason behind a child's bad behaviour won’t make you angry, it will break your heart'

The impact of small things can be huge on somebody who has suffered trauma

Jennifer Horgan, Diary of an Irish Schoolteacher. Picture: Larry Cummins

I sometimes imagine my classroom as something else — as a neighbourhood square or a small green in the centre of a quadrangle. The classroom walls are terraced houses — each house has a different coloured door.

The image jolts me into remembering my students have their own individual stories and histories. It’s obvious, but sometimes the most obvious is the easiest to forget. So, I visualise different houses, different coloured doors, the relationships going on behind them. Because I know how much relationships matter.