Last week, I found myself in a very awkward position; in an embrace with a teacher. Not sexually, that’s just too far. Why would you go there? What’s wrong with you? It was a hug of sheer randomness in its execution. As I approached the tennis courts, Mr. Awkward (we’ll just call him that) approaches me and, upon seeing him, roared his name as we shot towards each other, and, manly, hugged one another. We immediately let go and it’s only now (being a few days later) that I realized just how odd this is. Not only is he my tennis coach, he is my economics teacher too. Now, we know each other pretty well, but at the end of the day he’s still my teacher. And my relationship with him is vastly different than that of other teachers. And it got me wondering… what is the perfect teacher-student relationship?

Mr. Awkward is my tutor. This means he helps me with my overall academic progress. He’s the one who helps me write my CV. I know him well; more, probably, than I know any other teacher since I moved here. And it was purely by accident too. I never intended to get to know him, but there it is. Someone, who, could make a simple joke about oneself that, coming from someone else could have been considered mocking.

Is this good? I don’t know. I’ve always been suspicious of what teachers do. Their schemes, their motives, their intentions, they’re all part of some greater plot to do something, I assume. It’s true. It has to be. That’s why I’ve always been distant from teachers. I’ve made sure that my presentation of me to them was controlled and secure.

My other teacher, Mr. Religion (we’ll just call him that) is my Religious Studies teacher and the school Chaplain. He is also my unofficial counselor. He’s the one who I tell things to; personal things. Things like worries and fears and other such stuff, he has to listen to, not just because he’s contractually obligated to, but because he wants to (apparently). But because he’s my teacher too, it’s difficult to talk about things that worry me academically. Things like other teachers, he can’t exactly respond to because they’re his colleagues. What can he do? Tell on them? And to whom, as well?

So, I suppose I can rely on other people, like my house master. One problem: he’s also my history teacher, and just a terrible one at that. What Mr. Perfect (we’ll just call him that) can’t seem to understand is that not everyone is able to work at the same level. It’s an indisputable fact that some people just aren’t as good as others at doing things. This life fact has somehow completely missed him, and it baffles him to the point of world-shattering confusion when I confess to him that I don’t understand something. How can I talk to someone like that?

I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s that thing where I can’t talk to people, especially authority figures, who, let’s face it, pose more of a threat to my general well-being than most. What do you think? How are/were your relationships with your teachers like? Good or bad? Let me know in the comments below.

Please Like, comment, and come back next week and read up about my recent thoughts, or check out my Facebook page for more updates.

All work is of the authors credit and opinion, and does not represent that of any social, political, or ethnic group. Images used were obtained by Stock Free Images.