Teagan Craul walked into her first year as a Grade 6 English teacher at Montrose Primary School expecting a steep learning curve.

What she didn’t expect was the moment that would anchor her through the chaos.

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It happened last week, after a long stretch of tough days in the classroom. One of her learners approached her and said, “Miss Craul, thank you. This is the first year I finally understood English. My marks went from the 60s to the 80s because of you.”

For Craul, the words landed deeper than the child probably realised.

Teaching had left her questioning herself more than once. She wondered whether she was getting through, whether her methods were working, whether she belonged in the profession at all.

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That single conversation changed her outlook.

“It reminded me that children notice far more than we think. And it gave me the confidence to keep going. I felt like I was doing what I am meant to do,” she said.

The moment has shifted how she approaches her work. It reinforced that learning is reciprocal: teachers influence their learners, but learners influence teachers just as powerfully.

Her message to her learners is simple: “We are all trying our best. Your only competition is yourself. If you can honestly say you put in the effort and pushed your own limits, you should be proud of what you have achieved.”

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