The tides of life are relentless. On the first day of the new term, just when I was about to get started on the mounting tasks on my to-do list, my Year Head informed me that she arranged for a case conference for a girl whose attendance isn’t exactly inspiring.

She did give me the option to opt out of the case conference, but it would have been difficult to go through with it because I possess certain insights on my student. So I attended the conference, pushing all things on my plate aside.

It’s one of those things that I wish I don’t have to do because I’d rather focus on my teaching and learning. Having said that, I was glad I went because I was instrumental in probing deeper and getting her to uncover the thorn that has been piercing her soul. In a low voice, she revealed that she was angry at being placed at the Home.

I will refrain from sharing more of the conversation, but I want to say that I was happy to get her to this point, in which all her excuses about not coming to school wilted away like autumn leaves, thus leaving only the barren truth. And I knew I had struck a nerve because she suddenly went all quiet and her case worker had to repeatedly ask her if she was listening.

Later, after the case conference, I got her to write a thank-you note to one of the Home staff so that she could stop being so self-entitled. She did so, and without any prompting on my part, went on to write a thank-you card for me. She said something like “thanks for understanding me”. I have been in this profession long enough, but this kind of heartfelt card still gets to me. What can I say? Words of affirmation are my primary love language.

Most days bleed into one another and turn into one blurry mess. However, today I could persuasively tell myself that my intervention mattered, that I was the right conduit for my student to come to terms with her reality. And maybe this is worth more than clearing the miscellaneous stuff on my to-do list.