On Monday morning, I couldn’t resist taking it to school, in case I got the chance to read it in between lessons. Our English teacher was late that afternoon, and while everyone chatted noisily outside the classroom, I edged away, sat on a quiet window sill and opened my book. I was careful to hold a hand over the cover, in case anyone saw me reading it!

I was miles away, wrapped up in the story, when the worst thing ever happened. The cutest boy in our year walked up and asked me what I was reading. I went the colour of a beetroot, but I had no option but to show him the book – and to my amazement, he grinned and said, ‘Watership Down? That’s the best book I’ve ever read!’

I learnt a really important lesson that day – never, ever be ashamed of reading. Seriously. (And if you’ve never read Watership Down, give it a go – whatever your age!)

Joss is not a geek or a loser. She should blank the nasty comments, or, if that doesn’t work, talk to her guidance tutor and get some adult support. It’s cool to like learning… that’s one lesson we could all do with swotting up on.

Teacher Trouble

Hello Cathy

Our English teacher has one or two kids in class he really likes, and they get all the attention. He often says the rest of us are a washout, which upsets me because I used to love English. How can I make him see I’m trying as hard as I can?

Jill, age 13

Cathy

Have you ever had a teacher you didn’t like? I have, and it’s making my life a misery!

Charleen, age 14

One thing you should know about teachers – they’re not perfect. Like the rest of us, teachers are only human – they make mistakes, mess up sometimes, and some of them are not as nice as others!

Jill’s teacher may not mean to, but by dismissing most of his class as ‘a washout’ he is alienating them. Why should they try to impress a teacher who has already labelled them as losers? Jill is missing out on her favourite subject, which isn’t fair. She and a friend could try talking to this teacher quietly after class one day, explaining that they are trying hard, but would love a little more support. Hopefully, he’ll get the message!

Having a teacher you really don’t like is very tough, as Charleen has discovered. I too had a teacher who made my life miserable, back in primary school. It’s even worse if this happens to you at primary school because you only have the one teacher for every subject – there’s no escape!!! My mum came in to talk to the teacher who was making me so unhappy, but even that didn’t help… things didn’t improve until she left to have a baby. Phew! Looking back, I wonder if she’d been having an especially stressful pregnancy, but still, I wish she hadn’t chosen to take it out on us!