As we approach the end of 2023, we’ve been looking back at the biggest issues and events in Scottish education over the last twelve months.

Our two-part review of the year gives a glimpse into the stories that dominated our coverage, and I’ve also picked out my own ‘top ten’ articles since joining the team here at The Herald.

But in the spirit of looking back and taking stock, I’ve been asked to do something else; something that is, for me, both unusual and uncomfortable: a bit of personal writing, reflecting on my own experience over the past year.

So here goes.

A year ago, I was in a pretty bad place. I had become a teacher more than a decade earlier, then shifted into lecturing, and for most of that time was very happy.

Why wouldn’t you be when your job is to help people while exploring a subject you love – in my case, literature and language?

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Judge them on........

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