I owe a lot to this man. See a young Dylan facing the camera with a huge grin? All because of this teacher. See the children clinging to him? It was grade six graduation, and he was leaving the school to go teach at another, somewhere in a smaller country town, along with his wife. Despite the 'no contact' policy, despite any other PC rules, no one could stop those kids that day from climbing all over him, and hanging off him, in an effort to prolong his departure.

He taught me - as a parent - a lot of things. About screwing the system and the curriculum and the one-size-fits-all approach and seeing each kid as an individual, with different skill sets and different patterns of learning, let alone differences in developmental stages.

He screwed the system. Every kid was important to him, not as a part of the class, but as a person in their own right. Dylan's final year of Primary School was a major turning point for him. See, this teacher recognised Dylan's affinity with computers and pretty much left him alone for the year, sitting all day, almost every school day, in front of one of the few computers in his classroom. Now you might consider this irresponsible, Dylan missing out on other aspects of the curriculum. Funny thing is, my boy won the top Academic award for his final year, a most coveted Scholarship, and was admitted to the Accelerated Program in High School. All because of this one man.

He was young, he was enthusiastic and he was eccentric. In a world where male teachers - in this country at least - are a vanishing breed, he served as an admirable role model and left a lasting impact on many young lives. He was impulsive, often taking the kids out of the classroom and just walking the street observing people, or sitting under a tree and chatting about all manner of subjects beyond the curriculum. He 'horsed around' playing with the kids, being a kid himself, or he gathered them around him and played the guitar, as they chose songs and sand along with him.

He cared. Look at his face. He loved each and every one of his young charges and they loved him back. His face always had a smile, no matter the troubles outside of the classroom.

Here's another photo. Look at those young faces and the adoration shown him. Look at the kid crying, gripping his hand. Many tears were shed that day, boys and girls alike when it was time for final goodbyes. Graduation took second place to this one man, this teacher who captured young imaginations and nurtured each one, and made each student a better person, for having known him.

He was unique. I too cried, because my younger son would not experience his teaching methods the following year. I cried because a part of me understood ALL teachers should be like this. Because he was the exception, when he should have been the norm...

Things changed for Dylan the following year. A bunch of old, bored and 'cold' strangers took over his education. The focus shifted to 'speed' and rote learning. Dylan's grades plummeted. He grew to hate the school and to hate his life. You know the rest; I pulled him and his brother out of High School toward the end of Dylan's second year and Marcus' first.

I did what this teacher had done; I left both boys in charge of their own education. Free to pursue whatever interested them.

There is one incident that comes to mind early on in this journey. One day they walked into my room and Dylan said "Hey mum, did you know you can buy whole islands for just a couple of hundred thousand dollars?"

Of course I knew this but what interested me was how they'd discovered this. So I asked.

"Well we were building something on Minecraft and there was an island and then I wondered if there were any islands left that had no people on them?"

"And?"

"So we searched, and found some sites where they had islands for sale."

"And?"

"Well, we thought how you could buy one of these, build some really exclusive bungalow things on them and make it super expensive and private... see, you could make a lot of money like that, out of a few hundred thousand dollars right?"

"So how much could you make?"

"We went on the travel sites and saw what they charged for the most expensive private ones – you know, where celebrities stay? Mum they charge over ten thousand dollars just for one night!"

"Yes but you would have a lot of expenses guys, running something like that."

"We did the sums. They tell you how many staff are on those resorts see? Per guest? So yeah, it would cost heaps but if you had, say ten bungallows at 10k a night each... see, there's a lot of money to cover the expenses?"

Okay, in theory, they lacked a lot of knowledge. But what intrigued me was how a game had led them to a business idea and half-formulating a crude business plan, see?

That's just one example of many, many over the ensuing few years. By the ages of 15 and 16, they could create full business plans with financial projections and had organised a charity event which raised almost 20,000 dollars and created a New Australian Record. They learned about site inspections and risk assessment, they liaised with Business and Community Leaders including local Members of Parliament and the Mayor. They created Marketing Proposals and garnered Sponsorships. They coordinated the event day itself, which flowed flawlessly. They spoke on the radio and with the press and publicly on the day.

They got some friends together and formed a team to carry all this out. They thus learned about teamwork and leadership and delegating...

All because of this one teacher, who taught Dylan and the two others on their 'team' about seeking knowledge everywhere, not just in the classroom and the curriculum? So their 'small island' venture eventually led to this major accomplishment.

Dylan is now at Uni, a year ahead of his peers down on the coast, studying ICT. Despite never finishing High School... and it was entirely his decision.

So yeah, I owe a lot to this one teacher who 'enlightened' my oldest boy and allowed him freedoms most kids never experience. And I question again, why there are not hundreds, thousands of him or her in every city, in every country. I think of the futures of all those young minds and how different they might be if they'd been allowed the freedom to pursue what they loved, and to seek beyond the bland rote-learning curriculums... I want to build a statue to him, really. I want every kid in the world to want to climb all over their teachers and cling to them and stare at them with the same awe and adoration...

Our kids spend most of their formative years in school. Teachers really do matter. At least those who are spirited and enthusiastic and haven't taught the same subject year in year out without deviation... to a procession of faceless fidgety and mind-numbed students...