I entered the blue gates of the BSN at a very young age,
Quiet, impressionable, small, terrified,
Pulling my little blue sweater down.
I was engulfed by the world the gates had created,
The tinkling of the piano and the shuffle of fast, small footsteps against the freshly varnished floors.

I quietly noted the feeling. 

I was invited. 
Appreciated,
The teachers cared,
My age-mates giggled alongside me to little jokes. 
They soon became my friends.

For the first time, in Mariam’s life,
I felt a sense of belonging.

As life carried, I created blue gates of my own:

A family, 
Schools,
Classrooms where children felt confidently cared for. 
Genuinely respected.

The walls of BSN held more than children through the years,

They held childhood.

Mariam became a secondary school Vice Principal at age 24. Since then, she has led schools, trained hundreds of educators, and advised education organsations internationally. She has worked in the UK, the UAE and Canada, and is driven by the question: how do we make learning better?