This well-known and frequently used Norfolk phrase (English version “That will teach them”) is a reminder of the importance we attach to teaching (and learning).

This is no easy matter, as those in the Teaching profession know well as they look forward to the end of the School Year.

Learning is a life-time experience: “You’re never too old to learn” is a term often preceded by the telling acknowledgement “I never thought. . . .

The principles of teaching (however expressed) can be summed up in three points: “Get them interested and then sustain that interest”, which demands “Planning and preparation” and finally (to quote the Army manual of Instruction) “Confirmation that instruction has been assimilated” ie by use of well directed questions or practical tests check your degree of success as a teacher.

It is significant that Jesus was frequently addressed as Rabbi (Teacher) and whilst the first half of the Christian year focuses on the events of His life, the second concentrates on His Teaching.

Whilst His Birth, Death and Resurrection evoke wonder and devotion the real text of our Faith is how closely we live by his Teaching. As St. James reminded us “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only”.

We all hope for the uplift in our religious life of being “lost in wonder, love and praise” but it is the teaching given by the Parable (“an earthly story with a Heavenly meaning”) of the Good Samaritan that is for most proof of Our Lord’s teaching.