WHEN people ask me what the best bit of my job is, I always tell them it’s visiting schools and colleges within my constituency and there are so many reasons why I love doing this.
I find that pupils of all ages across Ashton, Droylsden and Failsworth have the most interesting and insightful questions for me – I often get a more intense grilling than I do at the Dispatch Box for Prime Minister’s Questions!
As well as the usual questions, such as ‘Who’s the most famous person you’ve met?’ and ‘What’s the Prime Minister like?’, I often get asked what my best piece of advice is and I always give the same answer – never know your place.
By that, I mean never let anyone tell you that you’re not good enough. Never let anyone tell you that you don’t deserve to be where you are.
It’s well documented that I grew up on a council estate in Stockport and left school with no qualifications and pregnant with my first child. Some people would have written me off at that stage and declared that my path in life had been decided.
But I refused to let those things define me. I refused to ‘know my place’ and I know 16-year-old Angela would be pleasantly surprised at how far she would progress!
I was contacted this week by a lady called Jean who had heard one of my speeches where I said, ‘never let anyone tell you you’re not good enough’ and felt compelled to get in touch.
This lady, now in her 80s, had struggled through school and was always told she was stupid. It wasn’t until much later in life that she was diagnosed with dyslexia.
With the diagnosis came a fresh determination to help those with the same condition and make sure they knew they weren’t ‘stupid.’
Jean has now written two books on dyslexia and devised worksheets for schools to help children and young people gain a greater perception of the condition to help remove prejudices.
She refused to ‘know her place’ and fought against those negative perceptions that marred her early life.
I am so proud of her.