I remember the day I sat down and considered my future quite clearly. I had been widowed recently, and I had an elderly mother to support but no income of my own. I no longer had the luxury of a husband supporting me, so it was time to get a job. With my background and qualifications, the easiest way for me to earn money was to become a teacher.
A friend told me his school was looking for an English teacher, so I arranged an interview with the principal. Fifteen minutes after stepping into her office, I was given the job and asked ifI was able to begin teaching that same day. The current English teacher appeared very keen to leave!
I wondered why she had made such an abrupt decision, but I was secretly pleased that her loss had become my gain. I walked towards the classroom on that first day, wondering about the wisdom of my decision to accept the principal's offer. The thought of standing in front of a group of teenagers made me scared and I started to panic.
The classroom was empty when I entered it. Slowly, the teenagers I was expecting arrived in groups of four and five. Finally every seat was taken and I stared out at the blank faces in front of me. They had been shown little respect and so they had given up on education and on themselves. No one was listening or seemed to care what I was doing. I knew I wasn't a gifted teacher and it was only my first day, but nothing I did motivated these students. They were bored and restless.
I knew why their previous teacher had left. That night I sat at home. The same question kept repeating itself in my head, even when I tried to distract myself by watching late-night movies: "How could I make a huge difference to their lives?". I decided I would take up the challenge. It was a slow process, but it was also the most rewarding experience of my life. It took time, but my patience was rewarded. They had discovered the joy of learning and I had discovered what it really means to be a teacher.
