And it really touched me. It also got me thinking about the One, that one kid that makes you realise that this is what you're meant to do. I strive for anonymity in this blog, and I don't think this entry will change this, but I'm going to tell you all the story of my one, my kid that made me think I could do alright at this.
I spent the third year of my degree teaching English in French Middle Schools. Whenever anyone asked if I was going to be a teacher, I was emphatic in my 'no'. But, over the year, the job started to creep in to my head. I liked planning lessons, liked being in a class room even more. And then I met Kazim.
Kazim was a refugee from Georgia placed temporarily in the district I was teaching. He didn't speak French or English, so I was surprised that he was put in my group. He had huge, sad eyes and a much bigger smile, and he was like a sponge. He listened to everything I said, even though he didn't understand it, and he repeated everything perfectly. He learned - I still can't remember how - the phrase 'big boss' and used to tell me I was the big boss all the time.
Then, one day, he suddenly wasn't there any more. My mentor just shrugged and said he had been placed somewhere else. For a long time, and even now, I wonder what happened to him, where he ended up, how he settled in.
I think every child you teach touches you in some way, even if it's small. But the way Kazim learned the things I tried in a haphazard way to teach him gave me a lot more than it probably gave him: it made me think I could be a teacher, maybe should be a teacher after all. It, quite literally, changed my life.
