"Our students are devils, you know. They are not angels," my principal proclaimed in the staff room.
Those words, spoken sarcastically and addressed to no one in particular, were meant for my ears.
I was just a trainee teacher then doing my first posting in a secondary school.
I went into teaching after I gave up going to university because I did not want to give up studying and being a teacher meant the chance to continue to study while also drawing a salary which would allow me to contribute financially to help my mother.
It was a bold decision given that I was a timid student who preferred to fade into the background rather than be the focus of attention or in the spotlight. But such was my desire to study that I was ready to take that plunge.
It was the beginning of putting on a very brave front again and again that belied the nervousness underneath. For me, to stand in front of a class and take charge took a lot of courage. I had to be the person that I was not.
Thus I did not go into teaching because of some childhood ambition to be a teacher but I was a good teacher to my students.
At the end of my training, I was one of the very few who were not confirmed. When you have to go for an interview before you are confirmed as a teacher, you know that is bad news.
I'll tell you why I was not confirmed another time.
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