The downside of being a teacher.
Last year I started a project at school teaching adult staff members English one night a week after school. I had a huge turnout the first couple of months (almost 30 students) then schedules and staffing changes forced over half of my students out of class. They were no longer able to keep up with work responsibilities and attend class. However, I had four or five regular students who persevered through the entire school year, many of them making great progress in their acquisition.
When I returned to Rio this July, I learned that my star student had been released (not as in The Giver released) from staff (a.k.a. fired). I was shocked and heartbroken. This man is one of the kindest people I have ever met. He was so driven to learn English that he was continuously asking me for more practice exercises between classes. He made incredible strides in his oral fluency. It was very rewarding to both he and I.
I don't really know what happened or why he was released; I guess I don't really need/want to know the details. I just felt like I never had the chance to bring closure to a friendship. I felt like it was stripped from my life without warning, and I was sad that I might not ever know what becomes of him. This, my friends, is not a new thing to us teachers. However, it is never something I enjoy.
However...I opened my email this morning to find this email:
Hi Ms Sara.I am not working in the school now. If I am writing this e-mail, it is because I had a good teacher. What I learned, will be very important for my life. I don`t know what I go to do now. I am studing the books and I am doing the exercises. You will be my teacher always.Thank you.
As I read the email, chill bumps traveled up my arms and down my neck, my eyes welled with tears of happiness and pride, and I said a small prayer of thanks for knowing that I have helped make a difference in this man's life.
I am going to offer the class again the year; we will begin in a couple of weeks. I need to give the supervisors time to sort through the schedules to make sure those who attend class can be successful. I also think I will work it out to meet this former student once a month for coffee to practice his English.