By Youssef Said
By Youssef Said
Morocco World News
Rabat, Nov 15, 2012
Today, a day of a month in a year, is a special day for me. I am supposed to sit for an exam that supposedly allows me to get officially integrated within the state, CAPES. In fact, I wasn’t supposed to sit for it today. My exam was programmed to take place on another day, but for some reason, as the inspector alleged, it was postponed. So, like any other teacher, I see this opportunity as a golden door out of which I can kill two birds with one stone.
First, to get officially integrated into the government as a high school teacher, and second, to impress the inspector with “the best I can extract out of the student.” Last year, as I still remember, I had the faintest idea about this exam. There were friends who sat for it after they completed their first year in teaching. I was astonished with the importance they gave to this exam. Looking for activities that would make the students seem active, though they weren’t, using ICT, and many other tools, was their main preoccupation at that time.
“I won’t do the same thing when it comes to me,” I said to myself, “I will work the way I usually do.” When it comes to oneself, one can never imagine what he or she can do! At the beginning of this year, CAPES, bit by bit started getting into my mind. The closer it got, the more I started to worry. And I eventually found myself doing the same things my friends did, like the ones before them had done and as the ones coming after me will do.
Feeling the urgency to “kill these two poor birds that are always murdered by people,” I started my quest for what my friends did last year. And, eventually, I found what I thought would do the job. Actually, it wasn’t as easy as I imagined. I had some difficulty deciding which subjects to teach, which activities to use, and most importantly, which class I would work with. I did all this, thinking that I was close to getting my CAPES; I woke up early that morning, contrary to what I usually do. I had to wake up early! It was the CAPES and I should look fresh for the inspector although I usually don’t look fresh for my students. I wore the clothes that I usually don’t wear and I headed for the school earlier than ever before! How ironic!
I started my first class, looking so nice to my students, which is, again, the opposite of what I usually do. In brief, the whole session I taught was only one thing: Hypocrisy, no more no less, flattering students, encouraging them, pretending to tolerate their mistakes. Do I always do this when I am teaching? Hell no. But, today is an exception. I should kill the birds! How ironic!
In the discussion with the inspector and the other teachers he brought with him, things got more ironic!! Perfection was the only word I can attribute to the inspector and the teachers. You shouldn’t teach in that way. You should do this; don’t do that. The list was longer than you can imagine. How perfect they were! I am deadly sure that they do none of what they said, but their only aim was to criticize. And then they asked me to leave! It really wasn’t a heart-warming discussion with the teachers! They set themselves as the cradles of perfection! They were the mirror against which they judged me.
Normally, if one is a great teacher, he or she shouldn’t be worried about these exams. He or she also shouldn’t occasionally make all this effort to kill those poor two birds. Because all the things that worried me and that made me double my efforts are only artificial. Why don’t I do those things in reality? Why should I double my efforts only when I am noticed! These questions have only one answer: hypocrisy! This isn’t only my case!
Unfortunately, this is the case of so many teachers in this beloved country! We always double our effort when it comes to showing off but, in reality, we never work hard! I hope that this will be a golden door to kill only one bird! To wake up! To really wake up out of our laziness, hypocrisy, and showing off! It is a golden opportunity to be a real teacher! Not a fake one! Because if you truly do this, you are a fake teacher.
