What's love got to do with it?

What’s love got to do with it? - 1st September 2023

When we are kids, there’s no question of a doubt that we all are asked the famous question; ‘What do you want to be in the future?’ Typically, most kids would say they want to be doctors, engineers, pilots, or teachers. Some of them would dream big, wishing to be astronauts or even the next Albert Einstein. As for me, I remember wanting to be an actress as I was spending a lot of time watching films and I remember being completely obsessed with an actress called Sandra Bullock. I had this big dream that one day we might co-star in a film together!

Being a teacher never ever crossed my mind, and I never saw myself in this career, nor did I think I had the needed qualifications for it. But guess what…..eventually I became a teacher of kids. I am sure Sandra Bullock is disappointed with me now!

As the title of this blog-post suggests, this is going to be the first of a series of which I will be sharing with you some parts of my daily life at my school. It doesn’t necessarily have to do with teaching itself.  Sometimes it could be personal incidents. Other times, I might share stuff related to teaching.  For private reasons, I prefer to remain anonymous. I won’t mention any names or provide any details about my school.

I’ll start this series off with something really nice, very positive and charming. It is LOVE..

“Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together.”

― Scott Hayden

I love this quote. It defines me as a teacher, as I truly believe in the power of love in creating an effective teaching and learning environment. It’s simply because If you love what you teach and if you love your learners, you’ll be showered with this love back from your learners, and consequently, you’re definitely going to do very well as a teacher and your job will feel much easier.

Unfortunately, I work in a school in Gaza in an extremely challenging situation. I can’t imagine a more difficult place to work in, and I don’t think I’ll be able to put up with it for long. That’s why I am trying to change it. At least I was until two days ago when I started having second thoughts.

And here’s what happened: It was the end of a very exhausting day. I had five back to back classes and no break in between whatsoever. Some teachers were absent, and I had to substitute for one. I was completely drained and fed up, and all I wanted was to get back home to my bed as soon as possible. Suddenly, I had a collective legs hug. I don’t know if you ever heard of this “Legs hug”. I don’t think you have because I’ve just made the term up and now you’ll find out more about what it exactly means.

A group of my very little 6 year old first graders gathered around me and because they are so little, all they could hug was my legs. I was completely overwhelmed with that. They said they missed me and asked why I didn’t come to their class today. One of the girls asked me to lean over closer to her, and all I thought was that she wanted to whisper something to my ear. Surprisingly, she kissed me and said ‘I love you.’ This moment was absolutely charming and hit me deeply! I instantly forgot all my exhaustion and tiredness. My heart felt very warm and I was caught crying.

After they’d left, I stopped to think for a moment. How on earth am I thinking of leaving them? Although having 45 to 50 six year old kids in one class could be extremely nerve- racking, but that very sweet, heart warming moment of the legs hug pays it all off! I decided to stay in my school. I am not going to change it. I decided I want to stay with those little kids and build something beautiful with them. I love them, and the fact they love me too is a very good reason for me not to give up on them.

That’s all for this week. I’ll come back next week sharing with you more of my daily school days. Keep up the great work dear teachers and remember that LOVE has unlimited power, and It’s where successful and enjoyable teaching and learning process begins. Before I end this blog-post, I'll leave you with this beautiful quote by Jim Henson.

 “[Kids] don't remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.”

With all my love,

A teacher in Gaza.