A mutant’s journey
I never dreamed of being a teacher or anything really. I wanted to be an engineer like my father, and the key word here is father. But my Physics teacher told me I was pathetic. Not his exact words, but they may as well have been. He didn’t dislike me he just thought that I wasn’t cut out for it. The thing is we will never know whether he was right or wrong.
He wasn’t the first teacher to tell me I wasn’t good at something. In primary school, our Arts teacher advised me to drop Art as soon as I could (it was compulsory in Primary). He was right, I suck big time at Arts. My son could draw better than me when he was only three. Now that I think about it, could it be that the art teacher killed the artist in me? I doubt it! Even I am not able to that theory.
Anyway, after my Engineer dream was shattered, I decided I was going to be a lawyer or a shrink. I didn’t need any help shattering my lawyer dream. How you may ask, Laziness and a brain that was, and still is, often on overdrive as a dear friend once told me. In short, I didn't do well enough to be accepted in University and my parents weren’t wealthy enough to take me to a private institution.
The shrink
My father, my number one supporter actually accepted my wild dream. Wild, because I am Kenyan after all. We have come a long way but with mental issues…well we dealt with them differently. Dad told me I would have to move to America to chase this dream. He actually enrolled me and paid huge sums of money for me to sit those preparatory exams, SATs and GMAT. I seem to believe that I sat for the actual exams but didn’t follow through with the rest. I had moved on to other things, read nothing!
I cleared high school aka got my high school certificates, and then trouble began! I enrolled in and tried out a million courses as we call them. Then I came to France. At some point I decided to enroll in a school, so I went to the cybercafé. Remember, we didn’t have affordable high-speed internet back then. I remember typing my letters on word to save costs. Shida tu! (Problems!!)_The only criteria I had was study in English, which was a big joke when living in France But where there’s a will…or where there is laziness. I got accepted in about 3 schools. I also applied to some FLE (French language) schools and they had no issue accepting me. I didn’t really care about learning French. Not that I have anything against the language. I just was not that into perfecting my language skills. It was supposed to be a short stay after all!
Did I mention that I had absolutely no money? I was working as a “jeune fille au pair” and would be lucky if I got a babysitting job when schools closed. I earned an average of 280-ish euros a month. Basically, I lived from hand to mouth.
So, once I got accepted to these schools, I went and asked them to defer my admission to the next year. I would use that year to save and come up with a deposit.
I joined a business school in Paris, not because I wanted to study “Business administration” but because they accepted my payment plan. Studying as you may have noticed has never been my thing, but this time I could claim that I wanted to, but couldn’t. I just could not afford to pay my fees, my living expenses and then buy books. I worked several jobs. I was often dog tired by the time I’d get to school and at some point, I think I just continued because I needed my R.O. I (return on investment) or may be because I hated leaving things halfway. I could socialize and well, did I really have a choice? Bear in mind that not going to school meant becoming undocumented or going back home with no proper plan. I guess I really had no choice. No choice can be a motivator 😓
The Mutants! The mutants! (rats, hares, snails, slugs, dogs…)
I soldiered on in this rat race called life. I could have been the old snail racing against the young energetic hare. Unlike in fables, I wouldn’t even dream of winning against the hare, I had too many shackles! Truth is, we were all too busy see? The universe kept moving our cheese while asking us confusing questions like “does the cheese matter? What if there was no cheese? Have you thought of the soap?”
Wait a minute what soap?
“The one you might start searching for once you’ve found the cheese!”
Sigh! The universe can be cruel my friends!
I hear people talking about the fun they had in their youth. I was either avoiding the cane in primary, aka being an okay-ish student, or locked up in boarding school. I was allowed a short break, a short stint if you wish. It didn’t last long. Things changed, I boarded a plane and came to Europe solo, with bonjour, merci in my “pocket” and the warmest winter coat ever. I was and have been surviving in France since then. I’m not saying that I never had fun; I just didn’t have as much fun as I should have.
It could be worse! Things could always be worse! We should never forget this, they call it
Perspective!
I have often been part of the crowd but also the outsider looking in. I don’t see it as a negative thing I just see it as it is.
Actually, it sometimes is, a great way of socializing. I grew up with mostly male siblings. While in primary school I attended a different school from my greater siblings (borrowed from greater Paris -read family and neighbors). Then I went to an all girls’ boarding school at the age of 13. That was a shocker! I had to learn how to relate with these beings that resembled me so!
After high school, I came to France. Soon I will actually have spent half my life in each country!!
One thing hasn’t changed much. People ask me where I come from, which is a great way of starting conversations and friendships but also a constant reminder that “you aren’t one of us!”
So, what about being a teacher? It is something I enjoy immensely despite it being rather exhausting and misunderstood!
Had one ever told me I would one day be a teacher I am pretty sure I would have snorted, burst out laughing or assumed they’d gone bonkers. Who? Me? The one who went through school because it was mandatory? The one who preferred to read novels in class or sit and dream rather than study? The one and only girl who once skived school because all my greater siblings were at home while I was in school, leading to a 2-week suspension? In my defense, I walked out of the school gate, I didn't hide or lie. I just strolled out with my friends. Getting back in was what involved half-truths. I also didn't lie to the teachers once in, I simply didn't correct them when they blamed my doppelganger or when they asked me to leave the room full of innocent suspects because I was definitely not a truant!
You get the drift. I had never desired or dreamt of being a teacher. It wasn't even in my radar. My maternal grandparents were teachers. That was when it was still considered a noble profession. Gran is
still called "japuonj" *teacher* and respected by her former students. These are things I came to think of years later, but no, it definitely wasn't an option.
Yet, a teacher I became and a fairly good one if I should say so myself.
I stumbled upon it really. Getting a job was quite a hurdle. The French weren’t impressed by my American certificates apparently my school was certified not accredited. I learnt that a tad too late!
Nor were they willing to give me a job on a student visa. And then my French…even I wouldn’t employ myself in a 100% French speaking company. I did however get a few “gigs” also known as internships in some multi-cultural companies. Rent had to be paid, right? So I started tutoring then I joined some private companies. Teaching paid bills, teaching also became fun and next thing I knew the Oduors’ grandchild was following in their footsteps. I applied to sub and someone decided to give me a chance…the rest became history!
The teen factor!
Teaching in this era isn’t for the fainthearted! Almost nothing comes easy today anyway. But still, I’m pretty sure dealing with today’s teens is way up on the close to impossible to accomplish list. A few factors:
They don't just tell half-truths today, they manipulate people and have sophisticated tools to help them. They look you in the eyes and say things that make you turn red with anger or embarrassment or both. And they are untouchable. Their ambitions are not class related, they know they can become millionaires overnight and influence the world by coming up with an objectifying site in a uni dorm or something else in their parents’ garage. Never mind that most of them are simple consumers, their interest stops at buying and using the tools not trying to invent or improve some. What matters is the knowledge. The possibility! The way they see it is that they could be the next Gates, Zuckerberg, Ppd,Kylie jenner, Akothee…the list is endless!
They don’t like to associate with fear. Fear what? Whom? They are the authority. Beyoncé got it wrong. Girls don't rule the world, in the 1st world, adolescents do! And they can be unforgiving dictators. The only known and constant fear is their peers rejection or ridicule. It stubbornly transcends generations.
You have to be alert at all times. As if that isn't enough, you also have to deal with a different breed of parents. The helicopter aspect does not worry me as much as the violent one. Parents will do anything to protect their kids. Whatever happened to teens being guilty until proven innocent? Let there be no rumour that you have done or said anything harmful to their lovely geniuses.
Then comes society constantly bashing them or over protecting them, seriously! Pick one? We are living in a guilt-tripping era where everyone is supposedly doing things the wrong way. The teens, the parents, the teachers, the government, the neighbor, everyone sucks. Not that that is something new in the teen world. What is new is the generalization, making them even more stressed and depressed.
Do I have time to mention how the same tools that have taken over their lives, and become their best friend, alibi etc. can also have a negative impact on them?
Teacher: Japuonj -Luo / Mwalimu-Swahili/ Professeur-French
There are days that they feel like they are in a battlefield, dodging one thing or the other. They didn't ask for any of it and it isn't easy being a teen today. It is even harder to be aware of all these things and to be around them all day.
Despite all that or may be because of all that, I am at my best in the classroom or with my students. I don't mind the challenges, the way they can provoke you, their indifference and better yet their thirst, generosity, interest, and frankness. They keep me on the edge of my seat.
I have to be objective, guide them to think critically and make decisions they can stand by, while avoiding imposing my opinions and beliefs. I have to play the devil's advocate, listen to understand and help when I can or just listen and remind them there are consequences to actions. “You didn't do your homework? Oh well detention it is my friend,” I often say to them. I also have to be some sort of moral compass, and yep, that stuff burns them calories alright.
There’s something about spending the day with other people's most precious, about having a little influence in kids, little but big enough to have an impact in how they perceive the world, adults and more importantly, themselves.
There’s something about watching them grow, identifying their own strengths, and struggling with their weaknesses. You see, teaching isn't just about spewing out the necessary instructions and knowledge. Teaching also involves many other things, and the list keeps growing. We now have to grade translation websites or AI, defend our ideas that uncle google opposes, etc.
Now that I kind of have a clue of where I am headed, this mutant is pleased to have had such a journey. It was far from smooth and the path was often dark, dreary and bumpy with no signs. I was often weary and lonely, and had to leave some stuff on the way, some I regret, some I definitely didn’t and don’t need at all. Once in a while other passers-by would interact with me, lighting up the way. The sun would come out to play and I would stumble upon beautiful landscapes and delicious fruits that I could indulge in.
Is teaching my destination? Honestly, I don’t know. What I know is that teaching has made me realize that I am, in fact, a good learner but not so good a student. I am a bit rebellious, one of the greatest procrastinators. I can be an on my feet person. I wear different hats though what they say is that I seem to have a split personality, fun yet annoying (their words again plus my kids’), and a party pooper. I guess I do have more in common with my annoying students than I’d care to admit. En plus, I have gratifying and humbling moments with them.
I can live with that!
 |
| The Road not taken. Robert Frost |
I never dreamed of being a teacher or anything really. I wanted to be an engineer like my father, and the key word here is father. But my Physics teacher told me I was pathetic. Not his exact words, but they may as well have been. He didn’t dislike me he just thought that I wasn’t cut out for it. The thing is we will never know whether he was right or wrong.
He wasn’t the first teacher to tell me I wasn’t good at something. In primary school, our Arts teacher advised me to drop Art as soon as I could (it was compulsory in Primary). He was right, I suck big time at Arts. My son could draw better than me when he was only three. Now that I think about it, could it be that the art teacher killed the artist in me? I doubt it! Even I am not able to that theory.
Anyway, after my Engineer dream was shattered, I decided I was going to be a lawyer or a shrink. I didn’t need any help shattering my lawyer dream. How you may ask, Laziness and a brain that was, and still is, often on overdrive as a dear friend once told me. In short, I didn't do well enough to be accepted in University and my parents weren’t wealthy enough to take me to a private institution.
The shrink
My father, my number one supporter actually accepted my wild dream. Wild, because I am Kenyan after all. We have come a long way but with mental issues…well we dealt with them differently. Dad told me I would have to move to America to chase this dream. He actually enrolled me and paid huge sums of money for me to sit those preparatory exams, SATs and GMAT. I seem to believe that I sat for the actual exams but didn’t follow through with the rest. I had moved on to other things, read nothing!
I cleared high school aka got my high school certificates, and then trouble began! I enrolled in and tried out a million courses as we call them. Then I came to France. At some point I decided to enroll in a school, so I went to the cybercafé. Remember, we didn’t have affordable high-speed internet back then. I remember typing my letters on word to save costs. Shida tu! (Problems!!)_The only criteria I had was study in English, which was a big joke when living in France But where there’s a will…or where there is laziness. I got accepted in about 3 schools. I also applied to some FLE (French language) schools and they had no issue accepting me. I didn’t really care about learning French. Not that I have anything against the language. I just was not that into perfecting my language skills. It was supposed to be a short stay after all!
Did I mention that I had absolutely no money? I was working as a “jeune fille au pair” and would be lucky if I got a babysitting job when schools closed. I earned an average of 280-ish euros a month. Basically, I lived from hand to mouth.
So, once I got accepted to these schools, I went and asked them to defer my admission to the next year. I would use that year to save and come up with a deposit.
I joined a business school in Paris, not because I wanted to study “Business administration” but because they accepted my payment plan. Studying as you may have noticed has never been my thing, but this time I could claim that I wanted to, but couldn’t. I just could not afford to pay my fees, my living expenses and then buy books. I worked several jobs. I was often dog tired by the time I’d get to school and at some point, I think I just continued because I needed my R.O. I (return on investment) or may be because I hated leaving things halfway. I could socialize and well, did I really have a choice? Bear in mind that not going to school meant becoming undocumented or going back home with no proper plan. I guess I really had no choice. No choice can be a motivator 😓
The Mutants! The mutants! (rats, hares, snails, slugs, dogs…)
I soldiered on in this rat race called life. I could have been the old snail racing against the young energetic hare. Unlike in fables, I wouldn’t even dream of winning against the hare, I had too many shackles! Truth is, we were all too busy see? The universe kept moving our cheese while asking us confusing questions like “does the cheese matter? What if there was no cheese? Have you thought of the soap?”
Wait a minute what soap? “The one you might start searching for once you’ve found the cheese!”
Sigh! The universe can be cruel my friends!
I hear people talking about the fun they had in their youth. I was either avoiding the cane in primary, aka being an okay-ish student, or locked up in boarding school. I was allowed a short break, a short stint if you wish. It didn’t last long. Things changed, I boarded a plane and came to Europe solo, with bonjour, merci in my “pocket” and the warmest winter coat ever. I was and have been surviving in France since then. I’m not saying that I never had fun; I just didn’t have as much fun as I should have.
It could be worse! Things could always be worse! We should never forget this, they call it
Perspective!
I have often been part of the crowd but also the outsider looking in. I don’t see it as a negative thing I just see it as it is.
Actually, it sometimes is, a great way of socializing. I grew up with mostly male siblings. While in primary school I attended a different school from my greater siblings (borrowed from greater Paris -read family and neighbors). Then I went to an all girls’ boarding school at the age of 13. That was a shocker! I had to learn how to relate with these beings that resembled me so!
After high school, I came to France. Soon I will actually have spent half my life in each country!!
One thing hasn’t changed much. People ask me where I come from, which is a great way of starting conversations and friendships but also a constant reminder that “you aren’t one of us!”
So, what about being a teacher? It is something I enjoy immensely despite it being rather exhausting and misunderstood!
Had one ever told me I would one day be a teacher I am pretty sure I would have snorted, burst out laughing or assumed they’d gone bonkers. Who? Me? The one who went through school because it was mandatory? The one who preferred to read novels in class or sit and dream rather than study? The one and only girl who once skived school because all my greater siblings were at home while I was in school, leading to a 2-week suspension? In my defense, I walked out of the school gate, I didn't hide or lie. I just strolled out with my friends. Getting back in was what involved half-truths. I also didn't lie to the teachers once in, I simply didn't correct them when they blamed my doppelganger or when they asked me to leave the room full of innocent suspects because I was definitely not a truant!
You get the drift. I had never desired or dreamt of being a teacher. It wasn't even in my radar. My maternal grandparents were teachers. That was when it was still considered a noble profession. Gran is
 |
| Japuonj Martina Oduor |
Yet, a teacher I became and a fairly good one if I should say so myself.
I stumbled upon it really. Getting a job was quite a hurdle. The French weren’t impressed by my American certificates apparently my school was certified not accredited. I learnt that a tad too late!
Nor were they willing to give me a job on a student visa. And then my French…even I wouldn’t employ myself in a 100% French speaking company. I did however get a few “gigs” also known as internships in some multi-cultural companies. Rent had to be paid, right? So I started tutoring then I joined some private companies. Teaching paid bills, teaching also became fun and next thing I knew the Oduors’ grandchild was following in their footsteps. I applied to sub and someone decided to give me a chance…the rest became history!
The teen factor!
Teaching in this era isn’t for the fainthearted! Almost nothing comes easy today anyway. But still, I’m pretty sure dealing with today’s teens is way up on the close to impossible to accomplish list. A few factors:
They don't just tell half-truths today, they manipulate people and have sophisticated tools to help them. They look you in the eyes and say things that make you turn red with anger or embarrassment or both. And they are untouchable. Their ambitions are not class related, they know they can become millionaires overnight and influence the world by coming up with an objectifying site in a uni dorm or something else in their parents’ garage. Never mind that most of them are simple consumers, their interest stops at buying and using the tools not trying to invent or improve some. What matters is the knowledge. The possibility! The way they see it is that they could be the next Gates, Zuckerberg, Ppd,Kylie jenner, Akothee…the list is endless!
They don’t like to associate with fear. Fear what? Whom? They are the authority. Beyoncé got it wrong. Girls don't rule the world, in the 1st world, adolescents do! And they can be unforgiving dictators. The only known and constant fear is their peers rejection or ridicule. It stubbornly transcends generations.
You have to be alert at all times. As if that isn't enough, you also have to deal with a different breed of parents. The helicopter aspect does not worry me as much as the violent one. Parents will do anything to protect their kids. Whatever happened to teens being guilty until proven innocent? Let there be no rumour that you have done or said anything harmful to their lovely geniuses.
Then comes society constantly bashing them or over protecting them, seriously! Pick one? We are living in a guilt-tripping era where everyone is supposedly doing things the wrong way. The teens, the parents, the teachers, the government, the neighbor, everyone sucks. Not that that is something new in the teen world. What is new is the generalization, making them even more stressed and depressed.
Do I have time to mention how the same tools that have taken over their lives, and become their best friend, alibi etc. can also have a negative impact on them?
Teacher: Japuonj -Luo / Mwalimu-Swahili/ Professeur-French
There are days that they feel like they are in a battlefield, dodging one thing or the other. They didn't ask for any of it and it isn't easy being a teen today. It is even harder to be aware of all these things and to be around them all day.
Despite all that or may be because of all that, I am at my best in the classroom or with my students. I don't mind the challenges, the way they can provoke you, their indifference and better yet their thirst, generosity, interest, and frankness. They keep me on the edge of my seat.
I have to be objective, guide them to think critically and make decisions they can stand by, while avoiding imposing my opinions and beliefs. I have to play the devil's advocate, listen to understand and help when I can or just listen and remind them there are consequences to actions. “You didn't do your homework? Oh well detention it is my friend,” I often say to them. I also have to be some sort of moral compass, and yep, that stuff burns them calories alright.
There’s something about spending the day with other people's most precious, about having a little influence in kids, little but big enough to have an impact in how they perceive the world, adults and more importantly, themselves.
There’s something about watching them grow, identifying their own strengths, and struggling with their weaknesses. You see, teaching isn't just about spewing out the necessary instructions and knowledge. Teaching also involves many other things, and the list keeps growing. We now have to grade translation websites or AI, defend our ideas that uncle google opposes, etc.
Now that I kind of have a clue of where I am headed, this mutant is pleased to have had such a journey. It was far from smooth and the path was often dark, dreary and bumpy with no signs. I was often weary and lonely, and had to leave some stuff on the way, some I regret, some I definitely didn’t and don’t need at all. Once in a while other passers-by would interact with me, lighting up the way. The sun would come out to play and I would stumble upon beautiful landscapes and delicious fruits that I could indulge in.
Is teaching my destination? Honestly, I don’t know. What I know is that teaching has made me realize that I am, in fact, a good learner but not so good a student. I am a bit rebellious, one of the greatest procrastinators. I can be an on my feet person. I wear different hats though what they say is that I seem to have a split personality, fun yet annoying (their words again plus my kids’), and a party pooper. I guess I do have more in common with my annoying students than I’d care to admit. En plus, I have gratifying and humbling moments with them.
I can live with that!
japuonj! The journey is worth it. Plus all those high school drama was part of growing up. See, you are now moulding others, just that you have the hindsight to see them doing what you did when their age!
ReplyDeleteOh yes! Teens will be teens! Thank you
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