“Teachers are concrete columns that support a house.”
“Teachers are the bees that produce honey for the community.”
“Teachers are the beautiful souls that inspire and motivate students to shine in their lives.”
These are how some people define teachers, but what I write at the top of my diary is: “It always smells aromatic when I make progress in my life, thanks to the incense sticks that spread a fragrant scent for the prosperity of societies.” This is my definition of teachers.
From my point of view, teachers can be thought of as incense sticks that are divided into three types: fully burnt, half-burnt and a bit burnt. A fully burnt incense stick is a teacher who gives everything in their life to their students. They teach from the heart, not from the book, and guide students on the road toward success. “They’re our second fathers.” This is the best expression we can use to describe them.
Half-burnt is a type of teacher who educates students in a way that they can acquire memorable experiences and enjoyable moments they’ll never forget. This type also helps students with every task they need to do at school and supports them to flourish and improve all the time. They are students’ loyal friends. Both types of teachers love their work and do it with aplomb and finesse.
And we have the last type, which is a bit burnt. These teachers provide students with smart techniques and well-tried methods. They light up students when school starts, then they expect students to continue without their support. They don’t follow up on students’ progress, so it’s not certain that the students will keep stepping forward. We can proudly call this last group of teachers the students’ keys for unlocking the door of success.
My English teacher Asaad
Asaad El-Kurd, who was my English teacher for only one year at an UNRWA male-only preparatory schools, is an incense stick that has never been extinguished and always produces the most beautiful and overpowering scent to please all who smell it.
When I was in sixth and seventh grades, I used to hear his name so often it seemed to me that he must be a president or famous doctor. It was really exciting for me to discover who he was and why his name was on everyone’s lips. “Why not try and meet this figure?” I said to myself.
One day I learned that he was supposed to attend a session to which I was invited. I became very excited to meet him, but unfortunately, he didn’t attend. My wish of at least reaching out to him faded. Two and a half years later, I moved up to eighth grade, and he was my English teacher! “The first class will be tomorrow; I need to show him I am pretty good in English so that he’s surely going to encourage me to continue,” I told myself.
I prepared the first lesson of the textbook well and went to school early the next morning. I was sitting on the first bench of the left row and waiting expectantly for him to come. A few minutes later, he arrived with his kind assistant and warmly welcomed the students in a way that seemed as though we were his sons. From that moment, I realized why his name had been on everyone’s lips. It was incredible that every student in the class adored him from the first meeting.
Immediately after the class, I stopped him to explain my aspiration to learn English. Both he and his assistant responded with enthusiasm. Spontaneously, Asaad mentioned an English Camp called the “Elite of the School” and informed me that I would be on the top of his list for this camp. Then they left with big smiles on their faces, as did I.
What makes Asaad a distinguished teacher is that he’s terrifically effective in managing his time during classes and accomplishing the planned goals and assigned tasks in accordance with school goals. In addition, he was highly enterprising in creating extracurricular activities in and out of the school. For example, he initiated the English Club and was in charge of picking good students who could shine throughout their entire careers.
Asaad’s predominant objectives at school are to promote social and effective skills and qualities for students including enjoyment of learning, motivation and engagement in lessons, positive learning behaviors such as self-regulation and positive academic self-concepts. Asaad divides the class time into two parts: half for the regular lesson and the other half for urging students to think analytically and critically. Moreover, he is very focused on enhancing students’ aptitude and our fluctuating desires to keep moving forward.
English Camp
In September 2016, the English Camp started. He would give the best of himself for those selected students. During the first day of the camp, his motivational speech reached our hearts and inspired us to start an incredible journey. In addition, he showed us an English educational video of how to make the most of our time learning English without getting bored and how to consider the journey as a daily constant process of our lives. Accordingly, each student was convinced by what he said and wanted to continue whatever the costs would be.
As a result of our continuous connection, he paid attention to me more and always believed that I’d be a standout. He was such an admirable asset in my life. He followed up with me in every step I dared to take, never left me alone and encouraged me all the time to keep pushing forward. He advised me to follow every source of learning English he’d gone through in his life. After I was rewarded for winning the English competition at school, he told me, “No matter how people rank your achievements, I can’t be any prouder than that of you.”
What surprises me and makes me curious to know a lot more about him is that he was spending his free time at school listening to a BBC podcast about the world news. His love of the English language is totally on another level. That’s why he’s a fully burnt incense stick that can’t be put out.
A choice to teach here in Gaza
It’s rational that Mr. Asaad’s sheer love of teaching and outstanding diligence would lead him to more fulfilling prospects, and that’s what happened 10 years ago. In 2012, Asaad managed to clinch a job offer ahead of other well-qualified candidates to be an expert teacher at an international organization in Canada. Mr. Asaad has a family he loves the most, so he had never imagined leaving them. The happy news knocked on his door that he was permitted to emigrate to Canada with his family. Notwithstanding the temptation he was offered, Mr. Asaad decided not to go and instead continued his plans to help Palestinian students, as he explained to me.
“I have never been ready to let my mind say goodbye to my heart, so it was impossible to agree to feel homesick,” Mr. Asaad said to his family when he was facing this crucial last-minute decision. He was satisfied with the path he opted to take. He carried on, to instill the mentality and personality into his sons inside and outside school. Mr. Asaad stayed at home in Gaza and still spreads the fragrant scent of his love for the English language among his whole extended family.
