Geography Teacher's Inspiration

Guest Column by Karen Arouca
January 25, 2000

When I was 15, back in 1982, I changed schools. I was kind of lost at first, but then something very important happened, something that made a difference not only in my school year but in my life: I met my Geo teacher. Her name was Christina, and she simply loved geography!

She used to say 'Geography is not about numbers and graphs and maps. If you allow yourself to see below all those figures, you will find people just like you and me, and at the same time, each of them unique and worthy of love and respect.'

That got imprinted on my mind and although the students used to sleep on her 2-hour classes (they were at 6:40 a.m., on Fridays, everybody was so tired!) I was wide awake, swallowing every single word and remark she would utter.

Such attention would be highly rewarded through the years, in examinations I have taken (I haven't really studied for any Geography/History exams since) and in my professional life as well (she taught me how to read 'geographically')!

I moved to another state when I was 16 and I have not seen my Geography teacher since then. Some ten years ago, however, my father visited my old town and met her on the street. She asked about me and told him something I will never forget: 'In 1985, my professional life was empty and I was about to drop giving classes because I felt no student was interested in Geography anymore, they were just interested in getting good grades. When I got those morning classes, I thought things would get even worse but one day I noticed two eyes that would follow me keenly. The attention grew weekly and I found myself eager to prepare new lessons and to teach again. Most times during that year, in a classroom of 40, those eyes were the only ones I was teaching to. They brought hope back to my teaching and I never thought of stop teaching again.' My father then asked her why she had told him such story and she said: 'Those two eyes were your daughter's.'

Because of the words above, I am a teacher today. You see, what you say and what you do in the world does matter.

I hope I can make the following words I read somewhere come true: 'In order to show your gratitude for the gift of life, live in such a way that when you die people remember you with a longing gaze on their eyes and a smile on their faces.'

Karen Arouca is a teacher in Brazil.

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