Practice Makes Perfect— And So Can Disappointment

Along with “Je parle français comme les oiseaux” and “je voudrais aller au toilette,” the first thing I hear from people when I mention that I speak French or that I was in a French school is “Oh my God! I hate French! I had such a bad French teacher who made me hate the language.”

Most of these people actually wanted to learn French but ended up hating it due to a bad experience. Indeed, it is in the teachers’ hands to make the course interesting or not, to make it easy or not; however, there is more in your hands than in theirs. Let me share with you my personal experience with a teacher that could have made me hate one of my favorite subjects.

Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to be a physician. I would play doctor and patient with my siblings and I would even steal my mother’s stethoscope. Until my senior year in high school, I aced all biology classes. Until grade 12. My grades wouldn’t exceed 7 out of 20. I would study harder and harder, but still, I would get similar grades.

I didn’t know what was wrong and it was driving me crazy. And when I asked my teacher, she told me that I was lacking knowledge and that she was actually being generous with me, and that most of the time I deserved a lower grade! I was shocked and started losing hope, but I kept going. I kept studying even if I always ended up disappointed by the grade.

Until, surprisingly, on the day of the French baccalaureate results, I was checking my grades—knowing that exams are anonymously corrected, and by teachers from other schools—and I got 19 out of 20. Highest grade in biology! I knew I deserved it; I worked hard for this and I knew my persistence wouldn’t be in vain.

Moral of the story? Do not give up. Do not let anyone bring you down. Not your teacher, not your friends, not even your family. Fight for what you want and work hard to earn it. Because the road to success is bumpy and full of obstacles.

Orcas is a mobile application that connects parents with over 700 trusted, trained and experienced tutors, language instructors and babysitters, in their area operating in Cairo, Alexandria and El Gouna. You can find tutors for all school subjects and school systems from KG to Grade 12, view their profiles and see the ratings and reviews given to them by other parents. Follow Orcas at facebook.com/CairoSitters/and @orcasapp