Why I started an English school in my town of Attaouia
Luck versus hard work, this has always been one of my biggest mysteries in life. When I look back at my childhood, I do not believe it was me. Things have changed so much. I grew up in a very conservative family. My father is a farmer; my mother is a housekeeper. We were living with three other families in the same house: my two uncles, their wives, and my grandfathers. The more people there were in the house, the more family problems we had, and the more serious the fights became. Somehow, it worked and we stayed all together. The problems always had solutions. As a result, I always see that for every single problem there are several ways to solve it.
I am extremely lucky to be able to write in English. I did not know what the word ‘English’ meant until I was sixteen years old. I am the only person in my family who finished his studies. I am one of the only people who has a degree in the countryside, along with my uncle who earned his degree in 1992. Just a few months later, my mom gave birth to me. “It was a happy Friday.'' My mom tells me, always with a smile across her face.
In my countryside, we only had two classrooms in the primary school. The primary, secondary, and high school were all about one-hour of cycling from my countryside. There was no school transport and the roads were a real disaster. For someone who had just finished primary school and had to drive two times per day, it was just impossible and that’s why most students could not make it. I did though, and I had to live with my aunt which had a big impact on my life. It was not the best place to live, but it was so much better than living on my father’s farm. My father saw education as just a waste of time. He always brought up the example of my uncle who had a degree in Biology but never got a job. My father thinks that farming is more useful than education. The saying goes ‘As you sow, so shall you reap.’ and for him it was as simple as this. A short term result, whereas the more work you put in a farm the better results you will get. His measurement of education was based on the kind of job you got. I had the same idea until everything changed. I shared these views until education changed my life. I had the same idea until I saw my education changes the lives of people around me.
To cut my long story short, I have a degree in English Literature. I made it! And I decided to go back to my town and make a difference. I want to prove to my father that education is the only way to improve our lives. I want to show him that with education I can make a big impact in the local community.
I started a language school and I named it The English School. It was made with love and has been an amazing and inspiring experience. It was not easy, otherwise, it would not be the only creative and trending language school in town. It is a perfect space for learning languages, and a perfect space for seeing things differently. The English School is the only language school in town where you can meet people from all over the world. The school hosts volunteers from all different parts of the globe who have helped make the school an outstanding place today. The school plays a vibrant role in connecting local students and other people from abroad. The school is already making an impression in our town of Attaouia. We not only teach languages, but also we change lives by giving the keys to open doors towards bigger opportunities. It is changing the view of the native people about other people from abroad. Meeting people from different backgrounds makes the students of The English School realize that we are all the same, it is just the geographical place that makes us different.
I dream of making the English School a brand. In the beginning, I dream of having it in every small town as I cannot compete with the larger sharks in the major cities. Of course, it is an impossible mission without the support of the ones who support my goal. In the words of one of our recent donors, “Education is the key to improving our lives.”
