A Tell of a ‘Backbencher’ Student

I never passed any math exam in my entire school life, and always needed some promotional marks to get promoted to next class. So when my government officer father got transferred from Dhaka to a remote district, he made me admitted in an unknown village school. Ironically it was before the SSC exam.

The new headmaster knew my ‘scholastic achievements’ so far! So he called me the first day and this is what he had to advice… “if you aim at getting passed, you will fail. So concentrate on getting a second class, so that you can at least get a third class.” Shoot the moon to get the star!

I was always a back-bencher… so on the first day at my new ‘village’ school, I habitually went to sit to the last bench. But when the Bengali teacher came, he called me and asked me to sit on the first bench! He introduced me to the whole class as a ‘good student from the capital Dhaka’! It was so embarrassing!

The embarrassment was not over. The teachers assumed that I know everything. So they started asking questions and made me to speak in the class, even though I had no idea what the topic was!

But I knew my limitations. So I requested a teacher to be my ‘private tutor’. In most schools, the teachers usually force the students for such private tuition, as it is a good source of money for the teachers. Surprisingly, the teacher refused me to be my private tutor. In stead, he asked me to consult with him everyday after the class, for free!

It was too much for a backbencher! The teachers were behaving, as if I am a good student! The exam was only couple of months away. I started to sit with my teachers in the after hours (for free)… they showed me where my problems were… and all the time encouraged me to believe in myself. I felt a change in myself. It’s a new feelings… it’s like … I can do it too! Finally the exam came.

I still remember the day when the result for SSC exam was published! How can I forget the tears on my mother’s eyes? Well, it was nothing new for a mother of a backbencher to cry every year he gets failed! She is the one who had to face my angry father and the humiliating neighbors, every time I failed!

But this time it was different! Coz, everyone was congratulating her for her son’s good result! It was the tears of joy!

After that, I did not have to look back… but I do. I always look back and wish- one day all the teachers will have faith on the potentials of their students!

“The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau…” ~Dan Rather