Write a dairy entry as m. Hamel describing your feelings on the day of the last lesson
Answers
2nd June 2018
Dear Diary,
Today was a difficult day. The school had to be shut down. There will not be French classes anymore. All these years of teaching has come to a close, and I still cannot accept the fact that I will no longer here the cacophony of students talking, of other teachers taking classes, of some kids playing in the corridor during recess. However, my last lesson today at school was not about how quickly I can finish my syllabus, but to aware them that their identity is intertwined with their mother tongue. France's defeat in the hands of Germany has led to the replacement of French by German as the national languages of the country. Yet, we as teachers should never back down from our responsibilities. We are supposed to nurture our children so that they can become good men and women, and have esteem for themselves and for the others around them. Thus, I did my duty till my last day as a French teacher, and I am proud of it. Also, I sure my students will utilise language not merely as an instrument of communication, but also as a weapon of liberation.
Good night.
Answer:
Explanation:
A Heartful Departure
Alsace: 10th October 1872, 5.00 pm
Due to the Franco-Prussian war, France was defeated by Prussia and consequently, an order was issued from Berlin banning the teaching of French in schools in the Alsace and Lorraine districts. At that time I was teaching French in one of the schools. This order added a grain of salt to my wounds since I had to leave that place after completing the commendable services of forty years. I had a much-got inclination toward its soil, garden, buildings, area, students and parents' community. So the departure was all the more sad, tearful, tense and troublesome.
Addressing the students: ‘My children! this is my last lesson in French, I told them the importance of one’s language. Then I taught them grammar in such a dignified way that all forgot about the bell. Even the villagers had thronged to pay me their last respect. They were laden with gifts and other items. I was viewing everything so as to set everything in my mind. When I rose to say something, my voice choked, and I wrote on a blackboard ‘Long Live France’. With a gesture, I pointed out the school closing. I will never forget this tearful, sympathetic, revered and sincere farewell till there are breaths in my body.
M. Hamel