A couple of courses ago, I had to teach the Linguistic and Social Area and be a tutor for a Diversification group at the institute where I was working at the time. It was quite hard and I got very worn out. They were very disruptive, had enormous difficulties and little capacity for work. The stress even caused me a dermatitis that, without exaggerating too much, made my skin peel off my face in chunks.
All my colleagues worked hard to help these kids succeed: the teachers, the educational assistants, guidance, the coexistence team, the management team… Not to mention the essential work of the administrative and cleaning staff. It was a collective effort, with the modest resources we have in public education.
Now that, with distance, I can see the fruits of that work, I get emotional. Most of those kids weren't good at their studies and, at the time, they seemed to have a complicated future ahead of them. However, some have established themselves in their jobs and others have even opened their own businesses. Seeing how they get ahead, little by little and each in their own way, fills anyone with happiness.
For example, I go with great joy to get my hair cut at the barbershop that one of them has opened in town. In the salon they make me look very handsome, a modern, great cut, and I can't help but feel proud to see him become a professional. During the summer I also ran into other kids from that group on the street: one tells me he is studying a vocational training course to be able to work in a field he likes; another passes by quickly on her scooter and tells me, happily, that she is working in a delivery service and that she is earning her own little bit of money.
There are also some who write to me through social media at the beginning of the course to tell me how they are doing in the studies they enrolled in at the time and for which we helped them get a scholarship. They tell me about their progress in sports, how their families are, and their projects. All of that gives me enormous satisfaction. Not all the kids have done well. It would be unfair to say otherwise. Some are still lost, others have not yet found their place and may need more time to mature. I hope they also end up finding their way. But most of them have been doing so, each at their own pace, and that is a cause for hope.
That is why I do not want to end without acknowledging the wonderful work and commitment of most of my fellow teachers at the start of this school year. Our work is hard, demanding, and often misunderstood. And, as in any profession, no one is perfect: we all make mistakes, have bad days, learn, and try again. But if there is one thing I have learned over the years, it is that what truly leaves a mark is not just professionalism, but above all the humanity with which we accompany these young people. The heart we put into things. It is the small gestures, the patience, the trust, the time dedicated, and the ability to believe in them even when they do not believe in themselves.
That is what builds community, what sustains so many families, and often, what helps a young person discover that they do have a future. And perhaps that is one of the great privileges of our work: that we often do not immediately see what we are sowing. There are students we worry about for years and whom we barely hear from again when they finish high school. Others will drive us to despair, will test us, and will make us wonder if all that effort is really worth anything. But time eventually provides some answers.
The young people get ahead. Not all of them, not always, and certainly not at the same pace. Some will take longer to find their way. Others may need several opportunities. But many, the majority, succeed. And when one day you meet that student who seemed destined to have a difficult time and you see them working, studying, taking care of their family, playing a sport, or simply happy with the life they are building, you understand that it all made sense.
That is why, now that a new school year is beginning and the challenges, the rush, the difficulties, and also the complicated days are returning, I believe it is worth remembering. New groups, new problems, and situations that will demand a lot from us will come. We will have to make an effort, start over many times, and surely make mistakes once in a while. But we will also be sowing. And although we may not always be able to see it, some of those seeds will eventually bear fruit. Perhaps in a few years, when we are no longer there to see it, some of those young people will surprise us with a barbershop, a job, studies, a family, a project, or a life that, despite all the difficulties, they have managed to steer in the right direction.
Much encouragement to everyone in this new 2026/27 school year. To the boys and girls, so that they continue to believe they can build their own path. To the families who sustain the effort. And to the fellow teachers, so that we do not forget that, although sometimes we do not see the results and discouragement invades us, every effort may be helping to change a life.
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