Image: Unsplash, downloaded (https://unsplash.com/photos/photography-of-school-room-hes6nUC1MVc) 4. 2. 2024.
Your favourite teacher
Watched by our plushy mascot
on the upper shelf, I
go on pretending to teach
my students anything useful.
What else can I do
with a heart of chalk and
red ink in my veins (I wish
I could change the colour).
What do I answer when
somebody asks me:
“What are you?”
I am a clock, I am a bell,
I twist my students’ tongues
until they can wrap them
around each precious “th”.
I am a watch dog, patrolling
the classroom, hunting for the
questions my students might have.
The other day, just before class,
one of them smiled at me and said:
“You are my favourite English teacher.”
Then adding, with a bit of bitter-
sweet whimsy: “Actually, you’re
my only English teacher.”
About the Author: Oliver Kleyer works as a teacher in a refugee camp in Northern Germany. He writes in German and English. His works can be found in The Creative Zine, Trash to Treasure, One Art and elsewhere. He skeets at @funnyfrogget.bsky.social.
