To give you a first idea about the life of a Religion teacher in Brussels, here's what three days from my daily routine look like:
On August 24, a new year began. I have three schools. At the first school, only meetings on the first day. The first thing that happens to me is that a colleague (of Moroccan origin) tells me she's reading and is delighted by Cioran's book On the Humbug of Being Born; we also talk about The Metamorphosis by Kafka. Afterwards, we are shown a promotional video about one of the changes in education that I mentioned in the previous episode – changes that make our work harder and don't seem to bring improvements for students (hm!). We prepare activities for the start of the year; on Friday, I will accompany a few classes to the theater.
In the second school, some of the classes begin. Initially, we don't have lists yet, nor are the classrooms clearly assigned. The few students who have already returned to school on the first day are a bit bewildered. Some of them barely speak French − this is a school that has classes for newcomers to Belgium, and these days, when everyone builds their own bubble through the internet, languages are learned with more difficulty. I make the bold attempt to ask a class of four students to write down some questions they have. Two just stare blankly, copying from the board: "Questions: Why...?". I can't get anything else out of them. One student eventually writes something in Ukrainian (I encouraged her to write in her own language – another student, who is Romanian from Ukraine, translated it for her). With the help of a friend, I find out via WhatsApp what it means: "Where does the soul go when we die?" (this is the first question after a year of knowing each other). The fourth student fills the page with all sorts of questions, among which one I rarely hear: "Why are all religions old and there isn't a new one?".
In the third school, the students are already more awake; it's the second day, after all. They know French better and yes, they also have questions – I don't ask them to write them down. One student would like us to study what the apostles did after the Resurrection. Another student, who last year said he wasn't interested in anything related to religion, shows me photos of Catholic churches he visited with interest during the vacation – which I use for an initial explanation requested by another about the differences between Catholics and Orthodox. I even find myself talking to a class about the apocryphal Gospels and why they weren't included in the New Testament, but are still interesting (because they ask: But what exactly did Jesus do? How did he live?). One student tells me (half-jokingly, half-seriously) that it's not good to think too much, you have to believe first; if you think too much, you fall into unbelief and depression. Another student tells me he saw the movie about Saint Nectarios, Man of God, and he liked it; others tell me about various interesting sci-fi movies. And I, who had just heard that teenagers no longer watch movies, but only reels and shorts!
I already have some course material!
What possibilities and what freedom, however, in this life of a minority Religion teacher viewed condescendingly! I feel like concluding with boogie, mambo, rag, if you know what I'm alluding to.
(to be continued)
Alexandra de Moffarts
Photography by Alexandre P. Junior / pexels.com