Sometimes, a simple word or a situation experienced in class is enough to deeply move teachers. Timothé Curado, professor of physics and chemistry at the college, will undoubtedly remember this anecdote all his life.
If you ask teachers why they chose to do this profession, they will undoubtedly give you several reasons. Some teach because they like to pass on their knowledge. Others enjoy seeing students progress, flourish and succeed. For some too, it is the desire for a human profession, where each day brings new challenges and moments of exchange, sometimes very enriching, even moving. This is the case of Timothé Curado, who teaches physics and chemistry at college and who shares his daily job on social networks under the name @timthc. In his book “The super pearls of teachers with Timothé Curado”, published by Mango, the teacher shared a rather special anecdote.
The event in question took place at the end of the school year. One of his students was waiting for him at the end of class to talk to him. You should know that for Timothé Curado, school is “the place where everyone can be what they want to be, with respect for others”, he explains in his work. However, we now know how difficult it can be for students to have self-confidence and accept themselves as they are. The professor discovered this over time. At the start of his career, he wanted to keep to himself that he was homosexual, without revealing it to his colleagues or his students. But one day, he understood the importance of taking responsibility to help those who do not dare to do so. “I realized the discomfort that some LGBTQIA+ students could feel. How could they be fulfilled, be themselves, accept themselves at school if even the teachers don’t do it,” he explains.
He therefore decided to act and come out on social networks, without fearing the reaction of his colleagues or his students. This of course had no impact on his teaching style, but this action had an influence on some students. “A few months later, a student is waiting for the end of the course. – Sir, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being who you are and for taking responsibility for yourself. You have helped me a lot to feel better and I am sure that you help many others”, he remembers.
Words he won’t soon forget. Moreover, Timothé Curado says it himself, she “is one of the reasons why I will never regret becoming a teacher. It particularly touches me, and even today, I am still moved to tell it.”