A First Day Like No Other for Bruno, Helena and Joran

Joran returned to the primary school where he once started as a pupil, but this time he stood at the front of the classroom as a teacher. The 21-year-old from Wenduine is teaching the sixth grade, and many of the faces around him are familiar.

Some of his former teachers are now colleagues. Even the school principal taught him when he was in kindergarten. Joran said she helped make his new job possible, giving his first day an especially personal quality.

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Many of my colleagues used to be my teachers.

He said he looked forward to guiding pupils through their final year of primary school and preparing them for secondary education. His own positive memories of primary school influenced his decision to enter teaching. He wants to pass that experience on to a new generation.

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I hope they feel good here and have fun.

For Joran, the year will succeed if his pupils enjoy themselves and learn a great deal. He said it would give him great satisfaction if they later remembered it as “a really enjoyable year with Mr Joran.”

Bruno, 15, began a different kind of transition in Antwerp. After 18 months in reception education for newcomers learning Dutch, the teenager from Angola entered a mainstream secondary school. He chose architectural and visual arts, a field he said he genuinely wanted to pursue. He also acknowledged some anxiety about whether teachers would understand his Dutch.

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I am a little afraid about my Dutch. It really needs to improve.