Outcast In Class - School Stories

There was a convent school near our house called New English School. My parents thought convent school education would prove best for my future. So they enrolled me in that school at the age of 4. By the time I passed 2nd class school got shut down due to some management issues. There was one more convent school near our house called St. Thomas High School. So I got moved there for class 3rd. My uniform was a white shirt & dark blue shorts. I liked it. The entire school building had a red slate roof. It had a huge ground and forest around it. There was a big church inside the school premises. I had made many friends there and I would get excited to go to school every day. After finishing 4th standard my mom told me I was going to study in some other school as there was again some issue with that school. I was shocked by the news as I didn't want to switch schools. I already had many friends there and I was happy with that school. But it wasn't me who could decide my fate at that age. Later I came to know the new school in which I was moved was a Marathi school (vernacular) and not a convent one in which I was studying.

When we went for the interview with the principle of that new school I realised, that was next to the same premises where my first school was. It was the most famous Marathi school in town, Dravid High School. I was sitting next to my mom in the principles cabin. He checked my mark sheets and said, 'We cannot enrol him here, he has studied in English medium till 4th standard and this is Marathi medium school. If you enrol him here in 5th class he will not understand the language.' I wanted to tell my mom that he was right but I kept quiet. After a lot of convincing, the principal agreed on only one condition that if I would fail in 5th class, then they would cancel my admission. My mom promised him that she would teach me at home. So I got admission in Dravid. The whole building was constructed in stones, huge playground outside along with an indoor playground. I hadn't seen such a big school. It was intimidating. There was a big bell outside principles cabin. After every one-hour school peon uncle would ring the bell. There were classrooms in a line on the ground floor as well as on the 1st floor. All the walls were painted with some or other educational stuff. On top of every classrooms door, name and division of that class were mentioned. A division was the brightest one and D was the dumbest one. So naturally, I was allotted, D division.

All the books were in the Marathi language. Teachers were teaching all subjects in Marathi. I had no clue what was going on. I would just sit looking at everyone blankly. When the teacher would ask me questions I had no answers. I was the dumbest in class. It was like walking through a dark tunnel not knowing anything around. But then a ray of hope came from the end of this dark tunnel when a teacher came to teach the English language. He started teaching A, B, C, D... I was shocked to see why was he teaching that which I had already learned in the 1st class. By the time I finished 4th class I was writing essays in English. It felt very funny to me. While kids were busy learning to draw A, B, C, D... I wrote the whole A to Z and showed it to the teacher. The teacher was taken back and asked me how did you learn it. So I told him my past golden years. He was surprised to listen to my story. And he announced in the class that everyone must learn English from me as I had come from convent school. As days passed by, I realised kids would not talk to me or play with me. I was suddenly an Outcast because I was not one of them due to my convent school past. I was away from my old friends in this hostile environment where I had no friends & no understanding of subjects taught in Marathi. I would come home crying telling my mom how much I miss my old school and friends. But there was no option other than studying and clearing 5th class.

I got focused on my studies. When everyone in the class would write essays in Marathi I had just begun to write the alphabets. As there were no friends, I would just keep on studying in class as well as at home. All I wanted was to pass and not fail. I didn't even touch the English subject as I was already expert in it. Months passed and at the end of the year, the day came when we all gathered in our class to listen to our results. The teacher would call the students by their roll number which was set alphabetically. He would announce in front of the class if they passed or fail. My initials were starting from 'S' so I was at the last. I knew I had given exams well but that was my first exam in the Marathi language so I was a little scared. My mom was at home praying for my results. She knew if I fail I would be out of the school. I was waiting for my turn. One by one student would go there & collect their mark sheets. Few of them had failed. It would race my heartbeat as I see students who got failed walking with their head down. I did not want to go home like that to disappoint my mom. As roll number started coming close to mine I started getting uneasy, shivering, sweating and heartbeat went racing.

The teacher announced my roll number and called my name. I got up with all my strength & walked with my trembling legs. He gave me my mark sheet and offered me a handshake and said addressing to the class: Sujeet Sabale, Pass and Ranked 1st in the class. I had no response other than tears. He congratulated me and the whole class stood up and clapped. That was the first time in my life when I experienced Respect

Journey from being an Outcast to being Respected was worth the effort.