“I think I’ve taken every sort of car – Kamaz, delivery truck…”

Hitchhiking is always an option to get home. Maria never waits for too long by the road to Gavar - there is usually a kind-hearted driver ready to help out the young English teacher, overloaded with bags and posters.

Photo: Vaghinak GhazaryanMediamax

Maria would prefer to live in Tsovazard, the village where she works, but she had to move to Gavar after changing 3 houses in one and a half month.

“The accommodation was always temporary, because there’s a lot of people leaving for work abroad and coming back home,” explains Maria.

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Red-haired, with an unusual style of clothing and jewelry, Maria made an impression in Tsovazard (Gegharkunik marz), where she started working last year as Teach For Armenia (TFA) Teacher-Leader.

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“It seemed like I came from another planet, I was getting so many curious looks! At first, people were reserved and didn’t greet me even, they just stared,” tells Maria.

“When we saw her in the hall, we would talk to other kids, tell them that we saw the new teacher, and we would tell each other what she was wearing that day and what she was like…”

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“All children are equal to her…”

“She explains better, in a friendlier way too. Even the naughtiest kids behave during her lessons. It’s better that way, because if someone is talking in class, you don’t understand what the teacher is saying,” the girls praise Ms Maria, interrupting each other.

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It is indeed quiet in the class. After a warning glance and “shhh” from Ms Maria, students focus on the lesson.

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After internship in a Yerevan school Maria Manukyan decided to never return to school again. A bachelor’s degree in Bryusov University, volunteer work spell abroad and odd jobs later Maria did return to school – to a rural community that needed an English teacher.

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“I used to hate school, cry that I had to go there. Now I try to be the teacher I never had,” explains Maria.

She was anxious as to how to behave, how the children would receive her, but as soon as she stepped into the school, it felt like she “worked there forever”. 

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The guessing game she began the lesson with made students in senior grades laugh.

“I told them: I’m your guest for two years, what impression are you making on me? They grew quiet. I told them: you are all individuals to me and I respect you, and I want it to be mutual. Sometimes I laugh and smile, but when they cross the line, I make it clear with my facial expression that their behavior is unacceptable.

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I told them I would never use insults or treat them differently, because I had that experience at school. Kids with good handwriting were singled out, and if you were a good student, you had to stand out too… To me, all children are equal and I will never treat them differently,” says Maria.

The 9th graders collectively stick the posters with rules to the walls: be on time, raise your hand before you speak, be respectful with others, be active during the lesson. Maria started teaching the 9th grade this year.

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“Who knows the answer? Ani, do you?” Maria asks, throwing a glance on the paper on her desk to make sure she is calling the right name. She asked the students to write down their names.

Contrary to many other teachers in Armenian Regions, Maria finds it difficult to remember the names of her students. In other communities, the classes are comprised of two grades due to small number of students, but there is no such issue in Tsovazard.

“The village was so big and the population so large, people called it “London”. Now many houses are empty, but the village is growing: it has 500 households and 280 students. In recent years we had more than 33 kids in the first grade,” says vice principal of the school Tamara Galstyan.

Children are waiting, in amazement, to see what Maria is hiding in the folded tissues.

“Can you count this?” Maria asks and unfolds the tissues, showing the students some coffee and sugar.

“No.”

“It means these are mass nouns.”

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Maria tells: “They were embarrassed to say they did not understand or know something before. I would ask: “Do you understand?” They would reply: “Yes.” But when I gave them exercises to do, they just couldn’t. We had a serious conversation. I explained that there’s nothing embarrassing in not knowing. I said, I will explain till you understand, and we will practice after classes if that’s required. It is about being honest with yourselves first and with me second.

Now, when I ask if they understand the lesson, some say yes and some say no, or they ask me to stay after classes. It makes me happy. We finally overcame that barrier.”

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At the request of boys from senior grades, Maria opened an English club where they fill in the gaps in their knowledge. Some students ask for additional material or exercises to do at home.

According to Maria, students don’t take initiative. She tries to convince them to attend clubs and events, not be fearful of contests. In addition to English lessons, Maria tells about environmental issues and animal welfare, takes students hiking. “I don’t just want them to learn English. I want them to change their views, get a different mindset. If they learn English but still litter in the streets and stay uninterested in anything, I won’t consider that an achievement,” says Maria.

She gathers the book club students before the autumn break. They are reading and discussing “Hamlet”. There is also a national dance club, but Maria broke her leg in summer and a former student teaches the dance while she’s recovering.

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Ashkhen has already made the Gavar kufta (Armenian meatballs) by the time we return with Maria. Ashkhen is another TFA Teacher-Leader, she teaches French in the neighboring village, Sarukhan. The young teachers live together and share the working and living difficulties, big and small joys.

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“When I just moved in, I suggested that Ashkhen does the cooking one day and I do on the next one. We cooked for about a month, but in November no one had the heart to do it. Ashkhen is tired, I am tired… What can you do? Eat past every day,” says Maria.

“We tried different things and experimented so much. We tried Chinese, French, Armenian dishes,” adds Ashkhen.

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“I was out for a month because of the broken leg and Ashkhen was so bored, she made pickles. Last year her mom supplied us with pickles and she made some for us again. Her dad will bring it here.”

There is no schedule: whoever gets home first cooks the dinner and does the housework. If the teachers have free time, they try to participate in Gavar’s cultural life.

“We go to theater. We were at several performances, they were nice, entertaining. We installed internet connection to watch films, but we just stay up until midnight working, getting things ready for the next day. We’re too tired to do anything else, so the film is postponed – again – until the weekend.”

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The work in school takes every hour in the day. Maria and Ashkhen are in the school in the afternoon, and in the evening, it is time for work-related discussion and advice.

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“It is so disheartening when children don’t respond to you. But I think that what I do is not just for one village, it is for my homeland. I am developing the region, so that not only Yerevan changes for better. The sense of responsibility to my homeland helps,” says Maria.

Lusine Gharibyan

Photos: Vaghinak Ghazaryan (for Mediamax)