“They say if you love your teacher, you will love the subject, but I don’t have a favorite subject in school,” this sentence written by 12^th grader Armine Karapetyan attracted my attention. It was very unusual that this was the sentence of a student who was always ready for her Armenian language lessons and had never been indifferent.

When I asked my students how they feel about the Armenian language, I received many different answers. I was reading their answers over the past couple of days. This might sound immodest, but I was certain that they would give positive feedback. Each student was truly sincere and showed respect towards the language.

I have a habit of reading the opinions of my weak students first. I read them first, and then started reading what my outstanding students had written. They had differing views, but all the students had written that their love for the Armenian language was associated with their teacher. When I was reading the opinion of the 12^th grade student, I noticed that she considered it her duty to always study the Armenian language.

“For centuries, the Armenian nation has lost sons and territories, but the language has remained incessant. As an Armenian girl, I respect our language and am attentive in class. Perhaps it is because of my respect for my teacher. They say if you love and respect your teacher, you will also love the subject. I love and respect my teacher, and I especially feel relaxed when she reads any work for us. It is as if the class relaxes, and we all listen to her closely. However, in order for students to listen, a teacher must also understand the psychology of the students. This is how our teacher is. We can share our thoughts and ideas with her, without thinking that she will scold or offend us. I love her lessons and think they are the authentic lessons.”

But can I really be “unauthentic”? I enter the classroom in peace. There are emotions, relaxed and lovely faces and many smiles in that classroom. They confess sincerely and respect me and each other, and they are at a difficult age of adolescence.

Natasha Poghosyan

Merited Pedagogue of Artsakh

Teacher of Armenian language and literature of

Vladimir Balayan Secondary School of Martakert