I was once accused of cheating in my French exam

French had never been my strong suit, and eventually my teacher had me thrown out and demoted to the lowest class

Coming from a family where my brother had always been in the top class for everything, I felt a huge sense of shame

I’d gone from class 2 down to “the bottom group.” Even as I write that now, I can still feel the sting of embarrassment

But what I then discovered, the bottom group had the best teacher

Mr. Harris, our French teacher, made learning fun

His lessons were filled with laughter, energy, and curiosity

I can still remember the day he brought brie into class for everyone to try

For many of the class, it was our first taste of French food and for me, it planted a lifelong love for France, its culture, and its cuisine

Years later, I even went to night school to study French for a year, but that’s another story

So how did the cheating accusation come about?

At the end of the year, we took our exams

A score of 60% or higher meant you could be put forward for the O-Level, while 40% earned you a CSE recommendation

When my results came in at 65%, my teachers were convinced I’d cheated, after all, how could the boy from the bottom group do so well?

I shrugged it off at the time, I wasn’t planning to take French any further

But looking back, I realise it was Mr. Harris’s belief, energy, and unconventional teaching that transformed my attitude and turned me into a Francophile

Conclusion:
Sometimes being “demoted” is actually a promotion in disguise

What felt like failure turned out to be the start of a lifelong passion

Merci, Monsieur Harris, for turning my shame into curiosity, and my curiosity into love for all things French