Chapter Text
The office is small and, at first glance, it looks a bit crowded. Two desks, two shelves and three chairs. One of the desks is unassuming and Grey, something you might expect to see in a teacher's office, with a laptop, a printer and a few paper towers on top. It is pushed against the big window in the room. Behind the desk is a simple black swivel chair, next to it a small drawer cabinet. The top drawer is open. Inside are a few cups, some sugar, a selection of teas and a tin of biscuits. A red electric kettle sits on the cabinet.
One of the two remaining walls is taken over by a huge book shelf, filled with books, in different languages and all kinds of different genres. Some dictionaries, some encyclopedias, mostly novels. Poems in English and German, novels in Turkish and Arabic, story books in Spanish, French, Urdu and other languages. There is a small blackboard, next to the German novels, it reads:
>Book exchange; take a book, leave a book <
Along the opposite wall there is another desk, a bit shorter and bright orange in color, with two yellow chairs. On the orange desk there are a few cups, filled with coloring pencils, some pods of water colors and ink, as well as three boxes filled with sheets of paper. Mandalas and color-in pictures are in the green box, Sudokus and a few crossword puzzles in the blue box and blanco sheets of paper in the pink box.
Over the drawing table is the only wall, that is not covered by a book shelf or window. It is however covered in pictures (of class excursions, trips to museums, science fairs, theater performances and slam poetry sessions), posters for events, a few poems and post cards with quotes, some Mandalas, a few sketches and drawings, and one interview.
The interview is spread on three and a half A4 pages and hangs in a row under the pictures sketched by students. The date on top marks it as from before the Summer holidays. Some parts of the interview are highlighted.
On the first page of the interview there is a picture of a smiling young girl with long blonde hair and a black hairband, next to a smiling woman, approximately in her late twenties, with a round face, glasses and a simple purple scarf around her head. Behind them the very same orange desk, books and wall of art can be seen.
The caption below the picture reads: Betty Brant from Midtown Highs Journalism team, next to German and Arts teacher Miss U.
Midtown High News May 24th 2016
BB: Good morning, Miss U. Thank you for agreeing to give the public an inside into your new project.
I have prepared a few questions, but I would first like you to talk about yourself for a bit.
Who are you? What do you do here at school? Why does everyone call you Miss U?
And then to give us a short overview of the project TT. Please.EU: Alright, my name is Ela Ugurlu and I was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany, went to school there, did my Abitur, which is similar to SATs, all of that.
After that I started to study Psychology in Hamburg, but it didn't really feel right for me. I did not finish my Bachelor, even though I spent four of my years doing that. And well, I was very unhappy during that time.
Is that too much? Should I leave that out?BB:
No, that's perfectly fine.
What did you do after studying Psychology?EU: I moved to a smaller city, because I wanted to start over. There I started to do my teacher's degree in German, Art and English.
BB: So you decided to study again and to completely change the way you were going after already finishing university?
EU: Yes, because sometimes you realize that something isn't right for you, so you change that and it doesn't really matter whether it's something that you started doing last week or a year ago or for three years, like me. Sometimes that's just how it is.
BB: Did it feel weird for you to change from Psychology to a degree in Education? Weren't you afraid of spending more money into your degree?
EU: No. It felt like a really good decision. And even though I had to work a lot to be able to pay my tuition fees, I managed. Back in Germany they are almost nothing compared to here in the US, so I could study again without getting myself in a lot of debt.
BB: How so?
EU: Well, a semester cost roughly 200 Euros back in my days.
BB: The whole semester?
EU: Yes, and you also get a ticket, for the U-Bahn and buses in the whole city and even for trains to a few cities that are close by, without paying extra.
BB: Alright. I think I'll be off studying in Germany after my SATs.
EU: [laughs]
Students here really should consider that option.
BB: [clears throat]
Anyways, so you did your teacher's degree.
EU: That's right, I did my degree and decided to do my mandatory semester abroad here at Columbia. Thanks to Erasmus.
BB: Erasmus?
EU: It is an organization in Europe, that helps students do their year abroad. They helped me a lot, with knowing which courses I had to take and they also take care of the tuition fees, which is a huge plus.
Anyways, I did my semester here and then I decided to finish my degree here because I kind of fell in love with the city.After that I send out applications to schools, hoping that someone would accept me. It took a year of applications for me to actually get a school. But it wasn't easy at all. I gave English classes for refugees, during that year, and also some German classes for business people to tie me over. Then I had my job interview with principal Morita and I have been working here for two years now. I teach German and Arts.
BB: You don't really have a German accent.
EU: That's what people tell me. Thanks, I guess.
Is it really so bad to have an accent though? Or rather don't we all have an accent would be some interesting questions to ask ourselves. Maybe for an essay.
BB: Yes, right.
[pauses]
So, we wanted to talk about your new Project. When did you start? What is the Project TT exactly and where did the idea come from?
EU: Of course.
TT or Trust Teacher is something that we have started doing about a month ago. It started after quite a few meetings with our principal and other teachers, where we thought about ways to take some of the stress of being a teenager off of our students shoulder.
One of the big things that I remember about being a teenager myself is feeling like I couldn't really talk to anyone and we wanted to counteract that feeling.
The idea is actually not something I came up with, it's a concept that already exists in German schools. They are called Vertrauenslehrer, literally translated to Trust teacher. It is not quite the same as an American counselor.
TT basically is an opportunity for students to talk to someone confidentially, who is not tied to their family or their friends when they need to talk. Or a place to go in the stress of Highschool, when they feel like they don't want to be with people, but they also don't want to be alone. Or when there is something that isn't quite right and they need some kind of guidance or someone to listen and maybe give a bit of advice.
BB: How does that work with your timetable? Don't you do regular classes at school?
EU: I do have my regular German and Art classes. Then there is also three days a week, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, where I stay in my office for three hours each, after classes. There is a sign on my door and when a student enters they flip it over. That way, students and teachers alike knows to not come in and the next person can just wait outside. There is also a paper stuck to the door where students can make an
[makes quotation marks in the air]
"appointment" if they want.
BB: That sounds really serious.
EU: Honestly, it's actually fun most of the time. Usually it's just me and a student reading a book together or drink a cup of tea or them drawing or coloring some mandalas while I do some work. For some students that is all they want, just to be around someone for a while, without the stress of having to talk or answer questions.
[laughs]
I guess I am kind of like a cat sometimes.
BB: What do the students talk about with you and do you tell their teachers or their family? What if it is something that needs talking to a third party?
EU: What we talk about is confidential. I don't tell others about those things.
If a situation like that should occur, I would talk to the student first and try to decide, together with them, what the next step should be.
BB: Do students only come to you when they want to?
EU: Yes, they only come if and when they want to. Sometimes teachers tell me about one of their students, when that student seems very stressed or is going through a tough patch, then they get an invite from me to come to my office, if they want.
BB: If they don't?
EU: If they don't want to come, they don't have to. TT is not like class. It is voluntary, never compulsory.
BB: Is it just Freshmen who come to your office hours?
EU: No. Freshmen do come, as well as Sophmores, Juniors and Seniors. Even some of my colleagues come over sometimes for a cup of tea and a quick chat.
BB: Maybe we shouldn't print that.
EU: No, it's alright.Us teachers are people too, you know.
BB: Of course.
[looks at notes]
Do you think that you were chosen to do TT because you are close to students in age or because you are an open and funny person in general.
EU: [laughs]
You are making me blush, Betty.I am doing it because I wanted to do it. Throughout my life there have been many times where I just wanted to have someone to talk to. Without judgment. Someone to trust in a way. And that is kind of what I am trying to give the students at this school, that decide to come to my office.
And if it helps even one student, why wouldn't I do it?
BB: That is a nice sentiment to finish the interview with I think.
[shuffling of paper]
One last question if that is alright.
EU: Of course.
BB: Why does everyone call you Miss U?
EU: [laughs]
Saved the best for last?
BB: [smiles]
I'm curious too, actually.
EU: Well, my name is Ugurlu as I said. And when I started teaching here, students and teachers alike really did not get the hang of my Turkish name. I was called so many different things. Uruguay. Uganda. Uguana. Oddly mostly countries.
Most of them were alright but there was this one time a student called me Umbridge.
And that was the day when I decided to go by the initial. It was an old friend's idea, actually. Now I am a pronoun.
BB: [shakes head]
Umbridge? But there isn't even an M in your name.
EU: Tell me about it.
BB: Well, anyways. Thank you for the interview, Miss U. It really is a great Project.
I hope the students can see that as well and that you can help many of them.
EU: [smiles]
Thank you for the great interview, Miss Brant. I hope so too.