We’ve all had a teacher we yearn to never see again. However, the more fortunate remember that teacher, whom they still remember today with some nostalgia. In Spain, in the region of Navarre, a teacher so highly regarded by students deserved a great moment: his name is Koldo Ansa, and in 33 years of teaching he has devoted 29 years to Alaitz de Barañain InstituteWhere he taught philosophy.
That was until last Friday, when he finished his last class before retiring. However, the exit was not prompted by the calm that the high school teacher might have expected. Hundreds of students and all of their classmates were waiting for him in the corridors, stairs and corners of the school building. The applause that accompanied him out.
Baidoa: Horrela agurtu dute Alaitz BHIko ikasle eta irakasleek urteetan Instituteko irakaslea izan den Koldo Ansa. pic.twitter.com/YPBw84oSi7
– Blazaberri Paranine (@plazaberri_) April 12 2022
“I am ashamed to be the protagonist,” he admitted to the Morning Show of Radio Euskadi, preferring to analyze the moment as “a greeting from the students to the school.” However, he assumed the good relationship he had always had with his students, which he explained was based on “respect, trust, and affection”, adding that he had always been interested in giving them the tools for reflection and contemplation, at a time dominated by technology.
But he made it clear that he was never like a classmate, arguing that the relationship should (and was) vertical: “Teachers are teachers and fathers are fathers, not friends,” he declared, noting that when roles are confused, “the consequences are irreversible.” . And he left advice for those now embracing the profession: “Keep in mind that you are paying for your patience, not for what you know.”
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