The big exam

The final exam to become teacher was on a hot, dry summer day in the middle of August. I was one of the examiner and the pupils liked me very much, because I never gave them any homework. The exam began at 8 o’clock in the morning and all pupils were on time. I knew that they were very nervous, because the examing board, which included Mr. Hellfil, Mrs. Breaksmith and me, were very strict. Mr. Hellfil was an angry old teacher like Mrs. Breaksmith and I knew that they didn’t like me, because I was very young and modern. So Jane Eyre, a very clever girl, was examined first. I looked at her testimony and I wondered, because I`ve never seen such a good certificate. “Hello, I’m Jane Eyre from the Lowood Institution,” she said. Her dress was simple and she seemed very nervous. I looked at her for a long time, during Mr. Hellfil asked her many questions. She replied very slowly and considered a lot, but her eyes showed sign of tension. Suddenly the bell rang and the first part of the exam was finished. In the pause we corrected the exam and deliberated a long time about her performance, but she gave only right answers and so she was positive. The next part, which was also the last part of the exam, was more difficult than the first part, because she must write an interpretation about the school. Jane wrote very fast, because she only had one hour to finish. After this hour, the bell rang again and the whole exam was completed. “Ok, Miss Eyre the time is over. Please, sit on this chair and wait,” said Mrs. Breaksmith. After one hour we came back. “Congratulation Miss Eyre. Now you are a teacher. Here is your certificate. Well done, all answers were right,” I said. “Thank you very much. It was always my big dream to become teacher,” she said. Then she stood up, opened the door and went outside. “All the best for your future,” I shouted to her. For a moment she turned around and waved goodbye. Then she walked away.

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Interview

Welcome to the CNB-evening talk with Carla Columna.

C(Carla): Good evening and hello to my new guest, Jimmy Folko. Jimmy, today we talk about your latest novel “Hard times or my grandfather’s childhood”. But what does it means? Can you tell us more about it?

J(Jimmy): Sure I can. The novel is about my grandfather who was born in 1839 at the beginning of the Victorian times and his life was very hard. His parents were very poor and so he started to work when he was five years old.

C: What was his job?

J: Oh, he did various kinds of jobs, but many of them were unpleasant and dangerous. Sometimes he worked in a coal mine to push trucks of coal to the surface only by the light of a candle. Later he got ill, but he had to carry on with his work.

C: Oh dear, it’s very cruel.

J: Yes, it is. But later on he leaved the coal mine, because he had to sweep the chimneys. So he climbed up to the roofs every day. It was really dangerous, because many friends of him died at this job.

C: It’s so tragically.

J: Yes, but the hardest moment for him was when his parents died. So he was taken to his grandparents, where he could sleep and eat and the important thing: He could go to the village school near by the church, because his grandparents were rich. It was a strict school, where boys and girls were separated. But my grandfather liked the school very much, although the teacher could hit the pupils with a can or a ruler if they didn’t listen to him. One day my grandfather unintentional made an inkblot on the paper and the teacher hit him so much that he couldn’t go to school for three days.

C: Oh my god.

J: On the one hand it was terrible, but on the other hand my grandfather loved lessons like technology, maths and science. And he also had an advantage opposite the girls, because boys were more important in the Victorian times than girls.

C: It’s very unfair. But what did your grandfather in his leisure?

J: He played with other kids football on the street and the football was made from old rags. They also had marbles and hoops and ones a month came an organ player with a monkey in the little village and the children were very glad.

C: Your grandfather had an interesting life, Jimmy, but we shouldn’t sell more about your novel, because the people should read it themselves.

J: Yes, its true. Thank you that I could be here, Miss Carla.

C: Thank you too for this interesting interview, Mr. Folko.

So that was the CNB-evening talk with Carla Columna. The next episode is on Monday at 20:15.

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