The French Test

The French Test

As a teenager, I was a champion at any sport I attempted and had a knack for beating the boys at their own games but my love was for Martial Arts and Long Distance Running.

I brought home countless medals from the inter-school sports days and had an entire lounge room ledge sectioned off just for me, (from one end of the wall to the other) boasting Marital Arts trophies that I'd bring home after every tournament.

At 16 I got my black belt, and Coaching Council Accreditation and was chosen to train with the inter-state team for the nationals; but at school no one really knew how to teach me.

It's not because I didn't like education, I mean books fascinated me despite being a slow reader and I loved carrying them everywhere, but I was always put down by teachers and my mother, who never had any hope for me academically.

We had this French Teacher that everybody hated but I really liked her, despite the fact that she failed to understand me; she didn't like me very much. I saw beneath the surface very quickly, and this teacher was not the bitch that everyone thought, she just had very high standards and her aim was to bring out the best in us as her students; she was a very proud person and I agreed with her disposition. Pride is OK as long as it doesn't turn into arrogance. We shared one thing in common, we both had expensive taste but in the classroom I used to frustrate her because I'd ask too many questions for her liking.

There was this major 'French Test' coming up, it counted for 50% of the overall scores for the year for that subject, so as you can imagine it was very important.

My mother used to always put me down with regards to education expecting me to fail but when this French teacher started doing it too, my mother all of a sudden took offense, I'm not sure why. When the put downs came from my mother it never bothered me because I developed emotional immunities to fend her off but when they came from this French Teacher it used to hurt me because I really liked her despite the fact that no one else did – I always formed my own opinion about people.

My mother even went to the trouble of confronting this teacher to stop the put downs but then she realized that she was doing it too. It was the first time that my mother actually defended me in school and decided to take my side in anything, so she got my attention.

ONE week before the French Test, which I wasn't going to bother studying for because I was expected to fail, my mother surprisingly pulled me aside and told me to show this French Teacher what I've got!

She said that if I apply myself to my studies in the same way that I apply myself to Martial Arts I will beat the top dog of the class, Fiona Murphy (considered one of the smartest girls in school); I remember her saying that the only difference between me and Fiona Murphy, is that she studies.

WOW, for the first time in my life my mother actually wanted me to do well. What affected me is when my mother said with a tear in her eye, 'Anna, you're actually a lot smarter than Michelle (my sister who was a B+ Student and my mother's favorite) but you just don't bother to study and it's not because you can't, it's because you don't want to'. I still remember looking up at her while seated with my mouth open lost for words when I heard that because I couldn't understand for the life of me what prompted a change of heart from a women who used to beat me and put me down all the time; she continued, 'Anna, you can do this, you can study and you can get top marks because that French teacher said some very hurtful things about you and I want you to show her that she's wrong; and not just to her but to all the other teachers who talk about you in the staff room, running you down all the time, that I have to hear it at parent teacher interview; show them Anna, show them that they are all wrong.'

OMG I was so excited, I remember running up to my father at 16 telling him all about it absolutely breathless because for the first time in my life, I actually felt loved and supported by my mother and my father topped it off by saying, 'Anna, you're a champion in the ring, just pretend this is a tournament that you have to study for, and study for it in the same way that you spend an entire week studying your opponents before you get in the ring with them, to the last little detail of how they wriggle their toes when they are nervous, no one does it like you Anna, you're the best and the club knows it, let the school see it too because they all think you're stupid, and that's not even possible because you're my daughter remember, the daughter of a champion boxer'.

I never forgot his words, nor my mother's and so I spent the entire week studying locked in my room so determined to succeed that I skipped meals until my studies were complete each night. When I need a high level of concentration to study (or for anything else I need to focus on), I am very skillful at blocking out 'in-your-face' type distraction, with unshakable focus, and being raised in a house I labeled 'The Jungle' gave me such a talent.

I over-studied and that's how dyslexics learn and it was only through that experience that I realized how to study for everything else. Unfortunately dyslexia was not recognized when I was in high school so I was never encouraged to learn and put my energies in the fighting arena and on the running track instead.

The day of the French Test came and the teacher went out of her way to make it harder because she knew I studied and wanted to challenge me, 'this one is for you Anna', she said, and the class went quiet.

I was a little upset when I saw the test sheets because I felt like she was raising the bar the last minute and without warning, but I also remembered my mother's voice repeating in my head with the words, 'show them Anna, show them they are wrong...', and my father's voice, '...you're a champion Anna, you're my daughter remember, the daughter of a champion boxer.'

I said nothing to the French Teacher and accepted the sheets of paper quietly with the pen in my hand ready to take off like it was charged with new batteries.

OMG I thought to myself, what an absolute bitch, the sheets of paper were blank and we had to memorize the whole fu*king paragraph (three very long one's at that) in French, with the correct spacing and punctuation for top marks, even the top dog of the class Fiona Murphy was not happy about it judging by the look on her face... and the teacher put the timer on the clock for half and hour and said 'go'. I started with the first sentence and it's almost as if the pen moved all by itself and I knew exactly what I was writing because I spend all week studying this subject like my life depended on it.

I finished first and put my pen down and the French teacher thought I was going to hand in empty test papers, as she rolled her eye's when she heard my pen hit the table first. The teacher stopped the clock after half an hour and collected our papers and some girls were crying because they found it too hard and couldn't finish it in time – no resits allowed.

My test sheet was on top on purpose to give the teacher an opportunity to pick fault in front of the entire class before the bell went, a favorite pass time of hers right after all our exams.

She went quiet all of a sudden and took out Fiona Murphy's test papers from underneath mine (who sat next to me) and started to compare them. I couldn't believe she was actually comparing my test papers to Fiona Murphy's, the top dog of the class. By this point the teacher was agitated and asked Fiona if she helped me and Fiona said 'No I didn't'. Then the teacher ordered everyone out of the class room to wait outside by the bag area but not me, I was ordered to stay back.

It was too early for the bell and no one knew what to do as this was a first. The French Teacher once I was effectively isolated, lifted up my skirt to check my legs and then pushed up my sleeves to check my arms but they were all clean, she thought I had the answers/prompts written on my body as a way of cheating. I told her that I'd rather fail than cheat because CHAMPIONS DON'T CHEAT.

She thought quietly to herself for a quick minute and then ordered me to re-sit the test right in front of her without revealing my score from the first test sheet that I already handed in. 'Hmm this is a good sign, I thought to myself' and sat the test again but this time I decided to show off and wrote a little faster to finish it quicker; it was just me and her in the class room and she sat right next to me watching like a hawk - it's a good thing I work well under pressure!

I got exactly the same score and she corrected my second test sheet right in front of me before letting all the other students back in the classroom, who were climbing over each other (while outside) trying to peak through the cracks of the classroom windows in curiosity to see what was happening, they thought I was getting in big trouble.

When everyone re-entered the classroom the teacher could not hold back her tears and openly apologized to me in front of all the students for all those times she called me stupid. She instructed everyone to give me a big clap as I topped Fiona Murphy's scores (who scored 18 out of 20, and I scored 20 out of 20 – perfect score) and I became the new top dog of the class.

In year 12, I became The School Sports Captain representing all year levels and was recognized not only for my athletic abilities but also for my determination to succeed academically – it was a different senior school but the reputation stuck.