Between the Bell and the Chalk: Stations from My School Memory

Author: Ayoub Al Falasi

Ayoub Al Falasi, an Emirati writer, carried the essence of his school days in his memory and held the echo of the bell and the scent of the first chalk in his heart, transforming his memories into a vibrant and nostalgic journey. He returns to the 1970s, moving through schools of knowledge and their educational atmospheres. These experiences shaped his personality, molded his consciousness, and instilled in him values of belonging, identity, and knowledge.

Al Falasi believes that school is not just walls and classrooms but a space where the self is built, where the first features of a human being are formed, and the dream they will carry throughout their life. It is an extended, vibrant journey where these values are embodied in his first steps towards school. He says:

"I entered kindergarten crying like any child refusing to leave his mother's warm embrace for a new embrace called knowledge."

Regarding the value of belonging and identity, he recalls the scene of the morning assembly, saying:

"We stood firm and silent to salute the flag as if it were a national anthem played with reverence."

As for the impact of school on shaping personality, he concludes by saying:

"From within these walls, a child's dream of knowledge begins, and the first seed of knowledge and discipline grows within them."

From this deep awareness, Al Falasi crafted the pages of his book to be a mirror of an entire generation's memory, evoking human warmth and authentic simplicity, and documenting an educational era that formed the cradle of the first educational stories in the United Arab Emirates.

"These memories are not ink on paper, but the pulse of an unforgettable time."