Kamangir (Archer)

Freedom

Kamangir | February 21, 2006 | Category Iran

Freedom Square, one of the largest squares in Tehran.

Right to my face, he goes “can I take a photocopy of my assignment?” He continues “I want to be able to show the original one to somebody else”. He describes more as he says “I want to make sure that you are objective, Are you?”

He made a joke about Iran making nuclear bombs and then he got a not very good mark in an assignment. He is now worried that I am partial in my job as a TA. I described that his sheets were very unorganized and hard to read, but he didn’t believe me.

I was just thinking, am I ready for this level of freedom. When your students talk to you this frankly and ask for their “right”?

I have been a teacher in Iran. Also, I was a TA in sharif, Iran’s best university. There, being a TA was a very nice experience. The students were respecting me and were very friends to me. I did the same to my TAs and teachers, too. You know, being friends with your TA means you will likely get a good grade, at least it means so in Iran. I am thinking, we, Iranians, have seriously accepted dictatorship. Still, we talk about “freedom”.