מוסדות החינוך: קבלת מלגה מהקהילה ותפקידה כמורה באליאנס

I forgot to tell you the issue of the last year of high school, I mean the baccalaureate, where Jewish students studied. Those who had money, would either (learn) at the lycée, college protestant and pay…the collage. They would pay however much they asked. And it was very expensive. At Alliance they would pay according to how much the family earned. To me, they said - after the brevet - what do you want? Do you want to work? My father could not pay for a place. It was very expensive. (People said) what? How could this be? It’s impossible. No way. Because I was the top in the class. “No way can you stop studying.” I didn’t say anything. Then, my aunt came, may she rest in peace, and said to me “Gracia, ask for a bursary. Ask for a bursary from the community. From the head of the Jewish community.” I asked for a bursary, and they said to me “okay”. I and a few others among my friends were given a bursary at the French lycée. As in, we didn’t pay tuition. We didn’t have to pay for the baccalaureate, which was three years. Why did they give it to us? Because we were smart. Good students. In the brevet, I came out as the top of all Lebanon. And the children of Alliance were known to be smart. It was known. The first year at the lycée, the teacher came and said, “I see that the best students aren’t from the lycée. They’re students from outside. Outside.” They were known. Why? Because the teachers of Alliance from their whole heart taught. From their whole heart. In the lycée they would say to us…there was an Arabic teacher too, a Christian, who said, “at the end of the month, I have money in my pocket. Whether you’ve learned anything or not makes no difference.” But there was Mr Khairallah, Mr El-Din, Arabic teachers. One Christian…no, two Christians. Muslims. They taught very, very well. And their children also learned at Alliance. They were very clever, too. And when…they saw this, after we finished the three years of the baccalaureate, they came to Alliance and suggested to us (the following): “if you want to study in Paris for a year, and come back a year later. You can take your certificate in pedagogy and you can become teachers with your diploma. And you’ll teach at Alliance.” But what (was the deal)? Food, drink and sleep…and pocket money. In Lebanon we would always mix Arabic and French. But you would have to teach for 5 years. If you stopped in the middle, you would pay. If you had three years remaining, you would pay three years. And you would take your card and…I taught for five years at Alliance. And there were 40 students at least per class. At Alliance there were girls…a girls class, a boys class…but after there were girls and boys. They couldn’t open a class for ten girls. They couldn’t open a class for 20 boys. They put them together mixed. The girls and boys mixed. Then we said to the principal, may he rest in peace, we said “okay. But how do you expect us…sometimes we’ve reached 42 students. How do you expect us to be able (to teach 42 students?)” He said “What would you do? If they tell me this is a Jewish boy, a Jew, we have to make him a place in the Jewish school. Can I tell him to go to the goyim? No, I can’t tell him (to go to the) goyim.” We would go quiet. And whatever Gd gave us, we taught.