The hashtag #OmerOgretmen has been buzzing on social media for some time now. We decided to take a look what this was all about. Turns out, it was a story about the everyday struggle of a starting primary school teacher in a village school in Eastern Turkey.
Omer ogretmen, or teacher Omer, his full name Omer Karahan, is a 25-year old teacher at the picturesque Kistepe Narman school in Erzurum. For some time now Omer narrates through his instagram account the story of everyday joys and struggles in a village school in Eastern Turkey. This gained him a large fanbase on his instagram-account where he has over 35.000 followers.
#24Kasım Öğretmenler Günü… 💐 pic.twitter.com/tkAo58rPS1
— Neden TT oldu? (@nedenttoldu) 23 november 2016
He talks about the everyday activities via heartfelt pictures and videos, reminiscing stories told by your parents or grandparents from their childhood. About hope and fear and about dreams for the future. But mostly about the beauty of life itself.
Omer ogretmen takes the children out for picnics and makes breakfast in the garden of the one classroom school, as he tells his followers on instagram that the future will belong to his students. And when he couldn’t reach the snowbound village where his school is with his car, he just turns around and uses a tractor to get there and continues teaching life.
On november 24th teachersday: “It is a great feeling to have students waiting for you behind the door who throw flowers at you when you enter the classroom. They have decorated the classroom and all gave me a present of their own. I even got a sock gifted. It gives you a special feeling.”
Omer Ogretmen reaches his snowbound village school with a tractor.
“Sometimes everything withers, but we always are colorful.”
“Making the first snowman of the season.”
“Is being a teacher only about entering a classroom and teaching? Or is the cleaning of a non-burning stove and chimney included in it?”
Making tea in the school yard.
“These children will not be the ones bombing the country, but those who shine for this country, like the sun on our back does”.
“Look at the beauty of this little Hiranur. She comes and plays around the school every day. I ask her a lot of question but she never answers. Today i said that they were going to send me toys and i asked her if i should bring her some too and she said hi hi.”
“Teacher i have been practicing a song, can i sing it? Go ahead and sing it my child.”
Going to school.
“Today i saw a video of PKK terrorist on the news, joyfully preparing bombs with which they kill human beings without distinguishing between innocent, civilians, babies. When i saw their ugly faces my stomach turned. As if the evil inside them, reflected on their faces. Me and my students wrote letters to our security forces in the southeast of Turkey. I enclosed this picture in my letter.”
Going to a picnic.
“On one of the last days of school we are having a breakfast together with my students. A village breakfast. School is much more fun like this friends”.
“We’ve come to an end of another period friends. In order to not spoil the joy of children or break their hopes, i gave them all good notes. Because Eray didn’t have a registration at the school, i gave him an honor certificate instead of a report card. The future will belong to the children of today.
Kışla tepe elementary school
Narman / Erzurum”
Karahan who is an externally recruited teacher, is replaced by a contracted teacher who took his place. He is waiting for a suitable assignment to a school where he can begin teaching as a contracted teacher.
You can follow Omer Ogretmen on his instagram-account or on Twitter.
