Mr Hamid was Head of Modern Languages at SMC before retiring in the
summer of 2018, after teaching German (and a little French) here for 31
years. He had been a teacher for 33 years. Before coming to our school
- formerly known as Daniel Stewart’s and Melville College - he taught
at a school in Harrogate, England.
[Maxwell] What would you do if you had a pupil who you thought wasn’t
going to do well?
[Mr Hamid] To be honest, you don’t often get pupils who don’t do as well
as they should. At National 5 stage, these things don’t come out of the blue.
Well, before the prelim, if a pupil is having problems, we give him extra
support. You can spot them quite easily if everyone else is coping well. Boys
usually do improve after prelims, often because they realize that they have to
work harder. Very rarely have I had someone mess up their final examination.
[Maxwell] What after-school activities do you do?
[Mr Hamid] I do CCF on Monday after school and weekends, holidays etc. I
also assist with Mountain Bike Club and help with D of E canoeing.
[Maxwell] How long have you been doing CCF?
[Mr Hamid] I have been a CCF officer for 28 years. I was in charge of the
Army section for 11 or 12 years and I have been Contingent Commander for 13
years.
[Maxwell] Why did you want to be a teacher?
[Mr Hamid] I love languages. When I was studying, I worked for a year
teaching English in Germany and from this, I found that I enjoyed working
with young people and teaching was something that I could do quite well.
When I finished my degree, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be a teacher, but
when I started working in a school, it was very enjoyable. School for me
had always been positive, so going back and working in a school was good
because I didn’t have any bad memories.
[Maxwell] Who was your inspiration growing up?
[Mr Hamid] Difficult to say. I met a lot of people with different qualities [that]
I admired and there wasn’t one particular individual who inspired me. I
always wanted to learn from other people and [to] benefit from their experience.
[Maxwell] Why did you decide to teach at SMC?
[Mr Hamid] I had been here before as a student, it had a good reputation and
there was a job here. I had always planned to come back to Scotland, even
though I really enjoyed working in Yorkshire. Working at SMC really suited
me. I only once considered moving away, because there was a promotion
elsewhere, but when I asked the Principal for a reference, the school created
a similar promoted post for me in Modern Languages, so I stayed here.
[Maxwell] What’s the worst thing a pupil has ever done to you?
[Mr Hamid] I once got pushed over in my kayak in shallow water, hit my
head and ended up with a concussion. I didn’t feel too bad at the time, but it
got worse over the next two days and I had to go to the hospital.
[Maxwell] What about in class?
[Mr Hamid] I’ve never had someone do anything really bad in class - boys
can do daft things - but they’re teenagers, and generally take a telling.
[Maxwell] What do you think your colleagues and pupils think of you?
[Mr Hamid] I think they have a lot of respect for me, I don’t think I have
many pupils who say, “Oh no, I have Mr Hamid for German.” I think I’m quite
popular, I like to be nice to people and people are nice to me. I try to be fair.
[Maxwell] If you didn’t teach German, then what would you like to have
done as a job?
[Mr Hamid] I’d probably do something outdoors, something with helping
people, something where the job satisfaction was not money but helping
people.
[Maxwell] What does the “Z” stand for in MZH?
[Mr Hamid] That is one of life’s great mysteries; I have only told one student.
If you are still doing German in 6th year, I will tell you. There was one pupil
who had me as a German teacher every year from S1, and on his first day
in 6th year I told him. I like having it because I can write a fancy “Z” in my
signature.
I would like to thank Mr Hamid for allowing me to interview him
before the summer of 2018 and let him know how much he is valued
as part of our school community.
I wish him the best of luck in the future.
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