CHRISTOS ILIOPOULOS
I came to Coburg High School in 1967 from Coburg West State School. I attended La Trobe University in 1973, and majored in philosophy. I returned to Coburg High School 20 years later, in 1993 as a teacher, for one term. Moves were already afoot to close the school, and to send the students to the Newlands High School site. I taught Legal Studies and English. The school had changed considerably since 1972. Apart from the new multi-storey building and the gymnasium, the classroom atmosphere was more relaxed. The cultural background of the students and of the staff was more diverse.
Returning to the school at which I was once a student, evoked strong and unique emotions of nostalgia and a longing for the feelings of the lost epoch to be rediscovered and relived.
As I walked among my 1993 students, I once again stood in the 1972 quadrangle with my then girlfriend. I felt her hand secretly and gently squeezing mine as her beautiful brown eyes smiled. I smelled the unique shampoo scent of her long chestnut hair, as she whispered something in my ear. My heart was once again floated by that magical and heady wave of youthful love. Then - just as quickly - it was dashed against the rocky fragments of my recollections, by a tsunami of 1993 melancholy and sadness.
The emotions one feels when going back to a place left long ago may vary, depending on the person and the place. For me it was a mixture of a bittersweet feeling of longing for the past, mixed with joy and sadness. I appreciated the good memories but I missed the people and the things that were gone.
As I wrote on the blackboard, I ‘bumped’ into Mrs West, our then maths teacher. I later ‘saw’ Mr Willmott, our art teacher, demonstrating two-point perspective.
For 10 weeks, I experienced parallel epochs. When I left, my 1993 year 12 legal studies students presented me with a sailing boat in a bottle, and a very touching farewell card.
Since the school was facing closure, I realised - sadly - that none of them would have the opportunity to return in 20 years time to ‘bump’ into me.
Christos ILIOPOULOS
67-72
Returning to the school at which I was once a student, evoked strong and unique emotions of nostalgia and a longing for the feelings of the lost epoch to be rediscovered and relived.
As I walked among my 1993 students, I once again stood in the 1972 quadrangle with my then girlfriend. I felt her hand secretly and gently squeezing mine as her beautiful brown eyes smiled. I smelled the unique shampoo scent of her long chestnut hair, as she whispered something in my ear. My heart was once again floated by that magical and heady wave of youthful love. Then - just as quickly - it was dashed against the rocky fragments of my recollections, by a tsunami of 1993 melancholy and sadness.
The emotions one feels when going back to a place left long ago may vary, depending on the person and the place. For me it was a mixture of a bittersweet feeling of longing for the past, mixed with joy and sadness. I appreciated the good memories but I missed the people and the things that were gone.
As I wrote on the blackboard, I ‘bumped’ into Mrs West, our then maths teacher. I later ‘saw’ Mr Willmott, our art teacher, demonstrating two-point perspective.
For 10 weeks, I experienced parallel epochs. When I left, my 1993 year 12 legal studies students presented me with a sailing boat in a bottle, and a very touching farewell card.
Since the school was facing closure, I realised - sadly - that none of them would have the opportunity to return in 20 years time to ‘bump’ into me.
Christos ILIOPOULOS
67-72