Page 54 - A Life - my Live - my path

School - my youth

As far as education was concerned, none of the children from
the miner's community went to grammar or high school; a
technical school was the obvious choice. The only aim was to
have a 'trade' so that you could go to work and earn money.
So I enrolled at the Université du Travail (UT), the technical
school in Charleroi, some 7 km from Goutroux. We went
there by bus, which didn't cause any real problems as my
sister and other children from the miner's community also
took the bus at the same stop.
At UT, depending on your results in 6th year primary, you
could choose certain sections. For example, for the
'electricity' section, at least 70% was required. As was my
case, this was my choice, not because I had a calling, but

simply because the other sections - mechanics, masonry,
carpentry, ironwork - seemed less suitable to me.

I've often thought how strange it is that in our education
system, children have to make their life choices from the
age of 12. It's true that at that age, many boys still dream
of becoming firemen, car drivers or airline pilots.

I remember that to understand the electricity course,
studying basic formulas such as Ohm's law (V = R x I),
Pouillet’s law (R = φ x l )…and other laws were crucial.
S
I still wasn't a good student, I didn't know all the formulas
and, as a result, I rarely got good marks for class exercises or
tests.

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