?Aimé Laval or Monsieur Laval was one of the most influential persons in paving my education. In fact, he was my teacher when I was in Standard VI at St Jean Baptiste de la Salle School, Port Louis. Besides preparing me for the Junior Scholarship, he taught me many important things in life.

Aime Laval was a very dedicated and firm teacher. One of the things I liked about him was the fact that he would motivate us to surpass ourselves .He taught us the importance of punctuality by making us aware that we should arrive at school early. Everyday before the daily lessons, he also taught us the importance of praying and singing the school hymn. He would then share with us his passion for Arithmetic, English, French and Geography whilst inculcating in us moral values such as honesty, integrity, respect and caring for others.

There is something I will never forget about ?Monsieur? Laval, it is his cane. My class-mates (Georges Kee Chong, Luc Patrick ,and Rajen amongst others) and I all experienced it! He used to keep it with him and whenever we deserved it, we were hit by it. But it was always for a good cause. As a result,we knew all English and French tenses and learnt to have beautiful hand-writing to this day.. Furthermore,I still remember we had to drink milk that was prepared by the school daily and, and the milk?s taste was horrible. Once Aimé had his back turned we would throw the milk away. If we had been caught, we would have been in serious trouble with Aimé and his cane. However, I must admit that all the sanctions we had were for our own good. Those sanctions made us aware that the mistakes should not be repeated.

<I>?Once he had his back turned, we would throw the milk away. If we had been caught, we would have been in trouble with Aimé and his cane.?</I>

Aimé was someone who knew how to motivate us. On the one hand, he could do it by using his words and on the other by his actions. In other words, when we were doing well, he used to reward us. For example he used to give us books and even toys. His aim was just to motivate us in order to make us succeed. Today, looking at all my class-mates, I can say that we have all succeeded! Thanks to Aimé?s wisdom and dedication we were able to obtain the best colleges and we are in great working positions. We all benefited from this teacher that I considered as a model for teaching. If that man had not walked into my life, I do not think I would have been the man I am today.

From my personal point of view, I think there are a few things teachers lack nowadays. For example, they should be more in a position to be able to inculcate moral values into the kids? way of thinking. They should remember that education is not a business. They should make the pupil have a more enquiring mind and encourage the student to go outside the class and search for knowledge like Aimé used to do!?