"My happiness" instead of greeting: Even in his tenth decade of life, he happily meets former students, as well as schoolmates

In the post-war years, during the 1950s, times were difficult, and now they are even harder, describes the Bjelopoljac. Jagos Boskovic the circumstances after World War II, but also today.

The retired teacher has entered his tenth decade of life, and recently, with six other schoolmates, he celebrated 67 years since graduating from the "Miloje Dobrašinović" High School in Bijelo Polje, which "Vijesti" has already written about.

"Oh, my goodness, what a feeling it was when we entered. It's like you started school yesterday. You're all shivering. Then I remembered that long wooden bench where the four of us would sit. And the long winters, and the bloody, frozen sandals. Now it's all nicer, the school is well-maintained and modern, but today there's no harmony, togetherness, respect... Yet, in all the gestures I recognized the same boys from the 1950s with whom I shared the benches," the old woman says.

Originally from Barice, more than 50 kilometers from Bijelo Polje, he finished elementary school in Tomaševo.

"While I was in eighth grade, I lived in Potrka. We students only went home occasionally, and it took us more than three hours to walk to Barice," Jagoš recalls.

His fondest memories are of high school, which he enrolled in as an adult, fleeing, as he says, from sheep and hard work in the countryside. He was given a diary very early on, right after his first year of studies at the Higher Pedagogical School in Niš, in 1960, because there were not enough teaching staff at the time.

"I worked at the same 'Krsto Radojević' Elementary School in Tomaševo, and then in Rasovo. During my career, I taught as many as seven subjects - from nature studies, through French, geography, history, and all the way to chemistry."

Miloje Dobrašinović - the people's mother

In addition to unforgettable friendships, his fondest memories are tied to the Gymnasium and the figure of the famous history professor and principal after whom the school was later named - Miloje DobrašinovićThe elderly man from Bjelopolje recalls a time when school was not just a "second home", but everything in the world, and when this educational giant was a national mother to all students.

"'Don't throw the village kids at me, I'll repeat them,' Miloje would 'threaten' the teachers, especially those who stood out for their strictness. There were no umbrellas. Anything that falls from the sky is on me. And when we arrived from Barice, Bistrica, Dobrakovo, Cerovo or Jabučno in the dead of winter, after a three to six hour walk, he would, looking at our frozen slippers, point his finger at our colleagues. He demanded that we not be sent to the benches immediately: 'Shake it off, my children. You don't have to go to the benches for the first hour. Stay by the stove to warm up a bit,'" Bošković says wistfully.

Nettle "grew from the stomach", got shoes at graduation

For parents, a child leaving home meant not only worry and less food on the scale, but also one less sheep or lamb each month - for rent.

"And when the food ran out, several of us would gather after school and prepare for a long walk to the house in Barice. The principal would gather us again and ask us carefully where we were going next. We would head up Pape, to Modri ​​do, and then to Barice. Put some cheese, cream, bread, and sometimes meat. Nettles? They 'grew out of my stomach'. If we slept somewhere on the road, usually in Lijeska, we would get food as soon as we got home and head back. Always in a group, because there were wolves and bears. Our mothers would welcome us and follow us, crying. Almost none of them even knew what the world looked like beyond those hills, or the city. Today, we only go to school by taxi or public transport, no one would walk even five minutes. But, there were no better students than those from Barice, and not one of them failed," Bošković is proud.

The key fabric and secret of a spotless friendship, as Bošković explains, was respect and preserving the dignity of the other person.

"None of us knew, nor did it occur to us to think who was Orthodox, who was Muslim, Montenegrin or Serb... Today, when they see someone in rags, everyone laughs. It was normal for us. All we had from our wardrobe was what we were wearing - woolen trousers, a woolen jacket or a sweater. The only thing we changed into was a beige shirt, which our landlady washed. When I was in seventh or eighth grade, my brother bought me a thin suit. It was cold in it, but who cares. We went in old slippers. Oh, when rubber slippers appeared, it was a scramble to get them, whoever could afford them. It wasn't until I graduated from high school that I got shoes, but I was afraid to put them on because of my professor, a Russian, Vitaly Hvorostovsky", so I went to the zepe. Oh, you couldn't have been dressed as a professor, sorry," explains the Bjelopoljac.

Candy like an airplane

In the 1950s, Bijelo Polje was not developed, and there was not even a single bit of asphalt.

"They were all ordinary alleys, macadam, cobblestones. The Gušmirović house is a true witness to those times today. There were shops, I remember one on the site where the Department Store was later built. We would run there to buy candy. Only sometimes. It's like I bought an airplane. And what kind of black taverns?" he asked back, shaking his head.

"You weren't allowed to pray on the street by the teachers, there were no walks, the only thing you could do was go into the forest. Socializing was only at school and sometimes on excursions to nearby places around the city - Cerovo, Medanovići and the like, for a few hours."

From the "Miloje Dobrašinović" Gymnasium, he remembers a galaxy of excellent professors. In addition to Dobrašinović, there are: Blazo Knezevic, Novice Rakočević, Spaso Ivanovic, Milorad Korac, Bozidar Scekic, Savkovic, Kažić and others. He also remembers the principal of the “Krsto Radojević” Elementary School in Tomaševo Rajko Ćetković and his brother, a teacher Branko Ćetković, who, as great educators, helped children decide to continue their education.

After 42 years of service (six in Tomaševo and 36 in Rasovo), he took a well-deserved retirement. With his wife Zork He has four children, but he emphasizes that his greatest pride is his 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. In addition to them, today, at the age of 91, Jagoš is happy when he meets one of his former students on the street, many of whom have long since retired. They talk about times gone by, people and values ​​that never fade - about everything that Jagoš has taught others for decades, with words, but above all with his personal example.

He became an educational giant. Not only with his knowledge and experience, but also with his captivating warmth and the words with which he greets and sees off everyone he meets: "My happiness."