6.24.11 The Great Escape

In our experience, Korean students are good kids - but they are by no means perfect angels. Allow me to explain...

Girl A and Girl B are middle-schoolers in my class. Though smart and adorable, they wreak all kinds of havoc: ceaselessly talking in Korean (which is against school policy), showing up late, and recently, completely derailing class debates. Their behavior worsened significantly yesterday, when Linus and I were baby-sitting our friend Kate's class so that she could attend her father's birthday party.

Girls A and B showed up, and were told that they were supposed to be in another teacher's room. I sensed trouble as they darted out the door - no children look THAT happy when they're actually on their way to class.

Sure enough, I caught them in a darkened, empty room.

"How stupid do you think I am?" I demanded.

There was the requisite whining, and then: "We have to go to the bathroom!"

"Then go," I said. And then I stood in the hall, arms crossed.

The looks on their faces when they came out of the bathroom to find me guarding the exit were priceless. I literally shepherded them into their assigned classroom, much to their dismay.

Class went without a hitch until break-time. I was just about to get back to work when I saw a familiar figure trying to hide in the recessed elevator doors.

"OUT," I said. Girl A came out stomping and swearing in Korean.

The school didn't need me to stay, so about five minutes later I entered the stairwell. Instead of going downstairs, however, I stayed in the darkened hall for a minute. I had a hunch.

Sure enough, down the hall came Girl A, creeping, Mission-Impossible-style, with her back against the wall.

I called her name and she screamed.

"Ugh! Teacher, why? We aren't even in your class!"

"No," I said, as I escorted her back to her classroom, "but you're still my student."