In India, some students stand up when a teacher enters the room. Some students stand up when a teacher talks to them. The buzzword is respect. Students are supposed to respect teachers. Or are they? Should respect be given by right or should it be earned? Doesn't matter - I don't want to question the concept. Would anyone in India, whichever school they are in, bring a sandwich and a coke to eat in class? Rare exceptions. What would you call a teacher in India? Sir? Madam? Uncle? Aunty? Ever imagined anyone could call a teacher an a**hole?
Here, things are a little different. Sandwich, cokes, bagels all go. When the teacher is teaching, the embarrassing sound of a coke can being opened up is common. In India, it was excitement to conceal a chocolate and eat it when the teacher was teaching. The sound of the chocolate wrapper was damped and giggles from the girls were stifled. Convenience is all that matters. If I have a class at lunch time, then I will eat lunch in the class. That's how it is.
Ever considered just walking out of class in India? Or entering a class without asking permission? College professors simply wouldn't allow that. Here, people walk in half an hour late, without any shame and calmly sit down. Or I should say skateboard into class half an hour late and sit down. As an aside, I was taken away by this fad, and was persuaded to buy a skateboard recently, at a throw-away price. Needless to say I could not afford protective equipment such as knee pads and arm braces. Therefore, after a rather lucky fall, it has been consigned to the back of my room.
Here, things are a little different. Sandwich, cokes, bagels all go. When the teacher is teaching, the embarrassing sound of a coke can being opened up is common. In India, it was excitement to conceal a chocolate and eat it when the teacher was teaching. The sound of the chocolate wrapper was damped and giggles from the girls were stifled. Convenience is all that matters. If I have a class at lunch time, then I will eat lunch in the class. That's how it is.
Ever considered just walking out of class in India? Or entering a class without asking permission? College professors simply wouldn't allow that. Here, people walk in half an hour late, without any shame and calmly sit down. Or I should say skateboard into class half an hour late and sit down. As an aside, I was taken away by this fad, and was persuaded to buy a skateboard recently, at a throw-away price. Needless to say I could not afford protective equipment such as knee pads and arm braces. Therefore, after a rather lucky fall, it has been consigned to the back of my room.
To conclude, I confirm that the recipient of the a**hole remark was indeed yours truly! Most of my peers think that she was flirting with me. Though, my reaction was highly non-confrontational, I smiled at the offending girl and let the remark pass - as if she was saying "What a lovely day!" However, I wouldn't recommend this approach for the first time teacher. Just for the record, I was not offended at all, but to this day, I still cannot understand the cause for her frustration.
2 comments:
May be she was testing you. 'Pyar ke imtehaan'. :D
Padi... she noticed you! i think u gotta hit on her and get her to slap you... ;)
(i'm sure u must have dropped your "yakammmaaa!?" to her in class..LOL)
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