The Fight

I walked out of my English classroom today to find two policemen waiting at the entrance of the building. Recognizing that I probably didn’t know a word of Korean, they waited for Mrs. Jeon to arrive before speaking. She answered a few of their questions, and they were promptly handed over to another teacher who was walking by. I’m very much used to “being in the dark” by now, but when I saw that police were involved I naturally wanted to know what happened.

As it turned out, one of the teachers caught a group of students smoking behind a building. He blew up at them, and began handing out his “discipline” (the stick). One of the students protested, saying that he hadn’t been smoking at all. He said he was just “hanging out” with his friends and therefore didn’t deserve to be punished for something he didn’t do. The teacher didn’t want to hear any of it, but the student didn’t back down. He stood up for what he had said and challenged the teacher’s authority (apparently he gave the teacher a “look”). Immediately, the teacher slapped the student and a short scuffle ensued. I don’t know if punches were thrown, but what I do know is that one of the other students called the police.

So what were the consequences for all of this? The police made the student “reflect” on why the teacher had to hit him, and the teacher continued on with his workday.

Hmmm.

- Ken