Antics

Yippee! Yippee! Yay!!! It's Friday...at last! Monday's going to come round again real soon, I know, but for now, the weekend is drawing near :)

This week has seen a fair bit of "buttering" of naughty students by my boss, mostly for poor attendance. We have heard our fair share of crappy reasons given for missing classes *rolls eyes*. Most of the time, someone in the family back home (mostly poor old grandma or grandpa) would have fallen ill, or broke a leg, or arm, and there is a need to fly home for a visitation. Why would they want to do that? Like curse your own grandparents?? If grandpa or grandma has already passed on, I think they would be turning in their grave to know they have been conveniently made used of for truancy! Of course, there are genuine cases, but more often than not, this is just one of the many excuses the students would come up with.

As I look back at the "buttering" this week, I can't help but marvel at the students' antics:

• When questioned, student A said he missed some classes as he went for medical checkup. Fine, Boss said, then produce medical supporting documents for them. Student A said the documents are not with him, and then asked if we could just forget about them, and he promised to come for classes everyday. Boss said no, you said you went for checkup, then we want to see the documents. Student A then went off. About a half-hour later, student A approached me and said he would like to see Boss again, for he has a confession to make. He said he did not go for any checkup, and actually just skipped classes, and he has no documents to submit. "Why did you say what you said then??" I exclaimed. Because he was nervous and could not think of any reason to give when questioned at that time, he said. *SIGH* Anyway, Boss saw him again, and just gave him a warning. But she was touched that he came back to confess. Awww...

• A few weeks ago, student B, with atrocious and precariously low attendance was called in. When questioned, student B said he was not used to the time difference between Singapore and his home country (which was maybe about an hour difference??), and thus was late for several of his classes. Hmmm..... that was about 5 weeks into the course, surely one would be adjusted by now, no.....? Despite the "buttering", student B did not change his ways. He sent a sms to his teacher 2 days ago and said he would be late as he...believe it or not...took the wrong bus...HUH?? Anyway, he never turned up for class at all that day. He did not make it, maybe he was stuck in Mandai or Sungei Ulu Ulu. (As I'm writing this, student B is being "buttered" right now at this very moment. MAJOR one.)

• Speaking of time difference, I remember a few months back, student C told Boss that she was often late because the time on her watch is not synchronised with the time on the classroom clock. The reasons these students can come up with!

• Saving the best for last, student D applied for leave to miss class for half a day because he was going to audition for Project Superstar, and he seriously expected the leave to be approved. Like seriously expected it.

Despite lousy reasons, this week is also a week of confessions, with student A turning back to confess, as well as students matter-of-factly saying "I missed classes because I felt lazy", and "I did not come for classes because I went out to play with my friends".

To end off these what my colleague would call, jaw-dropping replies, a short conversation with a student who was late for a test took place this morning:

Me: Why are you so late?

Student: 因为我早餐吃得太慢了.

Me: .............

Anyway, I'm so glad the weekend is here. It's here, it's here, it's finally here, for it's about 10 minutes more to bell-ring! Here's wishing you a great weekend ahead, and to Karen and Howard who will be flying off for a vacation to the UK, have a good trip!!!

Out...