School is so boring. Nothing ever happens at school, right? Hah, that's what you think! Here's a collection of stories by the YP staff that are truly from the classroom of the crazies
Cheeky cadet
I’ve been known to daydream a bit. When I was in school, I was in the naval cadets. I was also pretty naughty and was sent to detention. So one day, while we were doing detention, we had to pick up litter around the school. When we were going back into the school building, I thought about the cadets and getting my salute right, so while walking behind the prefect, I was marching and saluting. The principal saw me and thought I was being cheeky, and gave me another detention.
Susan Ramsay, editor
A, my name is Ariel
When I was in high school, there was a girl the same age with the same last name as me, which was pretty unusual. Her name also started with an A, and it got even more confusing because we went to a lot of the same classes. Since the computer system at our school sorted students and kept records by our first initial and last name, having two "A Conant" entries meant a lot of mix-ups. I'd often get the wrong report card, or be signed up for classes I had no interest in. There was no way I was going to take advanced calculus!
Ariel Joy Conant, reporter
Can't smell food and can't hear right, either
We weren't supposed to eat in class, but we all did. After all, as responsible students, we went to great lengths to keep ourselves awake during class. I usually sucked on candies, but some people in my class decided to eat lo mai gai (steamed glutinous rice with chicken), and even cups of noodles. Our teacher must have a terrible sense of smell, because they never got caught. He also had a strange sense of hearing.
One time a classmate was trying to get a book out of a plastic bag, and the teacher stopped halfway while writing a maths equation on the board and barked: "Who's eating seaweed?" Nobody was, so nobody spoke up. The classmate continued to pull his book out, and the teacher roared: "Stop eating seaweed. I know someone is eating seaweed!" The room fell silent as we tried to suppress our giggles. A brave student tried to explain: "Sir, it's just a plastic ..."
"I know the sound of a seaweed wrapper!" the teacher growled.
See? Students are right about maths class. It drives people crazy.
Melanie Leung, reporter
When risking heatstroke was 'in'
Do you want to fit in? If so, wear a sweater!
Putting on a sweater in summer was very common at my school. It was stylish, and in fact, you'd look unusual if you didn't wear one, even if the temperature was 35 degrees Celsius. I tried not to conform if it was hot, but you know ... peer pressure. I didn't dare resist, so I had to risk heatstroke. But why didn't teachers just tell us to take them off in hot weather?
Ben Pang, reporter
Neat and tidy doesn't mean boys
I went to boarding school, and there was one summer when the water supply was suspended on campus. I can't recall why, but that's not the point. Every couple of days, some of us girls would team up and go to a classmate's home to take a shower and do laundry. Then one day, one of the boys decided he also wanted a shower, so he talked to our (beloved and quite charming) head teacher. The teacher, in his late 30s, rubbed some dirt off his neck and showed the poor boy: "Boys don't need to be so tidy! Look at me, I don't even care!" OK, it didn't happen to me, but I witnessed it and was traumatised.
Young Wang, reporter