I have one student, Samuel, that always gets to class really early. Class starts at 4:30pm and he is almost always there before 4pm. Often, he is there at 3:45pm. Since it's usually just him and I for about 20 minutes, Samuel and I chat and I have learned a little about him. He'll tell me about school, what he did over the weekend, etc.
Today started out the same as usual. Samuel and I spoke for a few minutes and then he took out a thermos with some purple liquid and drank a little of it. He started to smile at me. Then, he held out the thermos to me and said "Teacher, I have wine in here." I was a little taken aback but, I didn't think much of it. The kids often try to shock me with stories of outlandish food because I am a foreigner. I just smiled back and said "Oh, really?" Then Samuel said "It's really wine, Teacher. Smell it." So, I did.
I was in shock! It really was wine. My fourth grade student just handed me a thermos with wine it. Wine that he had just drank. I didn't know what to do. So, I asked him if his parents knew that he had the wine. Samuel said they didn't know. I then asked why he was drinking wine. He smiled at me and said "Because it's good!" I just looked at him and said "Samuel, you know I have to go and tell the Korean staff about this." (The Korean staff handles more serious discipline problems because they can call parents and the English teachers can't.) Samuel looked confused but, didn't say anything.
So, I went and told the Faculty Manager because I found him before I could find my assigned Korean staff member. He then sent a Korean staff member to go and speak to Samuel. He did this because Samuel is a lower level student and may get too flustered to speak coherent English. The staff member agreed that it was wine, confiscated the thermos, and called Samuel's mother. Samuel was allowed to return to class.
Later, the Faculty Manager came and spoke to me. He told me that Samuel claimed that I said that bringing wine to class was ok. I wasn't in trouble or anything, it was just a weird statement.
It also bothered me that a fourth grade was drinking. Samuel goes to five different academies: English, math, science, music and Chinese calligraphy. In addition to this, he goes to school (including two Saturday a month). I hope this isn't his way of coping with the incredible pressure that he is under.
(We finally got our own internet so that I can update regularly again.)
