Time to Grow Up

I've seen better behaved students in Korea.

These kids were pretty terrible.

The old man at the front of the room had to tell them to stop banging on their desks. It wasn't the first time. When he told them he reminded them he had already said this was not acceptable behaviour.

They did it anyway, almost as if to spite him.

When they got up to talk it was hard to hear what they were saying.

The other kids in the classroom wouldn't stop talking.

If I was the teacher I might say, Jo Yung He Haseo.

If they didn't quiet down after that, I might have even used the much more forceful, Jo Yung He Hey!

It's funny, when I was a high school teacher my students never behaved so poorly in my classroom.

I would never have allowed it.

What type of classroom am I talking about?

Not any type of classroom you might be expecting.

Today, as part of an assignment for Journalism class, I spent part of the afternoon at the Manitoba Legislature.

The disorderly students weren't my fellow journalists, they were the politicians, supposedly working on our behalf.

The disorderly class they were keeping is also known as question period. Like many of my classes going to grade school growing up in the 80s, it only lasted forty minutes.

I guess some of the kids needed to go for recess.

Now I want to be fair, not all of our elected officials were behaving in a disorderly conduct. Many of the people who were talking out of turn I could not see.

Maybe they were hiding at the back of the room, just like in grade school.

As a student journalist I was very frustrated. Especailly after I was told to turn off my electronic recording device.

With all of the competing voices it was sometimes very hard to understand clearly what someone was trying to say.

Writing by hand became a chore.

Speaking with some politicians in a news scrum afterwards was a lot more fun. I was allowed to record that. They were very well behaved then.

I only wish I didn't have my Winnipeg Jets' jersey on. Underneath my jersey I had on a really nice button up shirt. I like to wear the jersey because the zipper on my jacket is broken.

I wish I hadn't worn it to the legislature yesterday. O well, I guess that means I'm just as bad as the politicians.

Time for us all to grow up.

cheers


Rymr