Today was the first day where I would have to face those four empty chairs in front of my Form 5 class... and as I found out a few days ago, yet another chair would remain empty in the corner.
I've had enough with the 'down' days. It's time to go 'up' in spirits and what better way to do it than celebrate April Fool's Day! Being an adult who's last school prank came more than 10 years ago, it's safe to say, I'm a little rusty when it comes to spotting pranks coming my way. Who'd have known I'd fall prey just 10 minutes into April Fool's Day? (Shaun Lee! I'll get you one day!) :p Then, the first call I got in the morning at 10 was another shocker! (Ng Jon Theng! I'll get you one day!) :p
I tried my best to avoid being fooled but got fooled anyway; and quite easily too. The worst was when I got fooled in class and it came so unexpectedly (Bruce Lee! I'll get you one day!) :p The mood in class after that was quite funny 'cause I kept being on guard against any question or comment my students would make. It was a very 'dangerous' day in class! Nevertheless, it was great fun indeed.
Later that night, after my last class ended, I decided to fool two of my closest 'heng tai'. Unfortunately, one took the joke mildly while the other didn't take the joke too well. Maybe I caught them at a busy time or they were tired after a long day at work but it's sad that adults seem to lose their sense of humour as they grow older. Call it stress or whatever but I think a healthy dose of humour goes a long way in making sure you don't grow into a grumpy old person.
Feeling dissatisfied, I decided to trick some of my older students whom I didn't teach today. I wasn't sure if my pranks would prove successful at first but one by one, they fell for my pranks. It was such a fun and satisfying moment as I called them up and texted them. Hearing and reading their responses of "Teacher! You ah..." and "Wahlao A teacher..." simply cracked me up! My victims were quickly adding up. Muahahaha! Some were totally cool however (Chang Mein Yie, you are good!) ;) Sure I got fooled by some of them in return (Khoo Kiat Yap! I'll get you one day!) :p but most importantly, none of them were angry with me. Even one of my students, whom I truly apologise to for waking her up, didn't show her temper. It made me think again of the difference between teenagers and adults...
Does growing old really have to mean we become serious and lose our sense of humour? Has stress at the workplace and monetary burdens robbed us of our ability to laugh? What happened on the way to adulthood that made us such boring creatures? I shudder to think that I'm an adult myself but I guess it's my good fortune and great blessing that I'm surrounded by teenagers who truly know how to be happy.
Meanwhile, I'd better brace myself for some in-coming rockets from my students tomorrow. Hmmm... maybe I'll just cancel class.
2 comments:
Sense of humour can sometimes be dipendam-ed due to lack of practice and exposure.
Just like being optimistic, it takes extra effort to remain positive. :)
Such is life!
That's so true. Sometimes, I find it so tough to be cheerful and optimistic simply because almost everyone else seems to be doing the exact opposite.
Arrghh... can't stand grumpy old men!
But yeah... such is life...
Post a Comment