Boys!

I have the joy of teaching at a boys middle school.  I say joy because my students bring me a ton of happiness especially on those offish days when I feel like life is horrible and all I want to do is curl up in bed and sob like a 3 year old.  They are always full of life and their smiles melt my insides. When my boys see me outside school they run to greet me or will stop in the middle of the street to bow. However, there is also a dark side to them.

They are boys! So, naturally they are rough, dirty and noisy.  Like most teenagers, they are super competitive as well.  A simple game of bingo can become very violent, very quickly.  Don't ask me how! It just happens.

Sports Day '12 - The Chicken Fight

We have a 10 minute recess in between each class.  This gives the teachers a chance to make a quick dash to the toilet or grab a cup of coffee which means the students are left without supervision.  During this time the kids behave as though they have just been released from prison.  You will find them running up and down the hallway; hugging each other; throwing stuff at each other; and kicking around all sorts of little things they can find.  But, as the saying goes, "it's all fun and games till someone gets hurt".  One minute you will hear roars of laughter, the next you will find an army of boys rushing to the nurse with an injured boy.  Injuries usually range from a tiny scratch to nose bleeds, broken limbs and a number of other bloody wounds.
Over the past two weeks we have seen a few casualties come to the teachers office with the same injury.  It's like a growing epidemic or something but somehow 3 boys all sustained injuries around their left eye that required stitches.

Ji Woo's rendition of the Gangnam Style dance

Needless to say, the injuries do not stop these kids from running wild and from showing their affection toward each other through playful violence.  At times I'm torn between laughing at them and feeling sympathy.  There's constant entertainment at my school and I'm never left with a dull moment.