My big private school experience (14) Graduation trip

Whether in a private school or a public school, as long as you take the class, when you are in the third year of high school (most of them are now in the second year of high school), you will accompany the students on their graduation trip.

Many people find it incredible. As a mentor, I feel both pressure and disgust for the graduation trip. The first is that the places I go to are the same year after year. In the past ten years, I have gone to Kenting six or seven times for my student graduation trip. Second, students can choose not to participate, but instructors cannot. Third, students love to challenge taboos during graduation trips, especially when they spend the night outside. Drinking, changing rooms, changing beds, and going out for night tours are almost small tricks that appear every year. Therefore, before going to bed, both the teacher and the instructor have to patrol the room, but there is no way to prevent anything. When something happens, they all ask the teacher to take responsibility. This strange and unequal situation makes me think Taiwan's high school graduation trip is strange.

In the regulations of the Ministry of Education, it is not mandatory for high schools to hold graduation trips, nor for high school tutors to participate in graduation trips. But because everyone does graduation trips, schools that don't will be criticized. If the class tutor does not participate in the graduation trip, other colleagues will do it on their behalf. It is not cost-effective to complain for no reason, so no one dares to ask for leave in those days.

If I say this, it will inevitably make people look dazzling, listen to it harshly, and feel that I am a teacher who does not care about students and is irresponsible. I have really heard such criticism. It's just that I have responsibilities but no rights, and students and parents say from time to time that the teacher is really good, and I can play with them for free. It's really unhappy and stressful. Before I took my graduation trip for the last time in my high school teaching career, students saw that my face was not good, and they asked directly:

"Teacher, you don't like us? You don't want to go on a graduation trip with us."

Since you asked in good faith, I will answer honestly:

"The teacher didn't dislike you, I just didn't want to go on the graduation trip." Then I told them about the stress and burden of the graduation trip. Listen, students, and be righteous to me:

"Teacher, you're wrong. It's a rite of passage for students to participate in graduation trips! So it's normal to challenge things that we haven't done before! Don't you always encourage us to challenge ourselves, teacher?"

"You don't call yourself challenging yourself, it's called challenging the system and trapping me in injustice." I paused, watched the students and said slowly:

"Honestly, how many people are going to change rooms? How many people are going to drink? Which parent can accept you and your male and female sleeping? Which parent can accept your underage drinking? You can guarantee that the parents will not come to me if they know about it. Excuse me, do you want me to be responsible?"

Looking at me with a serious face, the squad leader raised his hand and said:

"Teacher, you've worked hard. We won't let anyone find out what we do, and we won't cause you trouble. You are our mentor and are of great significance to us, so please come and be happy."

"That's it, let me give you an opinion for your reference," I said, spreading my hands.

"You don't want to take part in the graduation trip organized by the school. All of our class took time off in those days. Do your own graduation trip, insure your own insurance, call your own car, and arrange your own itinerary. This way you can really challenge yourself and learn more."

A female student with a round face raised her hand:

"Teacher, then what are you doing? If you don't come, you're still missing a piece of the graduation trip?"

"Who said I wasn't going?" I took a sip of tea and said leisurely:

"I would also ask for school leave in those days, and then bump into you somewhere, hitch a ride, and play with you. That way you'll have me in your photos and memories, and I don't have to deal with all those messy responsibilities. .Do you think it's okay?"

The whole class was quiet, and the monitor raised his hand again:

"In this way, many parents won't let us go. Because there is a guarantee from the teacher, the parents are relieved. We can go out together."

This sentence is really sincere. Scanning the whole class, I sighed and said:

"So the real purpose of me going on a graduation trip with you is to make a promise to let your parents let you out? How meaningless is that promise? I can't promise anything at all."

"Teacher, you should go with us!" The monitor's eyes were firm, as if comforting the child:

"You go with us, we try not to cause trouble for you."

"Then you won't break the rules? Don't drink? Don't change beds? Don't go on night tours?"

"Teacher, everything can't be too much," the monitor responded. Strange, I seem to have heard this sentence somewhere. Then he said firmly:

"Don't know everything, it's better for you. The pressure is what you find yourself."