when i was 11 years old I had a teacher named Mr Brown. He was the oldest teacher in the school and his claim to fame was that he had once, long ago, made a journey to Antarctica, and every class he had were made to view his slides and hear the tale of his frostbitten nostril. He also had the annoying habit of smoking in our classroom during the lunchbreak, and we would come back from playing outside and the whole room would be filled with a smoky reeking haze. The kids would all mutter complaints to each other but one day I decided enough was enough and I put a sign on the wall that said NO SMOKING in big red letters. When Mr Brown saw it he asked who did it and I stuck up my hand , naively thinking maybe we could have a discussion about the issue, but the idiot just gave me a detention!!
MY punishment was to write a story which wasn't a big deal as I rather enjoyed writing, but I was indignant, I had had my first taste of injustice! So I wrote an angry story about a man called Mr Black with horrible yellow teeth and halitosis who was careless with his cigarette butts. I was particularly proud of the last line, ..."and his house was razed to the ground."
when he read it, Mr Brown seemed shocked, I was always such a good quiet pupil. He shakily pointed his nicotine stained finger at me and said ' you better watch it." I felt jubilant!
I think my mother had a word to the principal and he stopped smoking in the classroom after that, but he still had a perpetual stink of cigarettes.
What an intriguing and clever image! Oddly, I don't remember teachers smoking in or around our schools when I was young... It was something that happened at home, in bars and restaurants, but never in school...
Wow! I love your story and the perfectly accompanying photo... The no smoking sign and the rear view mirror as if to look back at your past. Fantastic Kali. That guy was a jerk! And you a standup kid. :)
@kali66 what a story, brave of you to stand up. Wonderful picture!
I remember our geography teacher at secondary school. The only one that smoked outside the classroom. It wasn't allowed, but he was the exception. He was a very good teacher and very popular with the students. But I can still smell the smoke and hear his cough.
I remember our geography teacher at secondary school. The only one that smoked outside the classroom. It wasn't allowed, but he was the exception. He was a very good teacher and very popular with the students. But I can still smell the smoke and hear his cough.
Excellent story, good for you!