Does This School Educate

It was the first time I had switched schools in 11 years of my life. I loved my friends and teachers in my hometown. I didn't want to leave them all behind. But I lived in a small town, and there weren't any good schools for higher education. So even though I adored everything in my town, I had to move to a big city to continue my studies.

When I got accepted to a school in a different state, I started preparing myself for it. I was surprised to see- in the school calendar - that my classes started at 11 am. The schools in my town started at 8 am. So, I had always thought all the schools have a similar schedule. Now, I could try to understand if a college starts at 10 or 11 am. But the school taught children from classes 1 to 12 and the school opened at 11 am for all of them.

So the kids of this school are allowed to sleep till late on a school day? They don't wake up at 6 am because of the loud shrieks of their mothers. They don't have to finish their breakfast and dress up to school while they are half asleep.

What even is this place!

On the first day every year, my friends and I tried to reach early to school. We did it to pick our favorite seats. My favorite was the second bench in the middle row. It was at the perfect distance - not too close to the teacher and not too away from the board. So I wanted to be early on the first day here too. 

My school was at a 3-minute walking distance from my hostel. So it was a no-brainer for me to walk. But when I looked around, I spotted a few kids on rickshaws( a three-wheeled public transport). I overlooked them, thinking they must be from some places far from here. But I was appalled to see few girls from my hostel sitting on them.

Why is everything here so strange? Why is everyone hiring rides for a place which may take less than a minute for the rickshaw to reach?

During the 3-minute walk to school, I got over the rickshaws thing. And I thought I was done with the shocks for the day. How wrong I was!

I reached my school and went to the main building to find my classroom. In my former school, all the rooms had holders/tags in front of the doors. I expected something of that sort. Or at least any sign which differentiates between the rooms. But no such luck here. All the rooms were pretty much the same - a giant blackboard, few desks, two massive windows, and doors. I couldn't find my room. I finally resigned and went to the main office to inquire about my classroom.

I knew nothing of my class except that I was in section 'P.' However, the office boy was kind enough to point me towards my class. God bless him!

I was relieved that now when the classes start, everything will fall back to place. I walked towards my classroom, which was empty. I checked the time, and it was 10 o'clock. I inferred that it was too early for the students to show up. I selected my favorite seat in the class and waited.

As time trickled by, I expected the students to barge in the room any second. The time showed 10:30, still no sign of any students. 10:40. 10:50. In 10 minutes, the classes were to start, and no one had shown up. For a second, I was confused if I was wrong. Had I misread today's date or misunderstood the starting time?

I stood up and came back to the office area. As I reached the office doors, I heard murmuring sounds coming from the school ground. So I went there to see what it was about.

I was shocked to see hundreds of students on the ground. That's when I realized I was the one wrong. Maybe there's an assembly or gathering which I wasn't aware of. But, on the other hand, I was happy that I had thought of coming here to check else I would have missed the assembly.

Most of the kids stood in groups while a few were standing alone. I knew no one in the crowd. So I stood by myself, waiting for whatever it was to start.

I waited for 20 more minutes. I was getting restless, standing there for so long. I could feel all this was a bit weird. But none of the other students seemed to care. Finally, after a minute or so, I saw the crowd from the back dispersing. A few adults were walking towards the front of the ground. They looked like officials, so I gathered they might be the teachers of the school.

Most of them were frowning at us. I was a bit worried about what was to happen. My previous school was a pretty strict Catholic school. I was afraid of most of my teachers and always tried to be in their good books. I plan on doing the same here too. I waited impatiently for their long walk to the front.

Once they reached there, I saw a man passing a microphone to one of the men in the center. Maybe he was in charge.

I thought he was going to welcome the new kids into the school. But, the man stated that he was disappointed in us. And that he could predict that this lot was going to be the worst. I didn't understand what we had done and why he was saying so. 

One of the students standing beside me asked if I was new to the school. When I replied in affirmation, she said that she knew I was confused about what had happened. And she was right; I was pretty baffled. She explained the whole situation to me.

We were supposed to be in our classes by now. And that we had missed half of our first period by standing here. A few of the old students of the school had started this idea of bunking classes. And the other newer students like me had no idea about it, and we had fooled ourselves by standing with them. Also, the teachers think we were involved in the plan too.

Why did I have to come out of the class? I was in a perfect position there. Why did I need to be so curious? Why couldn't I stay put?

After getting scolded on the first day, we went to our classroom. On the way to the class, I observed other students. They didn't have an ounce of guilt on their faces. On the contrary, they were all happy, and some even dared to look proud. Whenever teachers at my former school scolded us, we cried rivers. I was crying on the inside, even though I wasn't at fault in any way.

I went into the classroom and took my seat on the second bench of the middle row. Other students also started taking their seats. The seats started filling from the back, which was typical for any class. Many students want to sit at the back of the class to talk more and listen less. But after some time, I realized I was the only one sitting in the second row. No one was sitting on the first, second, or even the third row.

I was embarrassed as I was sitting all alone. I didn't know this time if I should go to the back and sit with the rest of the class. The last time I followed my classmates' lead, it hadn't ended well. While I was contemplating, the class teacher entered. I stood up to greet him with 'Good morning.' Before I could utter a word, I noticed I was the only one standing. I looked back in horror.

Why was no one else standing?

All of the other students saw me standing and started laughing and talking among themselves. In my previous school, whenever any teacher entered or exited our class, we rose and wished him. Being respectful wasn't a rule but a way of life. It conveyed the admiration we had for our teachers.

I couldn't decide if I should continue standing or sit down. But then the teacher saw me and waved his hand for me to sit down. That's when he noticed the sitting situation. So he called the students he knew and asked them to sit in the front.

We had four periods that day of 40 minutes each. Anyhow the first two classes were over. We had a lunch break after two periods. I had brought biscuits and chips for myself. It was a 25 min break, so I went out to the ground to sit in the sun and eat.

The grass looked lovely, so I sat down by myself to eat my lunch. I was facing the main gate where I could see the watchman. He was a big burly man and had a large mustache. He looked scary. While I was judging the watchman from far, I saw a few boys going up to him. They gave something in his hand, which he kept in his pockets and opened the gates for them.

I couldn't comprehend what I was looking at.

Was that a notice from the office instructing him to let them out? I had heard we can go out of the school by getting a permission slip from the office. But the thing they had put in his hands was too small to be a slip.

Were they selling drugs on campus?

Yes, I know that it was a very far-fetched guess for something that could be nothing. But after such a weird day, I was catching any random thoughts I could.

After a few minutes, I saw another group of students repeating the same process. They placed something in his hands and then went out through the gates.

When it happened the third time, I got a better look at the watchman's hand. It was a note of five. I couldn't believe my eyes. Are they serious right now? Kids of almost 11 years are bribing their school's watchman to get out of the school. Wow.

I saw most of my classmates going out. I ignored all this and went back to my classroom. I expected at least a few students would show up. For a long time, no one came. I was getting a deja vu. This time, I didn't move an inch from my place. I sat there waiting.

After a few minutes, the subject teacher entered. She was surprised to find the class empty. She asked me about the others. I didn't know what to say, so I said I didn't know anything. We waited for five more minutes till both of us realized no one was going to come. So she asked me to follow her. I took my bag and went with her. In the office, she wrote my name on a slip and gave it to me. She instructed me to give it to the watchman and go back to my hostel. There could be no more classes today.

She looked disappointed, and I felt terrible for her. I took the slip, thanked her, and exited the school. I was so tired that I didn't feel like walking. And this was my state after only three hours. I was more disappointed than tired.

Could I go back to my hometown? Will my parents agree to admit me somewhere else? But they have already spent a lot on sending me here. I couldn't ask them to do it. But learning in this school will be equal to not learning at all. Will I waste my life out here?

After a few minutes of negative thoughts flooding my mind, I felt I was overreacting. I have been in the school for too little time to pass such strong judgments. It couldn't be all that bad.

I was thinking this while walking back to my hostel. Finally, I reached the lane where my hostel is. On the next turn, there was a small shop. I noticed a few students from my class there. So they were hanging out here after bunking their classes. My hostel was on the other side of the turn, and I had to cross them to go. I steadied myself, clutched my bag's straps tightly, and went past them. When I was crossing the shop, I smelled something weird and turned toward them. I could see the sparks on the cigarette sticks they were holding.

Why have I come here? What is this school? Who are these people? Where do they come from?

But I wasn't confused this time. I didn't want to be a part of something like this. If this is how kids in big cities are, I don't want to be a big city kid. I am happy being a small-towner.

I walked quickly towards my hostel. As soon as I reached my room, I called my dad and asked him to take me home. It didn't take much convincing, though. I narrated to him everything that had happened that day.

The next month I had my second first day at school.