Why don't we have Wednesday off?

So, my students ask me if we have classes on Wednesday. It being an election day, you could see they were all eagerly anticipating a hearty, "No!"

It wouldn't be kosher to say that we don't because my school is nowhere near nice enough to give us an unnecessary day off, in spite of the fact that there are two less days of statutory holidays this year than last, and that in Korea, if a holiday falls on a weekend when you already aren't working, well, tough shit for you. They certainly aren't going to cater to your lazy ass and give you the Monday instead.

So, I pointed out to them that as they can't vote and I can't vote, there is no reason we can't all continue on in our pursuit of knowledge and excellence on Wednesday, rather than sleep in and go out and frivolously enjoy some lovely spring weather (the damn monsoon and the nasty humidity that follows it is now basically right around the damn corner, so we need to get hopping with our weather appreciation.) It is far more important to have a grammar class. We might even have finally moved on past nouns, after all.

To which my forth graders looked confused.

"You can't vote teacher? But you're old!"

"Thanks, kids! My 30th birthday is indeed two weeks from today, so I am old, for sure. But I'm not Korean and you have to be Korean to vote."

"Couldn't you just tell them you are Korean, teacher?"

"I'm not sure that would work, really. Do you think it would work?"

"Oh, no teacher, you're right. You're too fat to be Korean."

Hahahahahaha. I really did think that I might die laughing. Which would be a pity, as I'm so close to 30!

On other amusing educational notes (and near death-by-laughing), I told a student to "get 'er done" today. She has not been doing her homework and has not quite connected in the past 31 days that this teacher she has now will just keep checking up on the old, incomplete homework until the cows come home and start flying with the pigs (eventually, I find it results in such remarkable homework compliance for the majority of students that I don't actually have to do much work to continue it happening, after about the first two months.)

Her response was basically, "Teeeeeeeeeechuuuuuuuuuuuur." (insert whining, which if you've ever taught in Korea you are well familiar with.) And I said, in my charming East-coast way ( I'm not really anywhere near that East coast, to anyone but people from Vancouver, and, come to think of it, maybe this isn't an East coast thing, though I certainly identify it as such) "Just get 'er done." And then nearly died laughing, to the complete bewilderment of my students.