Paper aeroplanes flew.
He talked loudly, walked about when the teacher was teaching. He also played truant.
For the sake of the rest of the class, he was often made to stand outside the classroom. But that didn't bother him one bit. To him, it was freedom. Before long he had wandered away to disturb the students in the neighbouring classes - those sitting at the back of the class next to the door. Other times he would be shouting across to students having their PE lesson in the basketball court.
The old school was designed as a quadrangle with classrooms overlooking the court, so you can imagine the noise he made with his shouts.
The discipline master had to play catching with him often.
To be honest, if this was something out of a movie or a story book I would have laughed out loud at the hilarious sight of a discipline master running after a wayward student.
But this was Chye Huat. And I? I was his form teacher.
Chye Huat was the reason I had to attend an interview that would determine if I could be confirmed me as a teacher.
The situation was so bad it got to the stage where the discipline master decided to keep Chye Huat by his side, literally. Wherever the discipline master went, Chye Huat tagged behind. Other times he was made to sit in the staff room.
But Chye Huat mostly behaved himself during my lessons. He even studied for my tests! In the beginning when he attempted to disrupt lessons by talking, I gave him many opportunities to talk. LOL I threw questions on the lesson at him.
Perhaps he didn't know how to respond to not being punished. Eventually he stopped his antics because he didn't want to answer my questions. He just slouched in his chair.
The complaints from the teachers went to the principal.
And then the school wanted to expel him.
I was shocked. I thought that was a rather drastic course of action and as his form teacher, I did not support expulsion for him.
Perhaps their reasoning was: why keep him in school when you cannot keep him in the classroom?
I, however, was of the view that if some rapport could be established with him, he could be changed. But I was alone in this. Young and naive. That was what my colleagues thought although they were too polite and kind to tell me.
But my principal walked into the staff room and proclaimed loudly, "Our students are devils, you know. They are not angels."
I knew she was speaking for me to hear. So did my colleagues. I felt miserable. I think I would have felt less miserable if she had come straight up to me and told me as much.
Several times after school, I had had to sit with the discipline master in the Principal's Office to meet with my principal. The meetings were about Chye Huat but it felt more like I was the one being disciplined - for that resistance.
I appreciated that the school did take my stand into consideration and did not simply push through with their choice. The discipline master told me they would suspend him for 2 weeks. But to give him a good shaking-up, they would tell him he was expelled.
I was relieved.
Chye Huat was nonchalant when told that he was 'expelled'. But before a week was over, he ranged me up at home one night and told me tearfully over the phone that he wanted to go back to school. He asked me to help him.
Naughty Chye Huat was crying but I was very happy to hear from him. So Chye Huat came back to school and he was thankful to me for my 'help'.
Thus I concluded my two years' training with this episode as the grand finale that went into my principal's appraisal of me. My principal also did not request for me to continue teaching in this school as a trained teacher.
What about Chye Huat?
Sad to say, he did not make the best use of the second chance given to him. Friends told me he was back to his old ways. Eventually he was expelled - a second time. This time it was for real. Chye Huat ranged me up again. He wanted to go back to school. But how could I help him? I was no longer a staff of the school.
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