The Naughty Boys

We like to say that those mischiefs the boys of Sec 3B Science did to our teachers are now looked back with fondness.  Upon deep reflections about why we did what we did to our poor teachers, we rationalise, having now grown much older, that  playing practical jokes, including verbal jokes, on the teacher was a way expressing our affection for that teacher. If it was, it is 1966 Reverse Psychology! Since we were so used to playing verbal jokes on him, Mr. Egypt treated every remark by students who had a habit of arguing with him with suspicion, even when remarks were meant to be serious. There was a amusing interaction between Chan Yau Seng and Mr. Egypt. During one lesson, Egypt said bridges were typically made of wood or metal.  Yau Seng added a very innocent comment "they can also be made of ropes" - second nature for some of us to pass comment either out of convoluted friendliness or out of love of giving him a jab every now and then.  Mr. Egypt th...

A very innocent question asked many times by the Chinese Language teacher of those who took Chinese as their second language conducted in the Sec 3B Sc classroom.   He could have asked about other places with the same outcome but he chose Egypt each and every time.   Perhaps he was fascinated by ancient civilizations especially one like Egypt that dated well before even the Chinese civilization. Mr. Egypt told interesting and purportedly true stories to students when he was not teaching or after he had finished what he intended to teach for the period.   The authenticity of his stories was often met with skepticism followed by the question, How do you know? It became a standard routine.   His answer would invariably be “Do you know Egypt?”   When the inevitable answer “yes” was given, he would ask “How do you know Egypt?” The expected standard answer was “I read about it.” Mr. Egypt would then end the standard routine with “I knew it the sa...