Voices

In praise of my legendary high school teachers

By Huang Yuli (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-15 08:25

The other day I ran into an old schoolmate from high school. Reminiscing about those days, I was surprised when we both mentioned one name: the history teacher.

"Was he also your history teacher?" I asked, because she was one grade ahead of me.

"Yeah, you have no idea how popular he was that time!" Her eyes shone.

Hey, that's what I was about to say.

I remember how diligent the girls in our class became once that 30-something man became our history teacher in the third year of senior high school. Self-study class at night suddenly became an intense competition of girls raising questions, so as to earn his attention.

Frankly speaking, I was one of those crazy girls that time.

That teacher kicked shuttlecocks in the office. He played computer games in the Internet caf outside the school. He went to Hunan Normal University. He lived in the teacher's dorm. We were interested in everything about him.

I remember once our head teacher gave us a talk near the central garden of the school; it was incredibly long and boring, everybody was sleepy. It was not until the history teacher passed by on a motorcycle that an exclamation of surprise and admiration escaped every girl's lips.

I could see the blush on the head teacher's face - he must be jealous!

The history teacher was a legend in high school. But the girls' obsession with him at that time now seems inexplicable to me. I know young girls like cute guys but that man was not good-looking at all. Actually, he looked like a pirate or a bandit.

And he is not the only case.

Our geography and Chinese teachers in high school were also popular. Only they had fewer fans than the history teacher.

Later I discussed the phenomenon with a male classmate who studied history at college. Since he witnessed my obsession, I guess he knows what the problem was.

"Is it the charm of history, the subject itself that hit us?" I asked.

"If so, then why are such things not happening with the girls in college?" He replied.

That's true. I meet some really charming college teachers but all I have is respect. I would never pay attention to every breath he takes.

"Is it because he was particularly learned?" he asked. "Even more learned than professors?"

Well this guy's words really got me into thinking. I couldn't help recalling the old days.

I recalled a biology teacher I was obsessed with for quite a while. I wrote him two letters. For a whole month he didn't reply. His attitude annoyed me and I wrote another letter scolding him.

I don't remember what I wrote at all, but even now I marvel at my nerve. I would never act that way now. The infatuation passed very fast and I soon shifted my attention to the history teacher mentioned above.

Maybe it's just because we were at an age where we desperately want to show off our growing to maturity to someone we admire; and an attractive high school teacher fulfills all the characteristics of an available hero. We are attracted to the glamour we bestow on him or the unattainable fantasy we create.

Teenagers are so sensitive and rebellious, so impetuous and insane. I miss the passion in high school, even if it was just hormones.

The story of the Biology teacher has an intriguing ending.

In freshman year, a high school friend told me that returning home she happened to sit next to this teacher on a train. In the conversation after he found out she graduated that year he casually asked: wasn't there a Huang Yuli in your class who kept quite good grades?