CHAPTER 394: CHAPTER 387: SPRING OUTING OR NOT

Lili went to see Sisi a few more times after that and also talked to Wei Hua about it. She was genuinely concerned that Lili, the clueless girl, might be deceived out of her money or seduced.

Although Old Man and Granny Zhao seemed harsh to Lili on the surface, Sisi knew that deep down, they both cared a lot about her. If Lili were to really suffer any harm, the two old folks would definitely be heartbroken.

To ease their worries, Sisi couldn’t just ignore Lili. She had to make time to visit her often, even though every visit would end with Lili’s cold sarcasm. Fortunately, with both her and Wei Hua’s strict guidance, Lili and Chang Yunhuan were still just a normal teacher-student pair, even though Yun Huan had invited Lili out several times under the pretext of tutoring.

The work at school was very easy for Sisi. She only had to teach one art class per week for each of the seven classes in the second year of high school, which meant she only had to teach seven classes a week.

And now, art class was just too easy to teach. It wasn’t part of the college entrance exam or the general high school exams, so art, music, and labor studies were all courses that could be considered expendable.

Some schools even only scheduled these classes on the timetable and had the classes replaced with main subjects in practice. The education bureau knew about this, but they mostly turned a blind eye.

The school where Sisi worked was a key high school, so it still ran a rather strict academic program, hiring professional teachers who graduated from reputable institutions.

However, previous art teachers did not have the strong backbone Sisi had, often giving up their own classes to the other teachers either forcibly or voluntarily, to the point where they even gave away their jobs.

But Sisi wasn’t going to be so accommodating. If it was her class, she would teach it. Whoever wasn’t satisfied could go talk to the principal.

Ever since He Chengsi made his dazzling appearance at the school and Sisi started driving to work, nobody at the school ever dared to ask her to give up her class.

So the second-year students were all very happy to have a relaxing and comfortable art class amidst their heavy studies. They liked Mr. He very much and thought of Mr. He as an angel sent by heaven to rescue them.

One day, Sisi was checking the drawing homework of several classes in the office. She had assigned a still life sketch during class.

Some students really did quite well, demonstrating a thorough understanding of light and shade, edge contours, and the lines where different shades met. It seemed they had a natural talent for art, and she would have to ask them if they were interested in applying to an art college in the future.

"Mr. He, grading homework?" Li Yuxi came over and asked.

Sisi put away the homework and turned to ask, "What’s up?"

"Nothing much. Since all the second-year teachers are here, let’s have a brief meeting!" said Li Yuxi as he called the second-year teachers to gather around.

"It’s like this. The students have been under a lot of study pressure lately. I’m thinking about organizing a spring outing for the whole second-year class to go out to the countryside. What do you teachers think?"

Li Yuxi said cheerfully, his eyes occasionally fixing on Sisi’s beautiful face. Mr. He’s beauty was probably on par with Xi Shi herself, wasn’t it?

As for the rumors about Mr. He at school, he had heard them, of course, but he didn’t mind at all. So what if Mr. He’s family background was extraordinary? The Li Family might not compare to Mr. He’s family, but it wasn’t that bad either.

Moreover, both of them, coming from high-ranking families, chose the unremarkable profession of teaching, which proves that he and Mr. He must have a lot in common; he is definitely more suitable for Mr. He than that soldier brother!

Sisi: Mr. Li, you really think too highly of yourself!

"Sure, I also think that students have been under too much pressure lately; they do need to go out and relax. Have you picked a good spot yet, Mr. Li?"

Although a bit annoyed by Li Yuxi’s constant buzzing, Sisi still admired his educational philosophy. Compared to the mainstream teachers who only chase after high scores with rote memorization and intensive drills, Li Yuxi’s approach of balancing work and rest in learning was quite progressive.

"No way, the mid-term exams are coming up, it’s the most critical time. How can we let the students go out? Once they go out, can their hearts still be reigned in? Are they even going to take the exams?"

Mr. Liu was the first to jump out and oppose, followed by other veteran teachers like Ms. Peng and Teacher Du, all expressing the sentiment that going out to play was not an option, and that students should prioritize their studies.

There were one or two teachers who agreed, including Sisi and another young male teacher named Mr. Zhu, who taught physical education and was a schoolmate of Jiang Fang.

Jiang Fang and another female teacher with the surname Xu remained neutral and silent. Teacher Xu, about thirty, taught Chinese. She had transferred from another school last year and was a very low-key person, preferring to keep to herself.

"According to Mr. Liu’s logic, if learning is the most important thing, then wouldn’t it be better to lock the students in the classroom, where they could eat, drink, defecate, and sleep all in the same room?" Sisi quipped sarcastically.

"Mr. He, you’re being unreasonable. If students don’t prioritize learning, should they prioritize playing?"

Mr. Liu was so angry he leapt to his feet, having completely forgotten Sisi’s mysterious background. At that moment, all he wanted to do was to stop these young teachers from causing chaos and jeopardizing the end-of-month midterm exams.

Mr. Liu was the typical ’study comes first’ type, attaching great importance to grades. Students with good grades were his treasures; those with poor grades couldn’t even get a kind look from him. There was a clear delineation, although he was slightly better than some self-serving teachers.

Seeing that others had confronted He Sisi, the other teachers bowed their heads in silence, letting Mr. Liu take the lead. They couldn’t compare to Mr. Liu, whose uncle was the district educational director—a man with powerful connections.

"Mr. Liu, don’t twist my words. I’m talking about the combination of work and leisure. Did I ever say we should not prioritize learning? And does prioritizing learning mean you can’t play? Even the ancients knew to appropriately combine study and leisure. Mr. Liu, you really are more ancient than the ancients!"

Sisi smartly countered, hating those teachers who constantly preach ’learning comes first’.

In her past life, her homeroom teacher was exactly like Mr. Liu. During her three years of junior high, not to mention spring outings, even their physical education classes were taken up. Whenever she recalled her junior high days, all she could remember were the desks piled with textbooks and exercise books—a truly dismal three years.

Seeing that Mr. Liu still wanted to speak, Sisi couldn’t be bothered to speak further and directly said, "Mr. Li, I think the matter of the spring outing shouldn’t just be decided by us teachers, it should be discussed and determined by the students. Haven’t we always said no to autocracy? I suggest we let each class’ class president hold an anonymous vote. The minority should follow the majority."

"Great, Mr. He’s proposal is very fair. So, let’s have the homeroom teachers arrange this and give me the results by noon the day after tomorrow. I hope what I see are genuine results."

Li Yuxi had a bit of an authoritative look when not smiling. Seeing him suddenly become stern, several teachers who intended to simply fill in the data grew nervous and dared not fool around anymore.

The spring outing issue was thus amicably resolved, obviously under the strong suppressive force of Li Yuxi and He Sisi. The high school second-year teachers dared to be angry but didn’t dare to speak, while the second-year students cheered happily, their excited shouts audible even at the school gate.