The Ultimate Teacher

Chapter 23: If he leaves, I will leave too!

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The atmosphere in the conference room was solemn, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder.

The leaders of Suzaku Middle School held frequent meetings for two consecutive days to deal with a teacher. This had never happened in the history of Suzaku Middle School.

Zhang Shaofeng, the principal of Zhuque Middle School, played with the cigarette in his hand, glanced around, and said, "Everyone, please speak up."

No one spoke.

"What? No one wants to speak?" Zhang Shaofeng grinned. "They called for a meeting, but now everyone is here and no one wants to speak. What's going on?"

Lu Chaoge sat upright, but drew on her notebook with a pencil. She drew "Snowfield", a difficult flower arrangement technique. She was just looking for inspiration and didn't dare to waste those precious flowers and plants.

Li Mingqiang folded his hands over his chest and bowed his head without saying a word. No one knew what he was thinking. The others also looked at their noses and their hearts, maintaining a state of concentration.

"If no one speaks, then I shall adjourn the meeting," said Zhang Shaofeng, tapping the table with his fingers.

"Principal, it's not that we don't want to say it, we just don't know how to say it." Jia Siting, the head of the first-grade Chinese language group, said with difficulty.

Originally, Jia Siting was not qualified enough to attend today's meeting, but because Fang Yan was a first-grade Chinese teacher, and the incident this time was indeed under the jurisdiction of the Chinese group, it was the office director Fu Qiang who personally called to invite him over.

"Hmm?" Zhang Shaofeng's wrinkles gathered together. "What difficulties did Team Leader Jia encounter? It's not the first day for everyone here to work together. We are firm revolutionary teammates. Is there anything that cannot be said directly?"

"Principal, originally, the teacher must be held accountable for this matter." Jia Siting glanced at Lu Chaoge and put on a desperate posture. "Taking students to play in Que River during class time, and causing a female student to fall into the water, how serious is this dereliction of duty?"

Lu Chaoge continued painting, and said without raising his head, "Team Leader Jia, you still don't understand the situation. Teacher Fang Yan didn't take the students to play in Que River, but to study the article "A Farewell to Cambridge". This is something that all the teachers and students in the school know. How come it became a dereliction of duty in Team Leader Jia's mouth?"

"Principal Lu, I'm the head of the first-grade Chinese language group. You said Fang Yan took the students to Que River to learn the text, but why didn't I see his application for an outing? Not only did I not see it, but all my colleagues in the Chinese language group didn't see it."

"Also, we need to discuss every new teaching method in the language group. If it works well, we strongly support it. If it doesn't work well or is time-consuming and laborious, we stop it in time. Let's not discuss whether Mr. Fang's teaching method is good or bad. He didn't communicate with us in advance, which in itself violated the system."

Jia Siting looked at Lu Chaoge and pleaded, "Principal Lu, you have to understand our difficulties. If all the teachers in the Chinese language group act like Fang Yan and deviate from the lesson plan to mess around, wouldn't our work be in chaos? Then the students' precious time will be delayed and their academic performance will be affected. I can't afford to delay this responsibility."

Click----

Using too much force, the tip of the pencil in Lu Chaosinger's hand broke.

Lu Chaoge closed the notebook in his hand, stared at Jia Siting sharply, and said: "Who said Fang Yan didn't write an application report? His report is now lying on my desk. I have asked Director Zheng to get it. You will be able to see it soon."

"Who knows if you asked someone to write it for him." Li Mingqiang sneered. "Besides, the activity report should be sent to the Chinese language department, not to you, the vice president in charge of personnel, right?"

"Director Li, shouldn't we have full trust in our teachers?" Lu Chaoge asked confidently. "Because I recruited Mr. Fang Yan, he is familiar with me. He is not very familiar with some of the school's rules and regulations. He wrote an application and sent it to me. Mr. Fang Yan did make a mistake, but it was only a procedural violation. I will criticize and educate him on this and ask him to write a self-criticism."

This was the method of avoiding the main issue that Lu Chaoge had prepared beforehand. He couldn't just fire a new teacher because he was not familiar with the procedures, right

Without giving others time to breathe, she immediately turned the passive situation into the active one and began to target Jia Siting for precise attacks: "Team Leader Jia, you said that every new teaching method needs to be discussed at the Chinese Language Group meeting. Then I would like to ask you a question. From last year to this semester, how many new teaching methods have been discussed and approved by the Chinese Language Group?"

"this----"

"Not even a single example." Lu Chaoge directly gave the answer to the question. "You mean to say that the current teaching method is the best and there is no need to make any changes?"

"It has been passed down for so many years, so it must have its advantages," Jia Siting said defensively. "Of course, there are some flaws and shortcomings, but our teachers have rich work experience and will correct themselves in the teaching process."

"Then your job as the head of the Chinese language group is really easy." Lu Chaoge sneered.

"I have to thank the school leaders for their trust and my colleagues for their support and cooperation. I feel very sorry for some colleagues who don't support and cooperate with me----" Jia Siting teaches Chinese and is very eloquent. Even Lu Chaoge can't get the upper hand when arguing with him.

"Team Leader Jia, society is developing and the demand for talent is constantly changing. Our students at Suzaku Middle School should adapt to the trend and even guide it. We should not teach them to become nerds who only know how to study hard."

"Vice Principal Lu, you may be too pessimistic about our students." Li Mingqiang said with a smile, "Our students at Suzaku Middle School are able to enter very good universities after graduation. Students who have graduated from universities and entered the workforce in previous years have also achieved very good success in society. Principal Shaofeng, am I right? Last time I suggested to you that when Suzaku Middle School celebrates its 50th anniversary, you must invite more outstanding graduates to participate in the school activities."

Zhang Shaofeng nodded and said, "That's true."

"However, Vice President Lu has just returned to China, so he doesn't have a very clear understanding of the situation of our school and the employment status of our students. This is understandable - after all, everyone needs an adaptation period."

Li Mingqiang looked at Lu Chaoge and said, "Vice Principal Lu, we all know that you recruited Mr. Fang Yan, and you have high expectations and feelings for him. However, the school has its own rules and regulations, and Mr. Fang Yan did break them. If nothing happened, it would be fine, but now a student has fallen into the water because of his negligence. Parents from the school will come to us soon. If we can't give them an explanation, I'm afraid it will be hard for them to accept it, right?"

"Yeah. Someone has to take responsibility----"

"Young people are too radical. Student work cannot tolerate any sloppiness-----"

-------

Zhang Shaofeng tapped the table with his fingers and asked, "What are your opinions on how to deal with this?"

"Expel Fang Yan."

"He hasn't passed the three-month probation period at school yet. It can't be considered as expulsion, but he just failed the probation----"

"I agree to expel Fang Yan."

--------

"If you do nothing, then everything is fine." Lu Chaoge said loudly. "Teacher Fang Yan is devoted to his students. Although there are some minor flaws, we cannot treat such a passionate and thoughtful teacher like this----"

"Principal Lu, you can't say that. Is the student falling into the water incident a minor flaw?" Li Mingqiang retorted.

"Everyone knows that the water in Que River is very shallow, so there is no danger even if you fall into the water."

"What if your head accidentally hits a rock when you fall into the water?"

"You are just making wild guesses."

"Isn't that just speculation? It's good if the students are fine. If something happens to them, we will regret it. So, we must deal severely with such unorganized and undisciplined teachers."

Boom boom boom-----

Zhang Shaofeng knocked on the table and said, "Let's vote. Those who agree to expel Fang Yan, raise your hands."

Except for Lu Chaoge and Zhang Shaofeng, everyone else present raised their hands.

Zhang Shaofeng nodded and said, "The results are out. After research, the school board decided to expel Fang Yan, the Chinese teacher of Class 9, Grade 1."

Li Mingqiang and Jia Siting looked at each other, their faces expressionless, but they were very satisfied with the result in their hearts.

This time, not only was the annoying Fang Yan defeated, but even Lu Chaoge's prestige was trampled under their feet.

Don't think that just because you came back from abroad, you can suppress us. What you learned in the United States are all unconventional ways, and our teaching method is traditional and authentic.

In fact, the incident involving Fang Yan not only raised the issue of whether Fang Yan should stay or leave, but also the fierce conflict between the conservatives and reformists in the school.

The conservative faction had more people and more power, and with the support of Zheng Tiancheng, the school director, their offensive was fierce. Lu Chaoge was alone and weak, and it seemed difficult for him to gain the right to speak.

Zhang Shaofeng looked at Lu Chaoge and said, "Teacher Lu, why don't you talk to Fang Yan? Explain it to him properly and don't let the young man leave with emotions. No matter what, he is destined to be with our Suzaku."

"Principal, I'm afraid I'm not up to the task." Lu Chaoge said coldly.

Zhang Shaofeng's eyes shone, and he looked at Lu Chaoge thoughtfully and said, "Principal Lu, you are in charge of the school's personnel, how come you are not competent? This matter was originally within your scope of work."

"Because I might have resigned before Fang Yan was fired." Lu Chaoge said. "If he leaves, I will leave too."

The whole audience was shocked! (To be continued)