I misbehaved and I don't regret it

Don't tell me that your child is a well-behaved and well-mannered kid unless you've seen him or her behave at school unaware that you are looking.

My child will never do that! I know him better than anyone. He's well-mannered and never once misbehaved. He's the most obedient kid I have ever known! So don't tell me that my child misbehaved like that! How dare you punish him! I will never let this pass!

Is this something you've heard before? A woman went viral on the internet a few years ago when she approached Raffy Tulfo, a well-known Filipino figure who reputedly helps people in need. This woman appears to want her son's teacher to be punished as well for disciplining her son for misbehaving. She expressed her disappointment after learning of the teacher's reprimanding of her child.

Upon finding out about this video, I concluded my opening sentence. Because I myself am a witness that children behave differently at school than they do at home. I myself, have proved that what parents know about their child is not always accurate. My parents thought that I am a reserved and timid child. Well, that's partly true. But there are instances that I misbehaved in school too.

Playing in the river during recess and after school.

When I was in second grade, there is a river located approximately 500 meters away from the school. My friend Kim, and I accidentally discovered it when we had gardening one time. From that day on, we spent most of our break time/recess in that river. We played in the water and tried catching fish and tadpoles. But it seems that the snack breaks are not enough for us, so after the dismissal one afternoon, we didn't go home yet. Instead, we went to the river and discovered that there is a wide forest if we walk further. As curious kids, we were fascinated and wanted to know what's in there. We had forgotten that it was getting late, and little did we know that we are getting farther away from the riverbank.

Fortunately, after nearly an hour of walking, we were able to find our way back, because if we hadn't, we would have been trapped in that forest, and who knows what might have happened to us, since it began to rain heavily just minutes after we returned to the school grounds, and the river overflowed due to the flood. I felt really bad since I was already on my way home when I ran into my father, who seemed concerned because it was late and I hadn't arrived yet. So I told him where I went, I was scolded and after that, I never went to that river again.

Fought with my classmate.

Fighting is common to kids. I am not the type of kid that always gets into a fight, but I have a classmate back then who's very fond of teasing me. From the second grade until we finished in sixth school, we never stopped bickering anytime we had the opportunity. I forgot what had happened in fourth grade, and for unclear reasons, we fought and slandered each other. After I fought back and scratched his skin, our teacher arrived. The teacher was furious with us, and as a punishment, she made us clean the entire library, which was, at the time, the largest room in the school. She told us to reflect on what we did while cleaning and to make sure not to fight once again.

I can still remember the look I had while applying floor wax on the floor and James was scrubbing it with the coconut husk - I was shooting imaginary daggers at him, while he's just there staring at me with an annoying smirk. Looking back while I'm writing this, maybe that boy has a crush on me back then lol.

'Smuggled' books at the library

When I was younger, I used to enjoy reading books. I even spend most of my snack and lunch breaks reading books in the library. An organization contributed a large number of English-language storybooks to our school library when I was in fifth grade. And I thought that the time I spent there during my lunch break would not be sufficient for me to read all of the books. So Errol, a fellow bookworm, and I decided to smuggle some books from the library. But after some time, we were bugged by our conscience and decided to return the books so other kids could read them too.

Jumping over the school fence

Jumping over the fence or 'over da bakod' as we called it, is very common to high school students. Back then, I had a lot of classmates, notably guys who would always skip class and jump over the fence because the guard would never allow them to go during class hours. I never skipped class, but I did get out of school early by jumping over the fence. That happened to me when I was in my third year. The guards won't open the gates until it is already 5 pm. My classmates and I are so eager to go home though, fortunately, it so happens that our class president is the president of the student council. So we asked for her permission and made her promise not to tell the teachers that we will be jumping over the fence. Good thing she was a supportive class president.

Skipped class

Okay, I'm taking back what I just that I never skipped class. There are actually a few times that I skipped my afternoon classes and went to the library instead. There is a large municipal library in the town where my school is located where you can find all kinds of literature. It's a two-story structure with a cozy area upstairs with a set of tables and seats where you may spend time reading the books. During those times, smartphones and easy internet access are not yet common. If you want to connect to the internet, you have to use a computer.

So books are really my life and I am willing not to attend my classes just so I can spend time reading books. I don't regret those times that I didn't attend my classes for the sake of books because those are some of the best moments of my life. I can still remember when I can feel the serenity while sitting on the alleys in between the bookshelves while loving the smell of old books!

That's all I remember about misbehaving back then, and I don't regret it. What about you? Ever had similar experiences?

Lead image: depositphotos.com