Class Explaining Last Night's Martial Law Incident
"Let's Oust Teacher Kim" Resistance to Oppression
"Children Also Feel They Are Small Citizens"
A 'Teacher Kim Act' was enacted at an elementary school in Gangwon Province to explain martial law. Yonhap News
A 'martial law class' for children is drawing attention at a small elementary school in a rural area of Gangwon Province.
According to Yonhap News Agency, on the morning of the 4th, elementary school teacher Kim conducted a martial law class to effectively explain the martial law situation from the previous night to the children. As soon as Kim entered the classroom, a child said, "Teacher, A hit B," and he thought about creating the 'Teacher Kim Law' to educate the children.
Kim explained, "From now on, we will create the Teacher Kim Law. 'Teacher Kim Law No. 1: If a friend hits, hit back together.' Everyone must follow this law, and if you don't, you will be punished." He continued, "Hearing the voice of the person who hit a friend makes me upset. Teacher Kim Law No. 2: The person who hit a friend cannot speak for one hour. If you don't follow this, I will punish you." When a child asked, "What does punishment mean?" another child answered, "It means being expelled from school."
Then, the children fell silent, facing the heavy atmosphere in the classroom. Kim felt that the children, who usually lived normal class lives, became students who had committed wrongdoing and were wary of the teacher when confronted with the Teacher Kim Law, and the entire classroom became subdued, which reminded him of himself experiencing the emergency martial law the previous night. The Teacher Kim Law expanded up to No. 6, including rules such as "The person who hit a friend eats last during lunch," "If you do not prepare properly for class, you cannot participate in the student council," and "If you lie, you must stay in the classroom during lunch recess and attend class."
When second-grade students were barred from attending the student council according to the law, sixth-grade seniors visited the classroom and said, "It's unreasonable for the teacher to prevent children from attending the council." Following a prearranged plan with Kim, they shouted the slogan, "Let's overthrow Teacher Kim." The second graders hesitated to shout at first, but when the sixth graders shouted loudly again, "Let's overthrow Teacher Kim," they joined in and headed to the student council meeting. Afterwards, the second graders enacted the 'Our Class Law' together, nullifying the Teacher Kim Law. On a blank sheet, the children wrote three articles of the Our Class Law: "Teacher Kim Law cannot be made," "The teacher is stupid," and "The teacher must be hit by us."
On the 10th, Kim told Yonhap News Agency, "Even though the children are small, they react to unjust oppression just like adults do," adding, "One might think 'What do these kids know?' but through this experience, I realized that children are also small citizens." He also added, "The children were just playing as they always do, not hitting or fighting anyone," and "With the disappearance of the Teacher Kim Law from the classroom, teachers and students came to appreciate their precious and valuable daily lives."
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