The Princess Disaster Is My Student

Jun arrived at the classroom just in time for his first lesson of what he hoped to be his long and rewarding teaching career. 

That 'little' bump from earlier almost made him late, which naturally meant that the Princess Disaster was certainly late when she made her (this time) modest entrance to the class. 

Those students who hadn't seen her during the homeroom class in the morning gasped, murmured, and looked at her with curious eyes. Lin was used to such attention though so she just casually sauntered and took an empty seat.

The young teacher thought about reprimanding the Princess for being late but decided against it since he knew what held her back. 

"Right, class. My name is Lee Jun and I will be your English Literature and Language teacher for the next year, or more likely for the next two years until you finish your IB DP program"

IB DP - International Baccalaureate Diploma Program was a high school course commonly offered in international schools around the world, notorious for its difficulty level. Especially for English Literature and Language, getting the top grade - seven out of seven - was achieved only by roughly 3% of the students among almost seven hundred thousand students around the globe. 

The class listened, some attentively while some students were still fiddling with their phones, which made Jun wince inside. However, he had a different philosophy in teaching and did not want to come across as a strict disciplinarian right from the start. 'Be stern when needs to be, but the most important thing is building rapport with students first'.

"As you may have heard already, English Literature is one of the hardest subjects in the entire program. At the same time, it is a required subject, unlike subjects like history, biology, physics, etc. So I'm aware this may not be your favorite subject, but I can assure you that come May at the end of the school year, you will find that you are enjoying it more than you've imagined"

Jun looked around the classroom and only the students who looked like they already liked reading books were convinced while the others were clearly thinking 'Yeah, yeah, whatever, Teach. Just get on with it'. 

"Now, let's get straight to it. I want to start the first lesson with a poem"

Then a boy at the back of the classroom, who had very well-groomed hair and wore frameless glasses, raised his hand and asked.

"But Mr. Lee, our course guide says we will be starting with media analysis first, isn't that right?"

"You are absolutely correct"

The boy looked smug and disappointed at the same time.

"Then why are we starting with a poem? Is this going to be relevant for our mid-term exams?"

'Ah, so you are THAT kind of a student, aren't you?'

Rather than being annoyed, Jun grinned and answered,

"You have two years until your finals. Now is not the time to worry about mid-term exams, everyone. For the first semester, although we will certainly follow the course guidance, I want us to focus on the fundamentals"

Some students nodded their heads while some looked disgruntled. The rest seemed uninterested. 

"So let us get to it"

Then Jun handed around printouts he had prepared earlier. Once everyone had it, the enthusiastic teacher announced. 

"This is a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. A Dream Within A Dream"

He was tempted to get someone to stand up and read it but knew better than to put anyone on the spot in the first class.

'Better I do it this time'

Jun cleared his throat a little and began to read. 

"A Dream Within A Dream

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow —

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone? 

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand —

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep — while I weep!

O God! Can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?"

The whole class was silent as Jun read, except for Lin who started to feel butterflies in her tummy as soon as her secret crush read "Take a kiss upon the brow".

"Now, what do you guys feel about this poem?"

Jun asked the class yet no one answered. 

"Anyone?"

A girl sitting close to the Princess raised her hand to answer. From some of the experiences he had as an assistant teacher as a part of his Education degree, Jun knew that this sometimes happens. Good students don't always want to be the first one to raise their hands and answer as that would make them appear too eager, which often does not go down well with their peers. So they'd wait for someone to answer first, and only after confirming that nobody else is interested, they would raise their hands and give their answer. It was tough at this age where one needed validation from both the peers and teachers in equal measure. 

"There is a metaphor of sand slipping through the fingers which I think represents the passage of time", the girl spoke in a soft voice that still carried confidence. 

"Very good. May I ask your name?"

"It's Jinhee"

"Nicely done, Jinhee. But how does it make you feel?"

"Excuse me?"

"How does this metaphor make you feel? What impact does it have on you, as a reader?"

The smart girl did not know how to answer this question, for it wasn't something she was used to being asked. 'I identified the literary device correctly, haven't I?', was all she thought. 

"The repetition of questions conveys a feeling of confusion, Sir"

Another student raised his hand and gave his answer, this time without waiting for Jun to acknowledge.

"That's a very good point too, and you are…?"

"Minho"

"Right, Minho. I will ask you the same question - what do you feel about this 'confusion' that you sense?"

"Er… I think it conveys the feeling of confusion"

"Good answer. Now, anybody else?"

"I think the poem is about the emotions of despair at losing someone dear, perhaps the death of someone close to the poet. But I think we need to know the context of it, like when it was written and what happened to the poet at the time. Maybe his lover died?"

Another girl sitting just behind Jinhee speculated. 

'Right, this is going well. But not quite. Not quite what I am looking for'

The answers he was getting were what Jun had expected, and this was precisely why he wanted to start with the poem for his first class. 

"Now, let me ask just one more time"

Jun then looked around the class, and seeing the Princess Disaster nearby and already knowing her name, he decided to ask her this time. 

"So, Lin, how do you feel about this poem?"

Lin was startled at suddenly being called out, but the princess was never shy of expressing her mind. 

"I think… it makes me feel kinda sad"

"YES! And why or how does it make you feel sad?"

Lin tilted her head to the side and continued. 

"I picture the speaker standing at the shore, weeping. But he calls the wave 'pitiless', right? It's like nobody cares for his feelings. I can sort of-, relate"

'Shit. Was that a cringy thing to say?', the Princes regretted a little. Perhaps it wasn't necessary for her to say that she could 'relate' to such feelings, but that was indeed the truth. Getting pampered as a princess is something that should be a wonderful thing, but at the same time, with the weight of pressure that came with being the Crown Princess and people around her always looking to please her without really seeing what she felt - that was something she could relate with. 

"Thank you, Lin"

Her concerns dissipated as Jun appreciated her honesty and looked around the room to address the students collectively. 

"This is the foundation of studying literature. Forget literary devices - juxtaposition, metaphor, repetition, catalog verses, and all that. Forget the authorial intent, biographical and historical context. They ARE important, but that is not the first thing to look for when you read a piece of literature. Remember that you are the reader first and foremost. The first question you should ask yourself is simple - how does this make me feel? Why do I feel this way? Do I like it? Why? If you don't - why don't you like it?"

While the rest of the class sat silent, some obviously disappointed that this young teacher seemed less focused on helping them earn high scores in their exams by focusing on techniques, there were those who had twinkles in their eyes.

Lin was among those whose heart was captured by this simple speech, recalling the flutter of her heart she felt when reading all those shoujo manga - sweetness of young love, longing, heartbreak, and blissful union. She felt every bite of them all, and here was a teacher who seemed to understand that feeling.