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When I began teaching in Taiwan, I had of wild and crazy students. One of my most rambunctious rascals was named Theo.

"One kid, named Theo, was to first to notice me. He walked up to me and without saying a word pulled down his pants and pointed below his abdomen, “This is my little chicken!â€￾ he declared enthusiastically. I was stunned. There was nothing in the training manual about this! Is it normal for kids here to just pull their pants down on a whim? What is the protocol for this?

Luckily, I was saved by one of the assistant Chinese teachers. It is common in most schools to provide their foreign teachers with a native co-teacher to help out in situations such as these. She quickly scolded the boy and apologized for his behavior.

I asked her what he meant by “little chicken.â€￾ She explained that in Chinese a man’s privates are informally referred to as a “little chicken.â€￾ This was my first impression of teaching in a foreign country and all my previous expectations of what teaching would be like began crumble after that."

More Crazy Student Stories

Have you had any psychotic students?

Teaching English to little kids seems like a nightmare.

haha Sometimes it can be, but other times it's great. It really depends on the class

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Yeah, some of my students were insane... although it is quite funny at times

Teaching little kids is a drag just about everywhere. I would assume that teaching them a foreign language in a foreign land, especially when they get the idea that they don't have to take you seriously is even worse.

I much prefer teaching adults, or at least high school kids.