Boys will be boys… No matter what culture, the term “boy” carries the same essential connotations. Playful, dirt-loving, and yes, folks, ornery. Though I didn’t understand everything as it was happening, after Tamaki sensei filled in the gaps for me, I was quite amused by the shenanigans pulled by one of my “innocent” ninth graders today. Hiroaki is the president of the student council. He works hard at his studies, is a great baseball player, and is a “man” of few words. (When he does talk I’m always surprised and a little charmed because he has a really deep voice for such a small frame). Anyway, not surprisingly, though he’s the leader of this committee, he doesn’t like to write speeches and so ends up doing something either last-minute or off-the-cuff. (Usually with a sheepish grin on his face). Well, there is a student council meeting coming up, and Tamaki sensei, being the advisor, “gently nudged” Hiroaki to prepare for his speech this time. She told him it was good practice. When asked about how much he should write she told him “at the very least, make sure you fill a third a page.” Dutifully, Hiroaki went to work, and after lunch returned to the teacher’s office holding a piece of paper – and donning a very mischievous grin. He marched up to Tamaki sensei, broke out into a full-toothed smile, and presented his “finished” 1/3 paper speech…on a torn-out 4x6 inch page from his journal. Not the 1/3 of a paper Tamaki sensei had in mind. “Ii desu ka? Hunto, ii desu ka?” (Is this ok? Is this what you wanted? No really, is it ok?) all the while covering his mouth and his deep, slightly sheepish snigger. I really had no idea what was going on at this point, except that the kid standing in front of my desk was showing all signs of naughtiness in his hand-concealed chuckles. Tamaki sensei just took the paper and started giggling right along with him. I’m really thankful for kids like Hiroaki. Sometimes you just gotta laugh at the stinkers.