Catching Students Smoking

Last Friday I had a brief encounter with some students after driving through the back gate of the school. Apparently this group of about twenty students were smoking together while waiting for their transports. About half of the road was occupied by them. While careful driving through, one of the students hit my van from behind.

I was quite mad but I decided to control my temper. Seeing from the rear-view mirror that some of them were sneering, seemingly consenting on the boy’s action, I decided to stop my van and confront them.

I stepped out of my van and looked around, trying to find the boy who hit my van. There was a boy who was puffing his cigarette with tilted head and he looked very haughty. All the others were busy hiding their cigarettes. Though I knew that proud student was my target, I decided to confront the other boys, wanting them to tell me the identity of the one who hit the back of my van. That boy looked more uneasy. Eventually he blurted out and told me that he was merely touching my van.

Holding my temper while seeing him puffing away, I commanded him to throw his cigarette away. He was reluctant. I spoke a second time. Slowly he put the cigarette on the clean and dry side of the road . I knew for sure that he was going to take it back when I had left the place. So I demanded him to step on it or kick it to the grass. He looked uneasy but at last he complied, after I had threatened to take discipline action against him.

That day, I thought I had successfully controlled a group of smoking students. But I am sure they will smoke again, but will try to stay away or hide their cigarettes away when they see my van from afar. I grinned to myself, knowing that I will have less eyesore in my school. Not bad for the beginning of a new school term. I had done a good deed that day.