One of my new students, a precocious fifth-grader who's trying to get into a G/T (gifted/talented) program, said his good-byes after our lesson on Saturday morning, then wandered back over to my work station, a few minutes later, to ask me a strange question:
"Do you work here full-time?"
This kid's a fifth-grader. Why would he ask me such a thing? Does he even understand what "full-time" entails? My first instinct-- and I suspect I'm right-- is that his dad or mom put him up to it. I think they're trying to determine whether I'd be free to teach private lessons. While I'm very tempted by the prospect, I also know that, given the "non-compete" language in my employment contract, I could lose my job if I started privately teaching YB students. So if my student slyly presents me with an offer in the future, I'm going to have to turn it down.
Am I flattering myself to think this way? I mean, I really can't think of another reason for such a young kid to ask me that sort of question. Adults are sometimes naughty in how they manipulate their children into undertaking little "missions" on the adults' behalf, and that's what I smell here: puppetry.
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I suspect you are right as well.
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