Chapter 34
The group followed the woman toward the schoolroom.
Scholar Zhou's house wasn't very large, so they didn't have far to walk.
The schoolroom had several windows, making it easy to look inside.
Scholar Zhou was teaching at that moment.
His expression was calm, and he spoke neither too quickly nor too slowly.
One student below was secretly dozing off, while another was fooling around with the boy beside him.
Whenever Scholar Zhou noticed someone sleeping or losing focus, he would walk over and lightly tap the student's desk with his discipline ruler.
The startled student would immediately sit up and listen properly.
The other children who had been fooling around would also quiet down a little.
And throughout all of this, Scholar Zhou never stopped his lecture.
After letting Gang Jo-hang and the others watch for a while, the woman said,
"Would you like to listen a little longer?"
"My husband will finish this lesson soon. After that, it'll be break time, so you'll be able to speak with him."
"If you don't want to keep listening, you can leave through that side."
"It's getting late, so I should go prepare the children's meal."
Scholar Zhou's private school didn't provide lodging.
It only provided lunch, which his wife cooked personally every day.
The school itself wasn't large, so the way out was easy to see.
Their own living quarters were in the back, so there wasn't much to worry about.
It also seemed that quite a few people came here from time to time.
Gang Jo-hang immediately agreed.
He had been wanting to discuss with everyone whether they should choose this school anyway.
If they thought it was suitable, it would be better to settle things today rather than drag the decision out for several more days.
After the woman left, Gang Jo-hang asked Gang Gye,
"What do you think?"
"Would you like to study here?"
Gang Gye sighed inwardly, but answered with a bright expression,
"Yes. I think it's all right."
In truth, Gang Gye wasn't especially satisfied with this place.
He still couldn't tell how skilled Scholar Zhou was at teaching, but his speaking speed felt too slow for Gang Gye, and his tone barely changed.
Gang Gye was still unfamiliar with many characters of this era.
Since his memory was so good, what he needed most in the beginning was a teacher who could explain things clearly and concisely.
But there was another, even more important problem.
This private school had thirty-one students.
If he and Munsaeng enrolled, that would become thirty-three.
That was...
Far too many.
Education in this era was different from modern schooling.
In modern times, students of similar age and progress were usually placed in the same class, and the teacher taught them together.
But in a private school like this, students in the same room didn't necessarily study the same material.
Scholar Zhou might currently be lecturing from the front, but it was very possible that the lesson was only meant for part of the class.
Most private-school teaching probably worked like this.
The teacher called one student forward and checked whether he had memorized the previous day's material according to his individual progress.
After listening to the student recite and explain it, if the teacher judged him ready, he would teach the next section.
Then the student would repeat it back and return to his seat to fully understand and memorize it.
The teacher would call the next student.
If someone had a question, he could come ask the teacher.
One student after another.
If each student took even ten minutes of the teacher's time...
And there were thirty-three students...
How many could actually be taught properly in one day?
Would Scholar Zhou really have enough time and energy left to teach him?
But this was simply reality.
If a private-school teacher didn't accept many students, he couldn't support himself and his family.
And Scholar Zhou's school was already considered relatively small.
Gang Gye remembered that only a little over ten students had been listening to the lecture just now.
Perhaps those students were at roughly the same level, so teaching them together saved some time.
The juren's school was far too expensive.
White Crane Academy had a strong reputation, but its tuition was even higher, and there was also that story about a student's hand being broken.
Gang Gye had basically ruled it out.
In the end, he might simply have to study here.
Maybe once he enrolled, Scholar Zhou would recognize his potential and spend more time on him.
Many private schools probably treated gifted students that way.
Gang Jo-hang had no idea his son was thinking through so many things.
He didn't know much about formal study himself, so he looked toward Jang Un-chu.
Jang Un-chu gave a slight nod, indicating she had no objection.
How much could they really learn in such a short visit?
But their circumstances were what they were.
They couldn't come every day just to observe.
At least from what they had seen so far, this place seemed fairly good.
Gang Jo-hang then asked,
"What do Elder Brother and Munsaeng think?"
Munsaeng answered,
"I like it too."
The second son nodded.
"Seems good to me. The teacher and his wife both look like decent people."
It was difficult to judge Scholar Zhou's actual teaching ability.
But at the very least, he did manage his students.
That alone made him clearly better than Scholar An, who had allowed Daejang to skip lessons repeatedly without doing anything.
While they were discussing things, Scholar Zhou inside the schoolroom noticed that visitors had arrived.
He finished everything he had planned to teach for that lesson, then put down his book.
"Think carefully about what I just taught you."
"Take a short break."
The atmosphere inside the schoolroom immediately relaxed.
Scholar Zhou walked outside.
The students also stretched their necks to look curiously at the visitors.
When Scholar Zhou learned that they had come to enroll children, he led them into his study.
Then he looked at Gang Gye and Munsaeng.
