There was no need for Haru to step in for the subtraction lesson. Most people caught on very quickly and for those who did not, he helped them understand while they attempted solving the exercise questions. Soon, it was time for lunch break and even Haru was starving. He let the children leave after telling them to come back for multiplication and division during the afternoon. The students cheered, and he thought it was because they were excited to have lessons from him. But in reality, they were just happy because they get to leave the class now.
The food in the school’s canteen was frankly terrible. Haru couldn’t believe that such sub-standard quality food was being served to the young children. He made a mental note to talk to the responsible officials about this later. With him complaining about the food to Akira, the one-hour lunch break was over, and it was time for the afternoon session.
Most of the kids were back in class with only a few latecomers. Haru waited for a few seconds to let them settle down, but it didn’t seem like they were going to stop talking to each other until he asked them to. “Alright kids, time to learn multiplication,” he said, loud and clear enough that the kids fell silent immediately. “Multiplication is when you add the same number to itself several times. You use the term ‘times’ when you multiply. For example, when you say four times six, it means, you are either add four, six times, or six, four times. Both are one and the same,” he said, demonstrating the result on the board. “While the concept is rather simple, you will only get the hang of it if you practice a lot. You know what that means,” he said, writing down some exercises for them to do.
After everyone finished with their multiplication exercises, Haru moved on to division. “Division is when you split a number into several equal parts, to find the total number of parts we end up with. For example, when you divide six by three, you end up with two… Whereas, when you divide the same six by two, you end up with three. Again… Practice is the key,” he said, giving them divisions exercises. Although the kids groaned and moaned, he cheered them on enthusiastically and ensured they all understood the four arithmetic functions well. It was almost the end of school hours when a teacher finally showed up. He thanked the two for filling in and paid them. Haru waved to the kids, saying goodbye, before leaving the classroom.
1098/1000
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