The Strange Expectations in Mrs Vaze's Maths Class

I remember my first math lesson with Mrs Vaze like it was yesterday. She emanated a warmth and radiance that made IB maths not so bad. We began class by going through some administration work and her expectations of everyone. I was about to take my water bottle out to drink from it when she said something along the lines, “I have one rule: You’re not allowed to drink water in my class…”

If you have ever been in Mrs Vaze’s class you would know that this is a rule that she holds close to heart and follows religiously. But don’t panic! No one is dying of thirst in her classroom. If you want to drink water, you can just quickly step outside and have a couple sips. I’ll be honest, the first time she said this rule, it didn’t seem like a big deal and I never questioned it. But as the weeks went on, my mind kept bugging me to get to the bottom of this rule. 

To begin my investigation, I asked people who were in her class for their speculations on this rule. Here are the top 3 theories that stood out to me: 

Theory 1: Classroom Distractions

This is a theory that I came up with. What if Mrs Vaze believed that drinking water in class could distract students from learning? When you are drinking water, you could miss some very important information because humans suck at multitasking. 

Sure, this is a far-fetched theory. As I was writing this article, I googled if drinking water in class is bad and I actually found that drinking water enhances learning. I’m not going to get into the details of how that works, but I think this showed the flaw of my theory.

Theory 2: A Major Water Spill

This is a very simple theory. Rumor has it that many years ago, a student spilled a lot of water in her classroom which traumatised Mrs Vaze and prompted her to enforce this rule. 

This is the most plausible and widely accepted theory that most students agree with. 

Theory 3: Because She Is Indian

I don’t mean to be racist by this theory and I’m sure the person who suggested this theory didn’t mean to as well. The person-who-will-not-be-named said that when they were studying in India two years ago, there was a rule in their school that they were not allowed to drink water during lesson time. Because of this, they suggested that maybe Mrs Vaze grew up going to a school like that which is why she has that rule in her class. 

Personally, this theory doesn’t sit right with me, because she has worked in KGV for over 30 years. So, surely in this time she would have conformed to the norms of KGV even if she grew up in a different environment. Also, other teachers of Indian origin in KGV allow water in their classrooms.

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In the end, my curiosity got the better of me and I used this article as an excuse to ask Mrs Vaze the real reason. When I told her I was going to write this article, she laughed and said that this isn’t worth writing about. I asked her why and she said, “I am going to let you guys speculate about it…”