37. Ms. Goli’s Unyielding Resolve
Ms. Goli sat face-to-face with the principal in his office.
“Ms. Goli, I’m receiving far too many complaints about your lessons…”
He looked as if he carried a heavy burden.
“Apparently, someone inciting students to mock and disrupt, turning learning into chaos. I’m starting to feel a sense of shame in this profession.”
Ms. Goli had her suspicions about who might be causing such trouble, but she didn’t mention any names. At Omega Archaeology High School, all the teachers were under the watchful eye of one particular student: Yuki. Yuki’s parents held immense power in the school, to the extent that the teachers weren’t even bothered about what the principal might think—they worried more about Yuki’s opinion.
“This issue came up in the board meeting,” the principal continued, his tone carrying a subtle hint that none of this was really his own doing.
“The board members don’t attend my classes, do they?”
Ms. Goli’s voice was steady, determined.
“I imagine a certain student complained to their parents, who then passed that complaint along, without any proper verification, straight onto the board’s agenda. It’s a direct attack on my integrity.”
She refused to bow her head.
“Haah… so what would you have me do?”
The principal sighed.
“Parents keep lodging complaints that your lesson content has nothing to do with college entrance exams. When that happens, the board convenes. I’m just a figurehead. You know that…”
He turned his face away, as though to emphasize his helplessness.
“This semester’s lessons were all in the syllabus I submitted at the start: the lost civilizations of the Mediterranean. But here we are, letting students, parents, and even the board dictate the content of my classes…”
Ms. Goli said, voice taut with irritation.
“That’s precisely the problem”
The principal said, shaking his head.
“When you say ‘lost civilizations in the Mediterranean,’ there are plenty we know about. But the one you mention? Nobody’s ever even heard of it. It’s that kind of thing that’s causing the backlash. Ms. Goli, if only you stuck to what everyone else teaches…”
He looked at her with pity.
“…Every lost civilization was unknown at some point. We learned about them because somewhere, hidden in ancient myths or mentioned in passing by scholars, there was a single line that sparked curiosity. A mere sentence that sent explorers searching, determined to find and restore these ancient cultures. Without that spark, we wouldn’t know anything. And now you say I should just serve up old, familiar content?”
Ms. Goli was more confident than ever.
“I understand what you mean, but as you know, this school is just a stepping stone to college. Our goal is to cover civilizations and histories likely to appear on the entrance exams. When you bring up civilizations that aren’t on the tests, parents start complaining. Ms. Goli, all that matters is getting these kids into college.”
As he spoke, the principal looked like he was begging for her cooperation.
“Suddenly… I’ve come to realize just how impressive Suri and Sabi truly are. They might have been mischievous, troublemakers, even at the bottom of the class academically, but in my eyes they surpass every other student at Omega Archaeology High School. They are great explorers. When time passes, do you think the students who got into prestigious archaeology departments will make this school shine? No, I believe Suri, Sabi, and Maru brought glory to Omega Archaeology High. I’m certain of it.”
She rose from her chair, meeting the principal’s eyes.
“Wait—you’re leaving just like that? What you’re teaching just won’t work here. I’m trying to help you!”
The principal called after her urgently.
“I’m fine on my own. I won’t abandon this lesson. I’ll continue teaching it in the library. Even if there’s only one student who listens, I’ll do it. During regular class hours, I’ll give the lectures your student, their parents, and the board want—only the well-known content, neatly packaged.”
With that, she strode out, leaving the principal stunned.
That afternoon, Ms. Goli began her class on Malta’s civilization at the Omega Library. Mrs. Hamilton, the librarian, had spent her entire life behind those shelves and was delighted to host such an academic event. She showed Ms. Goli through a long colonnade, deeper and deeper into the maze of books, until they reached the Dragon Library and, further inside, the Alpha Room.
Ms. Goli dressed the part, wearing an outfit fit for an explorer straight out of an adventure film, complete with a fedora and a whip at her hip, like a heroine from an Indiana Jones movie. She hung an old-fashioned blackboard among the shelves and began her lecture.
“All civilizations are connected. In ancient times, the world was one great supercontinent, Pangaea. Over countless millennia, it split into multiple continents, each spawning its own civilizations. Many scholars argue that these civilizations had nothing to do with one another, but that’s not true. They were once a single entity. The civilizations of the Mediterranean—like Crete, Minoan—are connected to the one I’m teaching about today: Malta.”
Free from the disruptive students, Ms. Goli seemed more spirited than ever.
“But, Ms. Goli! Malta is an island. How could it have formed its own civilization on its own? Is that even possible?”
Mrs. Hamilton raised her hand eagerly, like a schoolgirl.
“Malta wasn’t always an island. During the last glacial maximum, global sea levels were about 120 meters lower than they are now. Back then, Malta was more like a hill connected to Sicily, a broad stretch of land that linked it to mainland Europe.”
This information seemed to captivate Mrs. Hamilton’s scholarly curiosity. She opened a thick book, took out a notebook and pencil, and began scribbling notes.
“Ms. Goli, I’ve read that Malta’s history spans several thousand years. But according to one theory, people didn’t start living there until relatively recently.”
Mrs. Hamilton showed her strong intellectual curiosity.
“Human settlement in Malta dates back roughly 7,900 years—around 5,900 BCE. The prevailing theory claims that simple farming folk sailed over from Sicily on rafts. But this theory has a serious flaw.”
She grew more passionate at the moment.
[To be continued…]
** Starting November 2023, The Korea Daily is excited to publish the fantasy novel series “Sword of Malta – Lightning in 72 Years” on our website. This new captivating series follows a trio of young adventurers on their quest to uncover the mysteries of ancient civilizations, including the Maya and Inca. In an exciting development, Netflix is currently adapting the novel’s storyline into a film.
The ‘Sword of Malta – Lightning in 72 Years’ is the latest novel authored by Jeeyoon Ha, who created the “Pangaea series.” Ha’s debut novel, “The Pangaea: Finding Xibalba,” was selected by the Korea Creative Content Agency in 2022 as part of their initiative to support the global export of fantasy literature.
Readers can eagerly anticipate the online publication of two installments each month, with new chapters appearing bi-weekly, offering a regular escape into this magical realm. *Mark Oh translated the Korean novel into English.
