When classroom rules are set, they are usually meant to be followed without exception.

So, what would you do if English wasn’t your first language, but your teacher insisted on not using your native language, even when everyone was struggling to explain something?

Would you sit back and just watch?

Or would you jump in and explain?

This student finds themselves in this very situation.

Here’s what happened.

Whatever you do, don’t speak French

When I was around 15, I lived in a French-speaking region, and my English class had a very strict but somewhat sassy teacher, Miss Jones.

The one golden rule was: No French. You had to speak in English no matter what (except in emergencies, of course).

Miss Jones wasn’t messing around, but she had a sense of humor.

She was actually a very patient teacher.

For example, one day, during recess, someone wrote on the board, “Miss Jones is a beach.”

When she saw it, she started screaming, “What is wrong with you? I’m not a beach! I’m a *****!”

Then, she spelled the word correctly and wrote it on the board.

She added, “Besides, it’s not a bad thing; it stands for a Babe in Total Control of Herself.”

One day, in class, Miss Jones mentioned war, and a student didn’t know what that word meant.

So Miss Jones starts explaining it in English, but the student doesn’t get it.

Other students pitched in, still in English, with no results. This goes on for some time.

Frustrated, they found the perfect way to explain the meaning of the word.

I get fed up and say, “This is a waste of time. Can we just translate the word into French and move on?”

Miss Jones answers, “Well, if you’re so smart, why don’t you explain what it means? And NO FRENCH!”

All right, I start making pow-pow noises, explosions, imitating warplanes, the whole deal.

It takes 3 seconds for the student to yell, “I GET IT!”

Wow! That’s frustrating for everyone!

Let’s see what Reddit readers had to say about this story.

It’s nerve-wracking to speak a language you don’t know that well.

Here’s someone with a similar experience.

Wouldn’t want to be in this person’s shoes.

This person basically says just act it out.

There should be exceptions to the rule.

If the whole class is struggling to explain a word to someone, that should definitely be one of them.

Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.