Wednesday. Fourth period. Or, well, not quite fourth period as I was standing outside, greeting the students as they entered the class before the bell rang.
A boy started to tell me how he noticed a wasps nest over on the other side of campus.
I've been subbing a long time. So, when a student tells me something, I immediately think of all the other people they should report this to. It's not usually something I can do something about.
I started to tell him he should report this to the custodial staff. But, they don't have an "office" out of which they work. I mean, they do have a phone number, but the students don't use the on campus phones. (Sometimes an administrator or teacher will ask to talk to a student in class, but that's not common.) Those phones are the classroom phones that we use to communicate with office staff and each other.
Then I started to say, "You could report this to your teacher..."
Uh. Yeah, so this was my third day in a three-week assignment. Technically, I am his teacher. And technically, he was reporting this to me.
That's when I realized that I could actually figure out who needed this information.
While I don't have to check in daily with the secretary in charge of subs on assignments like this (I get to check out my own keys! So, I get to come and go as I please), I figure she's the best person to ask questions like, "Who do I report a wasps nest to?".
So, I asked.
Turns out, she could radio custodial.
And so, a few minutes later, a custodian arrived in the room, looking for a wasps nest.
I explained kind of where it was. But, the boy was sitting right in front of me, so I referred the custodian to him.
The boy attempted to explain. The custodian asked if the boy could show him. I gave the boy permission to leave class.
I mean, wasps. At school. With teenagers. That's going to get ugly in a hurry.
During the A to Z Challenge, I keep the letters in mind during the week. So, last week I kept in the forefront of my mind V, W, and X. Because I knew whatever subbing stories appeared were going to have to fit under one of those letters.
And then a student says "wasps nest". Seriously, these stories fall into my lap (like the year that a girl right in front of me discussed how she had to have a quinceanera and a sweet sixteen on Q week). It's magic, I tell ya.
Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter
Wasp are evil critters! They tend to also build around places that make it hard to get to but close enough to die bomb you! Best to get them taken care of and out of the way of all those teens.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they found a spot in a light near enough to the students but kind of back and out of the way. I can just imagine the issues those things would bring up.
DeleteGood call. While the hornets could bother the students, I expect some students would poke the nest and make it worse. Now I'm curious if it was paper wasp or mud dauber!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea. Luckily, I never actually laid eyes on the critters.
DeleteSerendipity. But wasps, ugh.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was good that we could get that dealt with right away.
DeleteWasps are nasty bugs. I hope they were careful around them.
ReplyDeleteOh, the custodial staff knows what to do. I have full faith in them.
Deletethecontemplativecat Here. Wasps are not to be ignored. The W word was right there.
ReplyDeleteNope. Once I told the secretary, she was right on top of getting someone out there to deal with it.
DeleteWasps - ugh. They like our patio, for some reason. But we have fewer each year. Definitely wouldn't want a nest near high school students.
ReplyDeleteNope. Not a good idea at all.
DeleteYikes! Wasps!!
ReplyDeleteThe word gives me anxiety!
Hugs and blessings, Liz
Sorry. But at least it's just the word and not the actual critters.
DeleteWas the wasp next taken care of?
ReplyDeleteI assume so. I haven't heard anything more about it. (And I've seen the kiddo who reported it three times since then.)
DeleteIt is a bit early for wasp nests here. We have only had two extremely warm days. Most nights we still get frost warnings.
ReplyDeleteIt finally warmed up here. We don't usually have such a long and cold winter.
DeleteI came to this post after looking at your yearly summary. I adore wasps, and having spent many years in both states, I am very aware that Mississippi's wasps come in a greater variety and are far more aggressive than Oregon's wasps who (in my experience as someone who encourages their existence and has many nests with which I come in daily contact) only sting when stepped upon. Of course, I don't know what the wasps at your school were like, and of course, school wasn't a good place for them to be, yet I feel sad that they died without the students being able to learn anything about their fascinating lives.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think of them that way. I just thought of the threat to the students. If only the boy had mentioned it to his science teacher...
DeleteHere in Eugene, I have up to ten yellow paper-wasp nests in my little low-ceilinged storage shed each summer. When I go into the shed, my head often comes within six inches of one or more nests, but I couldn't bring myself to destroy them when they first appeared, and I later found them so docile that I seldom think about them being there when I go into the shed. Hornets and yellow jackets are much more threatening and attack in groups. However, unlike a lot of people, they only attack when, rightly or wrongly, they feel threatened. In Mississippi, large ominous-looking, wasps with black wings and red bodies build large paper nests under house eaves. When I painted houses with my father, we often had to destroy multiple nests, in which case my father or I would pour gasoline into a small can, climb as near to a nest as we dared, and throw the gasoline on the nest. Neither of us were ever stung, and upon being hit with the gasoline, the wasps would immediately fall to the ground dead, and we would remove the nest. For the rest of the day, wasps that had been away from the nest when we attacked would return but wouldn't sting because they no longer had a nest to defend (sometimes, a very few would still be looking for their nest the next day). I also love bees and have had up to five honey bee houses in my yard, plus I drill holes in thick lumber that I then hang on the side of my house for solitary bees. I also enjoy what one of your readers called mud daubers, but I grew-up hearing them called dirt daubers. Wasps differ so much in commonality and aggressiveness that despite frequent exposure, I have rarely been stung by anything but yellow jackets, and then only because one got between my foot and my flip-flops or else because I walked over their underground nests. I suspect that one reason wasps attack people is that people first attack them by swatting at them when they fly near.
ReplyDeleteLikely true. I just stay away from them.
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