Tuesday. AP African-American Studies.
Welcome to April and the first day of the A to Z blogging challenge. When I say that the letter of the day sometimes just falls into my lap, this is what I mean. African-American Studies? Really?
Last week was a light week. I only had Wednesday scheduled. Monday's assignment popped up at 5 in the morning. Tuesday's popped up at about 7 PM the night before. Which was strange. Usually assignments pop up during the school day or in the middle of the night. But hey, I went to bed knowing I'd have a job the next day, so I was fine with it.
I got to the classroom. After turning on the lights, I headed for the teacher's podium. Nope. Headed back to his desk. Nope.
There was a knock on the door.
I made my way through the desks to the door to find a teacher waiting for me. She had a paper in her hand.
"I was just looking for that," I told her.
The day's lesson plans.
Teachers will sometimes email their plans to one of their teacher friends. Who will then print them out and bring them to us subs. We do love having the lesson plans.
It was going to be a pretty easy day. AP or advanced placement is a class students take to earn college credit. That is, they get the college credit if they pass the AP test at the beginning of May. The class of mostly seniors and some juniors had online work to complete. (It was phrased "independent projects".)
Okay, then.
For the second class of the day, I did my usual introduction, stating that maybe the teacher wasn't feeling well.
A student: "Jury duty".
Ah.
Suddenly the timing of the call the night before made sense.
In Los Angeles County, one must call in after 7 PM every night of the week one is assigned jury duty. One is told either, "call back tomorrow" or "report tomorrow". (I've done this a few times, so I'm familiar.)
While I never wish a teacher ill (or stuck on jury duty), I do appreciate having work for the day.
Have you ever served on a jury? Does African-American Studies sound like a class you would have liked to take in high school?
Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...
Jamie here: I dread being called for jury duty. In San Benito County, we must call after 6PM the night before. The last few times, I was called, the trial was either cancelled, or I was not picked. It was hard when I worked in retail, asking for the day off, then not needing it off. But at least I could enjoy the time off.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I was called I fully booked myself with the intention of dropping an assignment if need be. I didn't need to. This was harder to do when we had a sub caller.
DeleteYou know, I was summoned once or Jury duty but got out of it because I had a baby who was less than 6 months old. I think they have a permanent note on my record not to summon me since my husband has been summoned 3 or 4 times since that, but I never am. Crazy!
ReplyDeleteI received a notice once, but I was not asked to present myself after calling the day before (thank goodness). My A to Z is here https://marinaowens.com/2026/04/01/amelia-earhart/
ReplyDeleteOnce? So lucky. (I've been summoned a few times.)
DeleteI've reported for jury duty. It was a wrongful death case against a doctor. The patient (a mom and wife) had died due to an elective surgery. It was honestly a very difficult decision to make. And so sad with the family in the courtroom.
ReplyDeleteOh wow. That is a tough case.
DeleteThis is sad, but I received a jury duty notice for my husband, who passed away. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. But I decided to ignore it.
ReplyDeleteYes I have been on jury duty, no African American studies does not sound fun to me at all, in fact I was not an A student, I didn't care for school at all, and I never knew why for awhile when I was little I wanted to be a second grade teacher. I must have not been myself back then. Any hoot good luck with the A-Z challenge.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Barbie
Yeah, lots of kiddos don't enjoy school. They try to get kids involved with sports and clubs and events and such, but not all find their place there. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteI would have been interested in any AP History course, given that I was a history major in my first year of college, but they didn't exist back when I was in high school. I've been called three times for jury duty but never had to serve. The last time was during COVID right after they resumed in person trials, and I never had to report (big whew).
ReplyDeleteThere are several interesting AP history classes. I think many of us would have enjoyed them if they existed when we were in school.
DeleteWhat a perfect A!
ReplyDeleteI did serve on jury duty once, years ago, decades ago. It was a just few days, and I still got paid by my employer, and got the county stipend as well, so I didn't mind. It was actually rather fun doing something different with my day! I learned that fingerprints can last on a cardboard box for years and years! Now I am sure they can test and know just how old they are.
I had a lot of choices for English, but that wasn't one of them, no surprise there. I wouldn't have picked it, only because I liked what I picked, Creative Writing and Philosophy in Literature.
The class was a social studies class. There are a few good English choices, too.
DeleteYes, I have served on Jury Duty. Not a fun experience. I would have liked to have African-American studies offered in high school.
ReplyDeleteI have never served on Jury Duty.
ReplyDeleteI've been sent the Jury Duty summons a few times. I've never been picked to come down to the courthouse though.
ReplyDeleteI have a summons for this july. i am not thrilled.
ReplyDeleteI would be fascinated by that class. Similarly, I took an elective in college called "East Asian Studies." Not that I don't like Western Civ, but I've learned my fair share and would like to learn about other cultures.
ReplyDelete