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
