Prudence

At the end of the day on Tuesday, I gave my first period class free time to work on their homework.

"Productive work!" I declared. "This is not kick back time. If you are going to talk quietly, it better be while you are taking care of your business."

Upon instruction, chatter filled the room as my kids began sliding their desks together into groups, pulling work out of their backpacks, groaning about how mean I am because I give more homework than any other teacher.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, amused. "Sit down and get to work."

I pulled out my book and started to read. DeShay, who sat in front of my desk, got up and grabbed my Word Teaser box. "Can I look through this, Miss Bass?" he asked.

I looked up at him. "DeShay, I know you have work to do," I said.

"But this is vocabulary building," he said. "I am trying to become more articulate."

I stared at him. "Fine," I said.

I went back to reading. Ten minutes later, I feel someone staring at me. I glanced up and DeShay is standing right next to me. I jumped.

"DeShay what are you doing!" I said, exasperated. "What do you need?"

DeShay shrugged.

"Then why are you standing next to me?!" I exclaimed.

DeShay handed me the Word Teaser card in his hand. It read:

PRUDENT

"Pronunciation: prOOd'-nt
Function: Adjective
Definition: Thoughtful or wise; careful in making decisions or taking action."

I flipped the card over.

"Go stand next to the most prudent person in the room," the directions read.

DeShay stared at me and pointed to the card. "I am just following the directions," he said.

"DeShay-" I began. I sighed. "Thank you very much but I need you to go sit down now and do your work."

He dragged his feet back to his seat.