I had an especially excellent class last year when it came to pranks, which is to say…
I did an especially good job teaching them the finer art of pranking.
Not only did they pull off some brilliant trickery over the course of the year, but their ability to be patient was extraordinary.
Case in point:
It’s day two of my new school year. The remnants of Hurricane Ida have passed and the sun has finally returned to the sky. At the end of the school day, I reach for my Retroviewer, a personalized Viewmaster Viewer that Elysha gave me for Christmas a few years ago, complete with reels of images of our family.
A perfect gift for me:
The combination of nostalgia, memory, and a toy.
Whenever I need a pick-me-up at work, I grab my Retroviewer, peer into the lenses, and disappear for a moment into photographs of our family, our wedding, and memorable vacations.
I lifted the Retroviewer to my eyes, but as I looked inside, the images of our wedding appeared blurry.
I removed the photo wheel and replaced it, assuming it was misaligned.
No better.
I removed it again. Dusted it off. Replaced it.
Still nothing. I could see the images, but each one of them was blurry. I worried that my Retroviewer was somehow broken.
Then I examined the Retroviewer itself. I couldn’t believe what I saw.
Covering the two eye holes were two perfect circles of Scotch tape matching the size of the lenses exactly. The tape was nearly invisible to the naked eye but absolutely capable of blurring the images inside.
Taped to the bottom of the Retroviewer was a tiny note that read:
“Troubling seeing?”
My fifth grade students from last year left my classroom back in June, secure in the knowledge that their prank would pay off the following school year, long after they were gone.
They would never see the result of their efforts, but they knew it would eventually happen.
That is what I call “playing the long game.” Waiting days, weeks, months, and even years for a prank to finally pay off. An exceptionally difficult feat for adults, but almost impossible for children.
Except for last year’s class.
So damn impressive.
I hope they are bringing the same kind of frustrated joy to their middle school teachers this year.
