You and your stupid friends are going down , big-time!â
And as Dave tossed the note above Jasonâs headso it landed on Lynseyâs desk, he made an ugly face at her, and then shook his hands, like he was trying to flip something gross off his fingers.
He didnât wait for Lynseyâs reaction. Dave turned away and began writing a new note. To Scott.
â¢Â â¢Â â¢
All during seventh period Mr. Burton sat at his desk, watching. He wrote some notes too, but they were notes to himself.
Â
âNo hesitationâeveryone jumped right in.
âSome frustration with writingâitâs slow.
âSome anger displayed.
âA lot of nodding and gesturing, some hand signals.
âTapping on desks and arms and shoulders to get attention, some poking, too.
âMouth soundsâtongue clicking, lip popping, raspberries.
âSome animal soundsâquacking, whistling, barking, sometimes to get attention, sometimes to bother.
âNot much boy-girl or girl-boy note passingâbut more than Iâd expected from this group.
âA lot of smiling and frowning and other face-making
âNot one single word out loud!
Â
Mr. Burton was taking a class at the state university two nights a week, studying for his masterâs degree. The course was called Human Development, and one of the topics they had studied was the way children learn to use language.
Of course, this wasnât watching kids learn to use language. These students were already good with words. Almost too good.
No, this was watching children try to change how they expressed themselves, trying to use language in a new way.
Mr. Burton was pretty excited. It was like having his own private language lab. He thought, If I keep careful notes, I bet I can write my big research paper on this! I can do interviews with the kidsâonce they start talking again. And I can gather information from the other teachers, too. Thereâs so much good stuff to work with. This is great!
When the last bell rang, Mr. Burton was sorrythe class had to end. And he couldnât wait for his first class on Wednesday morning.
â¢Â â¢Â â¢
For the fifth graders, that last bell on Tuesday meant something else.
It meant they had to go ride a bus. And not talk. The bell meant they had to go to sports practice, or to dance or music lessons. And not talk.
It meant they had to go home and deal with moms and dads and brothers and sisters and neighbors and everyone else. And not talk.
No one was sure how all that was going to work, including Dave.
But Dave was absolutely sure of one thing: He was going to do everything just right. Because if he messed up, it meant heâd be walking around school on Thursday afternoon with a big L on his forehead.
And that was not going to happen.
CHAPTER 14
SEEN BUT NOT HEARD
T he homebound school buses were quieter than usual on Tuesday afternoon, especially the ones hauling a large number of fifth-grade kids.
But none of the fifth graders found the ride home very hard. With no grown-ups around, it was pretty easy to keep quiet. A few of them sat with friends and passed notes back and forth. Some read books or opened a notebook and did homework. Most of the fifth graders just sat quietlyâlooking and listening. And thinking.
â¢Â â¢Â â¢
For the fifth graders like Lynsey who stayed for soccer or field hockey or cross-country, after school was just like regular school, because the coaches were all teachers, and you could answer teachers because ofthe three-word rule. Everyone was getting pretty good at that part of the contest.
Soccer practice was easy for Lynsey. Instead of yelling for the ball like she sometimes did, she just waved a hand or made a motion with her head. To direct teammates to cover an area or move down-field, she pointed. Lynsey was good at soccer. She did most of her communicating with her feet.
â¢Â â¢Â â¢
For the kids like Dave
And as Dave tossed the note above Jasonâs headso it landed on Lynseyâs desk, he made an ugly face at her, and then shook his hands, like he was trying to flip something gross off his fingers.
He didnât wait for Lynseyâs reaction. Dave turned away and began writing a new note. To Scott.
â¢Â â¢Â â¢
All during seventh period Mr. Burton sat at his desk, watching. He wrote some notes too, but they were notes to himself.
Â
âNo hesitationâeveryone jumped right in.
âSome frustration with writingâitâs slow.
âSome anger displayed.
âA lot of nodding and gesturing, some hand signals.
âTapping on desks and arms and shoulders to get attention, some poking, too.
âMouth soundsâtongue clicking, lip popping, raspberries.
âSome animal soundsâquacking, whistling, barking, sometimes to get attention, sometimes to bother.
âNot much boy-girl or girl-boy note passingâbut more than Iâd expected from this group.
âA lot of smiling and frowning and other face-making
âNot one single word out loud!
Â
Mr. Burton was taking a class at the state university two nights a week, studying for his masterâs degree. The course was called Human Development, and one of the topics they had studied was the way children learn to use language.
Of course, this wasnât watching kids learn to use language. These students were already good with words. Almost too good.
No, this was watching children try to change how they expressed themselves, trying to use language in a new way.
Mr. Burton was pretty excited. It was like having his own private language lab. He thought, If I keep careful notes, I bet I can write my big research paper on this! I can do interviews with the kidsâonce they start talking again. And I can gather information from the other teachers, too. Thereâs so much good stuff to work with. This is great!
When the last bell rang, Mr. Burton was sorrythe class had to end. And he couldnât wait for his first class on Wednesday morning.
â¢Â â¢Â â¢
For the fifth graders, that last bell on Tuesday meant something else.
It meant they had to go ride a bus. And not talk. The bell meant they had to go to sports practice, or to dance or music lessons. And not talk.
It meant they had to go home and deal with moms and dads and brothers and sisters and neighbors and everyone else. And not talk.
No one was sure how all that was going to work, including Dave.
But Dave was absolutely sure of one thing: He was going to do everything just right. Because if he messed up, it meant heâd be walking around school on Thursday afternoon with a big L on his forehead.
And that was not going to happen.
CHAPTER 14
SEEN BUT NOT HEARD
T he homebound school buses were quieter than usual on Tuesday afternoon, especially the ones hauling a large number of fifth-grade kids.
But none of the fifth graders found the ride home very hard. With no grown-ups around, it was pretty easy to keep quiet. A few of them sat with friends and passed notes back and forth. Some read books or opened a notebook and did homework. Most of the fifth graders just sat quietlyâlooking and listening. And thinking.
â¢Â â¢Â â¢
For the fifth graders like Lynsey who stayed for soccer or field hockey or cross-country, after school was just like regular school, because the coaches were all teachers, and you could answer teachers because ofthe three-word rule. Everyone was getting pretty good at that part of the contest.
Soccer practice was easy for Lynsey. Instead of yelling for the ball like she sometimes did, she just waved a hand or made a motion with her head. To direct teammates to cover an area or move down-field, she pointed. Lynsey was good at soccer. She did most of her communicating with her feet.
â¢Â â¢Â â¢
For the kids like Dave
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