Anything You Want

Maisy guided Serena to one of the tables in the cafeteria, indicating to have a seat. Serena complied, curious to see what Maisy intended. She noticed that Maisy had various supplies, including markers, colored pencils, blank sheets of paper, coloring sheets, etc., all arranged precisely on the table. Whatever it was, she meant business.

Grabbing a piece of paper, Maisy handed it to Serena. “You’re now in my class,” she informed her. “Take this piece of paper; you can do whatever you want with it.”

Serena considered her options. Maisy’s instructions left her open to many possibilities. Considering the materials Maisy had acquired, Serena surmised that Maisy intended for her to draw or color. Serena wasn’t limited to those two narrow choices, though. She could choose to try origami, create a paper airplane, make a paper fan, construct a sculpture out of paper, etc. Maisy stated it could be anything she wanted, and there were endless options before her. Serena wondered if Maisy had even considered anything other than coloring/drawing.

Testing the waters, she decided to voice her internal musing. Serena innocently inquired, “So, does that mean I could crumble the paper if I wanted and throw it at you?”

Maisy scowled, not pleased with the question. “If you do that, you’ll be sent to the principal’s office!” she reprimanded. “You can color or draw, but you’re not allowed to throw paper!”

“Hmm… but you said I could do anything I wanted with the paper,” Serena pointed out, “which could include throwing crumbled, paper balls at people. Shouldn’t I be able to if your instructions were that I could do what I wanted with it?”

Maisy shook her head fervently. “No, you can draw or color anything you want on the paper. If you don’t, you can go to the principal’s office.”

“But you hadn’t specified that qualifier before. You said I could do whatever I wanted, so that means I should be able to do other things if I want to without getting in trouble,” Serena reasoned. It wasn’t like she actually wanted to throw paper balls at anyone, but that wasn’t the point. It was the principle of the matter; if the instructions were to do whatever one wanted with the paper, they shouldn’t get in trouble for doing so. It couldn’t be helped if the directions were vague and very open to interpretation; Serena wasn’t the one who created them, after all.

Collin, overhearing the two, chuckled from where he was enrolled in Tamara and Trinity’s “class” on the neighboring section of table. “She’s right, you know,” he pointed out. “You did say she could do whatever she wanted.”

Maisy didn’t appreciate his two cents, admonishing him, “Hush, you’re not a teacher right now—we are! We can send you to the principal’s office, too!” She returned to straightening her papers and deliberating on what assignments to give the other kids in before care.

Collin shook his head and whispered, “You had excellent kid logic and a fair argument.” He returned to dutifully completing the assignment the pair of sisters gave him.

Serena considered it but didn’t believe it was particularly kid logic. Granted, she could envision a child using that argument, but it was a valid question. Her query was within the parameters of Maisy’s specifications. No, she hadn’t actually intended on acting out on it and actually throwing wadded paper at Maisy, but that was hardly the point. Serena had merely been curious as to what her reaction would be.

It was a bit disheartening. Maisy shot it down rather harshly with a threat to the principal’s office—not that she could actually send Serena there since this was all pretend—but it made her wonder. Was this how adults, whether parents, teachers, family members, etc., handled her questions? It was a depressing prospect to consider, imagining a child merely asking a question for clarification and then having an adult answer and react in such a fashion. She hoped it wasn’t the case, but children often emulate the adults in their lives. Her heart broke at how many children might feel this way, like they couldn’t ask their genuine questions. Serena understood if the kids were merely trying to clown around and ask silly questions that teachers wouldn’t want the disruption, but how would kids acquire the necessary information if their questions got shot down with threats?

There were many benefits to school, Serena acknowledged, but the education system could use some improvements. Schools should be welcoming spaces where all felt safe and able to ask questions. That wasn’t even touching upon the pressure from standardized testing, forced mandatory curriculum, and cuts to areas like the arts. Schools weren’t terrible, but they definitely had plenty of areas for growth and improvement.