April Fool's Joke and Adventure Day 14 (Washington)

Blog prompt: April Fool’s Day – what is the funniest prank someone has played on you or you have played on someone else?

Now this prank is funny but at the time it really wasn’t funny at all. I was teaching a high school special ed class in a portable behind the school. I had a student L who was nine months pregnant and did not get any prenatal care, no matter how much I begged her to get it. On this day she was late to class and I was worried so I asked the other kids about her. They told me that they thought she was having labor pains in the bathroom so I immediately ran to the bathroom to find her (which meant leaving my class unattended and I have never done this before). I stop at the classroom to tell the students that I’m taking L to the nurse and to start on their work until I get back. I get L to the healthroom and the office has to call for the nurse who is at another school. When the nurse arrives, she takes L’s blood pressure and talks to her. We try to get in touch with L’s mom who works at a factory close by but we couldn’t get her. The nurse knows a fireman who she calls and asks him to go to the factory to find mom. I finally decide that all is being taken care of so I return to my class just about the time class ends. After the class leaves, I decide to go talk to another teacher when L’s sister stops me in the hall and asks me if I enjoyed my April Fool’s joke. Then I find out that L’s labor pains were all an April Fool’s joke! I run back up to the healthroom just in time to stop the nurse from calling an ambulance and to stop the fireman from getting mom. By this time I’m furious and I’m glad I had no more classes that day. I even told this poor pregnant girl that she could have the baby in my classroom because I sure wouldn’t get her help if she goes into labor again! (I did calm down though and would have called for help. Luckily she had the baby on a weekend a few weeks later!)

The next day I confronted the class who knew it was a joke. I was really angry with them. I asked them why they didn’t stop me from going to the health room and why no one said it was a joke. They all said they got scared and then didn’t know what to do so they did nothing. Then when they heard about an ambulance coming and a fireman getting L’s mom, they really got scared and didn’t say anything. I guess the joke was on them too.

At the time I was pretty mad but now that I look back on it, it was pretty funny.

Travel Notes:

I am at the Council for Exceptional Children's Conference in Seattle, WA. Our board meeting starts today. Then we have the General Session late this afternoon and the President's Reception until 9:30pm. I guess I will sleep well tonight!

Original image: 'pregnant silhouette' http://www.flickr.com/photos/18773952@N00/144905384 by: mahalie stackpole