Conversation with a Fourth Grader

This is a conversation I had with one of my fourth graders this week.

In the hallway as the fourth grade was changing classes, Jay, a freckled face, red cheeked boy, walked up to me with a wide grin plastered across his face. I could tell he was bursting to tell me something. This is how it went. . .

Jay: "Hi, Mrs. B. Guess what."

Me: "Jay, I can't begin to guess, why don't you tell me?"

Jay: "Casey said she would go out with me."

Me(taken aback a bit): "She did? Well now, just where are you going?"

Jay(obviously perlexed) "What do you mean?"

Me: "Where will you two be going?"

Jay: "I don't know what you mean, but she said she would go out with me."

Me: "I understand that, but you haven't told me where you will be going."

Jay: "Nowhere."

Me: "Oh, then how will you be going out if you aren't actually going anywhere?"

Jay: "We are just going out."

Me: "Right, but where will you be going?"

Jay: "I told you, we are just going out."

Me: "So, you don't have a special place in mind?"

Jay: "A special place for what?"

Me: "To take Casey out."

Jay: "I'm not going to take her anywhere."

Me: "Then, how is that you will be going out if you aren't going to go somewhere?"

By this time, Jay was obviously confused and somewhat defused.

Jay: "Mrs. B, I don't know what you are talking about, but Casey is going out with me."

Me: "Jay, maybe you should explain that to me. If you aren't actually going to go somewhere, how can you possibly be going out?"

Jay: "We just are."

At this point, it was time to go to class. As he walked away, Jay sadly shook his head. Talking with another boy, he looked back at me and said . . .

Jay(to other boy) "I feel sorry for Mrs. B., she has never gone out with anybody."

Boy: "How do you know?"

Jay: "I was just talking to her and she doesn't even know what 'going out' means."

Boy: "Man, that's really sad."

Jay: "Yeah, I wonder if her husband knows?"

At this point, all I could do is return to my math class.