Fun interaction I observed
Posted by Pete on October 28, 2023 at 20:58:28
This happened a few months ago. No particular reason for me to post this other than it seemed like kind of a fun scenario that developed.
Anyway I was doing a pub-ed ("public education") event with the volunteer fire department I work with. This event was a school summer carnival. We were tasked with taking the fire truck over, filling the dunk tank, and then hanging out during the carnival to give tours of the fire truck and ambulance. So we head over and quickly get the dunk tank filled from the fire truck (as an aside, the water that comes from a fire truck / fire hydrant isn't necessarily the cleanest, so think twice before asking the FD to fill a dunk tank or swimming pool or something.) I of course would have been happy to volunteer for a turn in the dunk tank, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to ask, at least without having a feel for how the event was going and whether they'd be open to the idea of someone volunteering for a turn.
It turned out that the kids on the student council were expected to be the dunk tank victims. As the carnival started, I was kind of surprised to see that the dunk tank was empty for the first little while - usually, I would have expected a healthy crowd of dunkees and dunkers eager to each take their respective turns - but the dunk tank was quiet. It got to a point where I was started to look out for someone in charge - I definitely would have volunteered to go in, if no one else was going to step up.
Now, I like to try to read people's body language to guess at what might be going through their mind. After a while, an adult (not sure if a teacher or a parent) started walking over to the dunk tank with two kids in tow. I surmised that these two kids were on the student council, and would be the first two "victims" in the dunk tank. I got the impression from their body language that they were probably off hanging out with their friends. Since they got "caught," they weren't upset about having to take their turn in the dunk tank - but weren't exactly in a rush to get started either. The first kid seemed real casual about it. He was wearing a gray t-shirt and gym shorts, and real casually got his shoes and socks off and his pockets emptied, and climbed up onto the seat. I figured that he'd probably been in a dunk tank before, since he didn't seem nervous or jumpy or anything, it was like he knew exactly what to expect. He was also pretty funny, and even I laugh a few times at his taunts and banter with the crowd, all of whom were having a good time knocking him into the water.
The second kid was up next. He was definitely a little more reluctant about the idea - I think Kid 1 had to kind of insist that it was time for Kid 2 to take his turn. He took his time getting his shoes off and his pockets emptied, stretching and looking around nervously, as if he was hoping that someone else would materialize to go in his place. I also found it a little odd that he was wearing baggy blue jeans and a green golf shirt - not a bad outfit if you ask me, but not really what I was expecting kids to wear, especially since it seemed like he knew he was going to be in the dunk tank that day. Anyway, he climbed up on the seat, and was much less relaxed than his friend - he sat real stiffly, and I thought it was funny that he kept his knees bent to try to keep his feet from touching the water - since soon enough he'd surely get completely dunked in. He flinched each time a ball hit the tarp behind the target, and was definitely much quieter and more shy up there than his friend. That said, he didn't seem to mind getting dunked, and was smiling each time he'd climb back up out of the water onto the seat. But it definitely was 4 or 5 dunks before he kind of loosened up and seemed a little more relaxed about the idea.
Kid 2 didn't seem interested in spending more time than necessary in the dunk tank, and after 15 minutes or so, Kid 1 replaced him back on the hot seat. I was kind of surprised that there were more kids - or teachers for that matter - taking turns in the dunk tank. Kid 2 quickly went inside the school and emerged a few minutes later completely changed into dry shorts and t-shirt, shoes and socks back on, and looking like he had no intention of going back in the dunk tank. Kid 1, meanwhile, was still sitting on the hot seat, splashing down into the water every few minutes. He was starting to look a little exhausted as his turn went on.
My read was that Kid 2 was probably a reluctant volunteer who would have just as soon not spent his morning in a dunk tank - but he was a good sport about it, and I couldn't blame him for just wanting to finish up his turn and get dried off. Kid 1 was clearly being a good sport, giving people someone to dunk since there didn't seem to be any other volunteers, but I couldn't blame him for starting to get tired, and he looked like he was ready to call it quits. I was surprised that no one else was stepping up to take a turn, and I was close to volunteering myself.
While I was pondering this, I noticed a third kid, let's call him Kid 3. I immediately had him pegged as a jerk, maybe even a bully. He was hanging out around the dunk tank, heckling Kid 1 (who was still getting dunked), and picking on Kid 2. I could tell Kid 2 was getting ticked off - I'd guess he was probably already stressed, since it looked like he stepped out of his comfort zone just by being in the dunk tank earlier, and now he had this jerk picking on him. I could tell just by body language that Kid 2 was starting to get legitimately upset. Then an adult (again, don't know if teacher or someone's parent) caught on, and walked over to intervene. It seemed like the adult was kind of giving Kid 3 a dose of his own medicine, maybe teasing him and cutting him down to size a little bit. I saw Kid 3's face go through a few emotions - defiance in the face of someone yelling at him, then confusion as to whether he was actually in trouble or not, then eager anticipation. I couldn't hear exactly what was said, but I have the impression that Kid 3 might have been given a choice between "take a turn in the dunk tank, or get a detention" or something along those lines. The kid didn't seem to take very long to make his choice, and was quickly getting his shoes and socks off and handing the contents of his pockets to his friends, who seemed eager to watch what would happen next. The kid had a darker skin complexion, and a very noticeable sock tan line - and it looked like Kid 2 even was teasing him a bit about that, and it was something to watch Kid 3's whole demeanor change now that he was the one being picked on!
Kid 1 hopped out of the dunk tank, and seemed relieved to finally be back on dry land. Kid 3 meanwhile had taken his place on the seat, and immediately seemed to be enjoying himself, bantering good-naturedly back and forth with the crowd, and quickly splashing into the water. He entertained everyone by waving and making faces through the clear window in the tank, and didn't seem remotely shy or upset about his change of fortune that landed him in the dunk tank.
After maybe another 20 minutes or so, Kid 4 showed up, who would prove to the final dunk tank victim for the day. Kid 4 made no move to evict Kid 3 from his spot in the dunk tank for a while, but Kid 3 did eventually jump out. And it was again funny to watch his behavior - before, he was teasing and maybe even bullying Kid 2. Now, all three of them were laughing, joking, patting eachother on the back, and seemed to be getting along just fine.
Kid 4, meanwhile, also looked like he was a reluctant participant, and was just looking to do his 15 minute shift and get out of the water. He was a good sport, but seemed very quiet and not quite comfortable with being in that position.
All in all it was kind of an unusual event to watch. It seemed clear that the student council members at this school weren't necessarily the most extrovert or outgoing students in the class, which surprised me a bit. It also surprised me that they didn't give these kids a break - the carnival was at least 4 hours long, and that's a LONG time for just a couple kids to cover a dunk tank, especially if they're not really enthusiastic about having to get dunked at all.
Anyway, just thought this might be kind of an interesting anecdote to share. Maybe it wasn't.... Sorry if you found it boring, but you get what you pay for, I guess!
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