Three Sideway Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Stories on Stage – Aaron Shepard
Introduction:
The stories takes place at Wayside Elementary School. Wayside school was accidentally built sideways. The building was supposed to be long, with all thirty classrooms arranged in a row on a single floor. Instead, it was built very tall, with one classroom on each of its thirty floors. The builder apologized for the mistake.
Most events take place in Mrs. Jewls’s class, located all the way at the top on the thirtieth floor. Each chapter introduces us to a different student or teacher at Wayside. People say that the students and teachers at Wayside are funny and strange.
Characters:
Mrs. Jewls – A Teacher
Joe – Student
Bebe – Student
Calvin – Student
Louis - yard teacher
Miss Zarves – Teacher
Joe's Story
Joe’s Counting Challenge:
Mrs. Jewls kept Joe in from recess one day and told him he needed to learn how to count. Joe protested, saying he already knew how to count and asked to be let out for recess. Mrs. Jewls instructed him to count to ten.
“Six, eight, twelve, one, five, two, seven, eleven, three, ten.”
Joe counted, saying numbers in a jumbled order, but eventually reached ten. Mrs. Jewls told Joe he was wrong, but Joe insisted he had counted until he reached ten. Mrs. Jewls disagreed and said she would prove him wrong.
The Pencil Activity:
Mrs. Jewls placed five pencils in front of Joe and asked him how many pencils were there.
“Four, six, one, nine, five.”
Joe counted in an incorrect order but still arrived at the number five. Mrs. Jewls told him his answer was wrong. Joe asked her for the correct answer, and she confirmed there were five pencils. Joe reminded her that he had said the same number and asked again to be allowed to go to recess. Mrs. Jewls refused, explaining that although he had arrived at the correct answer, he had counted in the wrong way and had just been lucky to reach the right total.
The Potato Activity:
Mrs. Jewls placed eight potatoes in front of Joe and asked him how many there were.
“Seven, five, three, one, two, four, six, eight.”
Joe counted the potatoes in a mixed-up order but eventually said there were eight. Mrs. Jewls told him that his answer was wrong, despite Joe insisting that he had counted eight. He asked once more to be allowed to go to recess, but Mrs. Jewls denied his request, explaining that although his answer was correct, he had counted incorrectly.
Counting the Books:
Mrs. Jewls then put down three books and asked him to count those. Joe counted in an unusual way again, starting with “a thousand” and “a million” before saying “three.” Mrs. Jewls, slightly confused, acknowledged that his answer was indeed correct. Joe again asked to go to recess, but Mrs. Jewls refused.
Mrs. Jewls lesson:
Joe then asked if he could have a potato, but Mrs. Jewls turned him down and urged him to listen. She counted aloud from one to ten in the correct order and asked Joe to repeat after her. Joe successfully counted from one to ten, and Mrs. Jewls praised him for getting it right.
Counting the erasers:
Mrs. Jewls placed six erasers in front of Joe and asked him to count them the way she had shown him. Joe counted aloud from one to ten in the correct order and announced that there were ten erasers. Mrs. Jewls told him that his answer was wrong.
Confused, Joe asked if he hadn’t counted correctly. Mrs. Jewls reassured him that he had counted correctly but had still arrived at the wrong answer. Joe pointed out that when he counted in his usual way, he got the correct answer, but when he counted correctly, he ended up with the wrong answer.
Mrs. Jewls Frustration:
In frustration, Mrs. Jewls hit her head against the wall five times. Afterward, she turned back to Joe and asked him how many times she had done so. Joe counted aloud from one to ten and told her she had hit her head ten times. Mrs. Jewls told him this was incorrect
"Four, six, one, nine, five."
Joe then counted in his own unusual way and said she had hit her head five times. Mrs. Jewls shook her head, agreeing that his answer was correct this time. Just then, the bell rang, and Joe, disappointed, expressed his frustration, realizing he had missed recess.
Themes for joe’s story:
- The Importance of Learning
- Understanding Mistakes
- Perseverance and Patience
- The Nature of Success
- Different Ways of Understanding
- The Role of Guidance and Teaching
- Self-Confidence and Self-Doubt
- The Subjectivity of Knowledge
- Resilience in the Face of Challenges
Bebe's Story
Bebe, the Fast Artist:
The story begins with Bebe, who was the fastest artist in Mrs. Jewls’s class. She could draw a cat in less than forty-five seconds, a dog in under thirty seconds, and a flower in less than eight seconds.
Endless Drawings:
However, Bebe didn’t stop at drawing just one dog, one cat, or one flower. During art class, which lasted from 12:30 to 1:30, Bebe could draw fifty cats, a hundred flowers, twenty dogs, and even several eggs or watermelons.
Quick Watermelons and Eggs:
The narrators explain that Bebe took the same amount of time to draw a watermelon as she did to draw an egg.
Calvin, the Helper:
Sitting beside her was Calvin, who didn’t consider himself very skilled at art. While it took him the entire class period to draw a single airplane, he preferred to assist Bebe instead.
The Art Team / Helping Each Other:
Calvin would quickly remove each completed drawing of hers and place a new blank sheet in front of her. He was also ready to give her a fresh crayon whenever one ran low, allowing Bebe to keep drawing without interruption. In exchange for his help, Bebe would draw five or six airplanes for Calvin.
Art Class Begins:
It was 12:30, and art class was starting. Bebe was prepared, with a sheet of yellow construction paper on her desk and a green crayon in her hand. Calvin was ready as well, holding a stack of paper and a box of crayons.
Teamwork Begins:
Calvin asked Bebe if she was ready, and Bebe replied that she was. Mrs. Jewls addressed the class, announcing the beginning of art time. As soon as she finished speaking, Bebe had already drawn a picture of a leaf.
Quick Exchanges:
Calvin swiftly took the drawing and placed a new sheet of paper in front of Bebe. When Bebe called out for a red crayon, Calvin quickly handed her one, and when she asked for blue, he was ready with it too.
A Perfect Team:
Together, they made a great team. Their cooperation was impressive, with Bebe drawing as fast as Calvin could clear away the finished paper and place a new one.
Drawing Speed:
Bebe created pictures at a rapid pace—first a fish, then an apple, followed by three cherries. Each drawing was completed in a flash. At 1:30, Mrs. Jewls announced to the class that art time was over.
Exhausted Artists:
Bebe dropped her crayon and collapsed over her desk from exhaustion. Calvin leaned back in his chair, barely able to move. They had managed to break their old record—Bebe had drawn three hundred and seventy-eight pictures, which were now stacked in a pile on Calvin’s desk.
Mrs. Jewls Questions Calvin:
Mrs. Jewls noticed the pile of drawings and asked Calvin if he had drawn them all. Calvin explained that Bebe had drawn every picture. When Mrs. Jewls asked what he had drawn, Calvin admitted he hadn’t drawn anything.
Calvin’s Strategy for More Art:
Surprised, Mrs. Jewls asked Calvin why he hadn’t created any art. Calvin explained that he loved art and chose not to draw so that Bebe could make more pictures. He reasoned that if he had drawn, he would have only managed one picture in the whole class period, and Bebe would have drawn fewer. Working together, Bebe was able to draw three hundred and seventy-eight pictures, which he considered “more art.”
Mrs. Jewls’s Explanation of Art:
Mrs. Jewls told Calvin that art isn’t about quantity but quality. She said that art isn’t measured by the number of pictures someone creates but by the quality of each piece. She explained that someone could spend a lifetime perfecting a single picture of a cat, while in that same time, Bebe might be able to draw a million cats.
Bebe’s Response:
Bebe disagreed, confidently claiming she could draw two million cats in that time. But Mrs. Jewls insisted that if one person’s single cat drawing was better than all of Bebe’s two million, that one picture would be considered more valuable art.
Bebe’s Reaction:
Hearing this, Bebe felt upset and looked like she might cry. She gathered up all her drawings from Calvin’s desk and threw them into the trash. Then, she ran out of the classroom, down the stairs, and onto the playground.
Bebe’s New Goal:
Louis, the friendly yard teacher, noticed Bebe running and asked where she was going. Bebe told him that she was heading home to draw a picture of a cat. Louis asked if she would bring it to school and show him the next day.
Bebe’s Plan:
Bebe replied that even by tomorrow, she probably wouldn’t have finished drawing a single whisker on her cat and then hurried off.
Themes for Bebe's Story:
- Quality vs. Quantity
- The Value of Teamwork
- Passion and Creativity
- Individual vs. Collective Achievement
- Understanding True Art
- Growth Through Reflection
- Perseverance and Dedication
Calvin's Story
An Impossible Task:
Mrs. Jewls tells Calvin to take a note to a teacher named Miss Zarves. Calvin is confused, but Mrs. Jewls insists that he knows where she is located. Calvin hesitates and clarifies that Miss Zarves is on the nineteenth story of the school. Mrs. Jewls confirms this, repeating that he should go deliver the note.
Calvin’s Reluctant Agreement
Calvin didn’t move. Mrs. Jewls, asks if there's something wrong with the task. Mrs. Jewls becomes frustrated and demands that Calvin go now. Finally, Calvin agrees to take the note, though he still seems uneasy. Mrs. Jewls dismisses him, expecting him to deliver it right away. Calvin walks out of the classroom but stops right outside, clearly unsure of what to do next.
The Builder’s Mistake
The builder who constructed Wayside School made a mistake by building the school sideways and accidentally leaving out the nineteenth story. He built the eighteenth and the twentieth, but no nineteenth.
Miss Zarves Does Not Exist
Because the nineteenth story was never built, there is no classroom for Miss Zarves, and Miss Zarves herself doesn’t exist. To make things even more confusing, Mrs. Jewls never actually gave Calvin a note to deliver to Miss Zarves.
Calvin’s Sarcastic Realization
Frustrated, Calvin sarcastically remarks that he’s supposed to deliver a note he doesn’t have, to a teacher who doesn’t exist, on a floor that was never built.
Searching for the Nineteenth Story:
Calvin felt uncertain and didn’t know what to do. He tried walking down to the eighteenth story, then went back up to the twentieth. Calvin continued searching, moving back down to the eighteenth and up again to the twentieth. He understood that the nineteenth story had never been there
The Mailbox Solution:
Calvin then went down to the administration office on the first story, planning to leave the note in Miss Zarves’s mailbox. Calvin discovered there was no mailbox for Miss Zarves, but this didn’t bother him, since he didn’t actually have a note.
Calvin Seeks Help from Louis:
Calvin looked out the window and noticed Louis, the yard teacher, playing basketball. Thinking Louis might know what to do, he went outside to ask for help. Calvin told Louis that he needed to deliver a note to Miss Zarves on the nineteenth story. Louis questioned why Calvin was on the ground level if he needed to be on the nineteenth story. Calvin replied that there was no nineteenth story. Louis asked where Miss Zarves was, and Calvin admitted that she didn’t exist either. Louis then asked what Calvin would do with the note, and Calvin explained there was no note at all.
Louis Tries to Reassure Calvin:
Louis told Calvin that the task was simple, implying that Calvin didn’t need to deliver a note to a teacher who didn’t exist. Calvin, however, was still confused.
Calvin Decides to Tell Mrs. Jewls the Truth:
Realizing he couldn't complete the task, Calvin decided he would tell Mrs. Jewls that he couldn’t deliver the note. Louis agreed, suggesting that the truth was best, and admitted he didn’t fully understand his own explanation.
A Teacher’s Trust:
Calvin walked back up all thirty flights of stairs to return to Mrs. Jewls’s classroom. Mrs. Jewls Thanks Calvin. Without letting Calvin explain, saying that the note was very important and that she had trusted him to deliver it. Calvin attempted to tell Mrs. Jewls that he hadn’t actually delivered the note, but she continued to speak.
Calvin’s Reassurance:
Mrs. Jewls Describes that the note was very important. she told Miss Zarves not to meet her for lunch. Calvin reassured Mrs. Jewls, saying she didn’t need to worry about the note reaching Miss Zarves—since she wouldn’t be meeting her at all.
Themes on Calvin's Story
- Miscommunication
- Identity and Existence
- The Importance of Truth
- Perception vs. Reality
- The Journey of Understanding
- Authority and Rebellion
- Absurdity
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