(I am on line duty at the cafeteria at an arts camp. Since the wait can be a long time, I try to entertain the kids by talking to them. Note that the campers are given a lot of freedom and there are very few rules. The kid in this story is nine or ten.)

Me: “What did you do today?”

Camper: “Well, I got thrown out of Puppetry.”

Me: “You did? How did that happen?”

Camper: “I don’t know. I didn’t know they could do that. I don’t think counselors should be allowed to kick us out.”

Me: “Well, they can, if you’re being disruptive to the other kids.”

Camper: “Yeah, but I still don’t think it should be allowed, because campers are more important than counselors. You know why? One, because we’re kids, and two, because without us, you wouldn’t have jobs.”

(I wish I had told him that without counselors he wouldn’t have a camp, but I was so dumbfounded I just stared. I later talked to my friend who worked in Puppetry, and she told me they had to kick him out almost every day because he was so disruptive.)