I park in the fire lane and pull out my equipment. There’s no rush for this story, but I’m always in a rush.
I walk into an elementary school – the kind of school I frequent to film my Facebook videos.
Hauling in my posse – tripod, camera, microphone and notes – I check in at the front and get directions to the classroom.
Second grade. The grade of what-will-they-say-next.
Today’s topic is finishing well-known idioms and Shakespeare quotes.
I knock on the classroom door and am greeted by a student. The rest are doing recess inside, which is dancing to a song and someone leading the dance on the SmartBoard.
“She’s here,” one whispers.
“Are you a newspaper reporter,” one asks. “I’m Rosie, it’s very nice to meet you.”
“I want to be a newspaper reporter when I grow up,” another one says.
I take five of them in the hall. Put chairs in a circle. And place the tripod with the camera on top of it in the middle of the circle.
I begin holding the microphone to my face saying the first part of a sentence. Then pointing the microphone to get their creative endings.
“Where there’s smoke…” I said.
“…there’s ice cream,” one student said.
I went around the circle. They were calm.
But then, they took over the interview.
“Can I push the button?”
“Can I hold the mic?”
“I want to ask a question!”
Having gathered enough for my story, I let them take over.
The interviewee they chose – me.
Follow Hannah Louise Strong on Twitter @HannahLStrong
