Lessons (The Wire)
"Lessons" is the eighth episode of the first season of the HBO original series The Wire. The episode was written by David Simon from a story by David Simon and Ed Burns and was directed by Gloria Muzio. It originally aired on July 21, 2002.
Plot summary
The street
One of Wallace's young charges wakes him for help with their math homework. Wallace appears unusually tired and irritable, but he awakes to assist with the child's school work anyway. The young kid is unable to do a simple story problem. Wallace asks a similar question, but uses the language of the drug business, instead of busses, which the kid solves in seconds. Poot shows up during the math lesson and encourages Wallace to come to work rather than lying around all day, which he has frequently been doing recently. He is reluctant and refuses to leave his room. He then asks to borrow money from Poot, who begrudgingly obliges. Afterward, Poot reports his concerns over Wallace's activities to D'Angelo, who wants to talk with Wallace face-to-face. Meanwhile, at the print shop (a Barksdale front), Stringer berates the staff for not acting like professionals.