Hey everyone. It appears the quest "School Daze" in Dashaan is bugged. The part where you have to touch orb things around the pond in particular. Basically the orbs don't give any feedback when they are touched so you don't know what symbol they are now displaying. I have found a way around the bug. The first thing to do is abandon the quest. This will reset the orbs into a natural position. When you get the quest again from the arch-mage it will require you to assist the other two people as well, but these are easy to do.
Onto the fix. After you have gotten the quest again head to the pond. Make sure you talk to the NPC and get the hint to appear under the focused quest display. Next DO NOT TOUCH the north orb. Touch the WESTERN orb once. The EASTERN orb twice, and the SOUTHERN orb three times. This will have an gator spawn in the middle of the lake. Kill it and everyone who gets a hit in will also get credit for the quest. Again the order is N-0 W-1 E-2 S-3.
I hope this work around helps anyone else who is stuck on this quest. I know i was stuck on it for a couple of days before i found this obscurely posted on the official forums.
Note, unlike most people say in the area, this quest is not a team work quest and does not require one person doing it at a time. As long as you start with a fresh start (I.E. abandoning the quest) and follow the given order, the gator will spawn.