They Fear Learning

(I’m a teacher in a crowded hallway. I see one of the girls being bullied. She’s being harassed by three of the most popular, pretty girls in her grade. The bullied is also a known school fanatic, and constantly carries a backpack full to bursting with books. The girls assume that no teacher can see them.)

Girl #1: *to Girl #2* “Aw, little [bullied girl]’s trying to get to her next class on time, like a good little girl!”

(Girl #1 trips the bullied girl, whips out her phone, takes a picture, and starts texting.)

Girl #1: “Oh, dear. You fell over!! And look, your books are just everywhere!”

(Girls #2 and #3 are stomping on the books, laughing until they’re practically falling over.)

Girl #3: “Who are you texting it to?”

Girl #1: “Oh, a ton of people, and let’s not forget, [bullied girl]’s crush!”

Girl #2: “Oh my God! You’re a genius!”

Girl #3: “Totally!”

(By now, the bullied girl is crying and trying to salvage her supplies. I start pushing my way to her, but one of her friends gets there first.)

Bullied Girl’s Friend: “Back off, you so-called popular idiots. Do you even know what texting is? In the base of it? Or even how it works? Do you know that it needs an ATSC? An ATSC is often referred to as a ‘digital input’, which negates the need for an external antenna to capture an analog signal. When the conversion happens, it will be essential that the cell you wish to continue using have the ability to receive and translate digital signals. Furthermore, should you decide to utilize a Video Cassette Recorder, you would most likely find it beneficial to connect a converter box to translate the digital signal to an analog recording outlet.”

(All the girls are giving the bullied girl’s friend a blank stare. The friend just glares at the three girls until they squeak up.)

All Three Girls: “Sorry.”

(They dash off. As they I go, I help the bullied girl pick up her stuff.)

Bullied Girl: *to her friend* “That’s not for a cell phone; that’s for a TV—”

Bullied Girl’s Friend: “I don’t know; you’re the nerd here. I was just reading it off of this!”

(The friend whips out her phone that she was hiding behind crossed arms, and shows us the screen. I take the phone and look at it. It is NotAlwaysRight-dot-com.)

Me: “If you allow me to post this on the new Geeks Rule section, I’ll pretend I didn’t see your phone in school.”

Both Girls: “Sure!”