School

It's 5:00 in the evening, just before dinner. Justin, 14, and his mother are discussing his schoolwork.

Mom: Do you have homework?

Justin: I did it in school.

Mom: Forest's father said that he had an algebra test tomorrow. I thought you were in his class.

Justin: I am. But you can't study for algebra. Either you know it or you don't.

Mom: Of course you can study. You can study anything.

Justin: I pay attention in class. I know what's going on.

Mom: You only got a 70 on the last test.

Justin: 70 is good Mom.

Mom: It's okay. But if you would study, you could get 100. You're a smart kid. You could be at the top of the class instead of in the bottom third.

Justin: Then I'd be a nerd.

Mom: That's not true.

Justin: Mom, only nerds study. I don't care about algebra. When am I going to need algebra? Do you think that one day somebody is going to come up to me and ask me: if Stuart is 6 feet tall and Mary is 120 centimeters tall, how many inches taller is Stuart than Mary?

Mom: That's not algebra.

Justin: Mom, Mary is a dwarf.

Mom: Don't say dwarf, says a little person-and don't distract me. I want to concentrate on this. We need to focus on this. You're going to college in three years and your grades count. And if you want to go to a good school, you have to apply yourself. Just because you've got a good brain doesn't mean that you should just get by.

Justin: I don't want to go to Princeton like you and Dad. I don't even know if I want to go to college.

Mom: Don't be ridiculous. You've got to go to college. What are you going to do? Play in a band?

Justin: Maybe.

Mom: Even if you do, you still need an education. You should still study philosophy and literature and science. You should still know about the world.

Justin: There are other ways of knowing about the world.

Mom: College gives you a larger view--more of a perspective. And it will help you get a job.

Justin: Maybe not.

Mom: We can leave that for when you have to decide. But I still want you to study more. What happened to that study hour we set for you? I'll sit with you and work with you on your homework.

Justin: Doesn't that sound cozy? No way.

Mom: You can't play computer until you've studied.

Justin: No problem.

Mom: And no TV.

Justin: Whatever you say. Your punishments don't mean anything to me, mom.

Mom: I want you to focus. I want you to work. You're wasting yourself.

Justin: It's my life. And it's my grades. And I'm not going to study for my algebra test. And there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing.