Little diddy about the girls

The Chinese are plagued with bad eyesight. So much so, in fact, that the government wants schools to implement daily eye exercises. Any teacher may estimate that half her or his students wear classes. (And many Westerners purchases glasses here because the frames and lenses are comparatively inexpensive.) The predominant need for eye glasses has caused them to be a favorite accoutrement. Not many boys male students do it but several females– despite their good vision– wear frames sans lenses. Then there lies a contradiction. It’s not clear whether they are too poor to procure them, too “busy” to procure them, or too reticent to admit the need for them, several students simply won’t change their prescriptions or even buy any glasses at all. It seems to make as much sense as going for a nude walk in the midst of a blizzard, yet it’s ubiquitously apparent.
“I can’t see it clearly,” several female students say about words they’re asked to pronounce from the board. Now, there are various angles from which to consider this act. You don’t ask why they don’t merely move to a spot from which they can see the board. You don’t ask why they sit in the very back of the class (the answer: they’re uncomfortable with the subject, their abilities or the teacher). You don’t ask anything. Instead, you wait. The class grows uncomfortable, shifting half-blind eyes from the teacher to the mute, defiant student. Quickly enough a nearby student prods her lazy counterpart with the answer, clandestinely slipping her dictionary or the answer on a torn piece of paper across the desk.
There are several similar tricks to try to force the teacher to proceed to the next student. Each time they’re used it begs the question: how dumb do they think we are?
“I didn’t bring my book,” is another common method of thwarting the teacher’s efforts. This is usually when a teacher will simply look at the student, laboring not to demonstrate how disgusted with boredom she is. “Then share with another,” is her response, loathe at the fact that these students wouldn’t have done this already after reading aloud for 25 minutes.
One personal favorite is the defense, “It’s too difficult”. Students frequently use this one when they can’t pronounce a word or don’t want to flex the grey matter between their skull bones. “Lots of things in life are though. But look at me, I’m still going.” It sounds like something your parents would have said when you’re learning to ride a bike or learn calculus. It’s not quite a “Go on, champ. You can do it!” It’s more like “The arrogance of youth is a privilege that you’ll eventually relinquish.”