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Pay to do schoolwork? We trickled into the classroom and took our seats. I began to exchange answers from last night’s homework with a classmate, when Mrs. Hopkins, my eighth grade social studies teacher, called our attention to the front of the class. She began passing out a half sheet of paper, and started explaining to us the contents. She told us that funding for education had been cut dramatically, and a new funding source was needed. Students would have to pay 10 cents per page for all photocopied materials. We went on to read that any student who doesn’t pay the 10-cent fee would have to receive a grade 0 for the assignment. As you can imagine, my class was furious. We come to school and do work, but to have to pay for the work we do is ridiculous. And what if we didn’t have 10 cents with us that day? We all began to voice our opinions on the subject, and my teacher just listened. She had us write down our reactions, and encouraged us to write a letter to the school board. After we had all finished writing, she went up to the front of the room, looked directly at us, and told us that we wouldn’t have to pay 10 cents per photocopy. We were all a bit puzzled, seeing as how we had a document stating we did. She told us she had made up the whole thing so we could experience what the American colonists felt when they learned of the Stamp Tax. I have to admit it was a good lesson. She made it a lot easier to understand what the colonists were feeling and why they were so opposed to the tax. Carrie Roth, Butler High School, Matthews |
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