The Homework Machine

Miss Rasmussen occasionally invites parents to talk to her class about their jobs. Sam (Snik) is very proud of his father who comes to talk to the class about being in the Air Force. Miss Rasmussen’s impression is that the class has a “wonderful debate” about the pros and cons of war.

When asked about the D Squad, Miss Rasmussen notes that Sam is still struggling with his grades and his attitude, Kelsey is “doing okay, but not great” (50), Judy is consistently scoring in the 90s, and Brenton never gets less than 100. As November progresses, Miss Rasmussen is pleased to see the D Squad coalesce, meeting at lunchtime and leaving school together every day. She is surprised and happy to see “a boy like Sam” (60) be friends with “a boy like Brenton” (60), and likewise for Kelsey and Judy. In hindsight Miss Rasmussen feels foolish for not suspecting anything untoward.

Judy does not appreciate Snik’s father bringing a gun into school, and she thinks Kelsey’s pink hair dye is “awful” and wonders how a parent could let their child do that. Judy then reconsiders, remembering that she doesn’t appreciate being judged by the color of her skin.