You think Civics classes were difficult for YOU?

At 12, I had a course titled something like 'Comparative Political Systems'. It was a *required* course back then for all seventh graders. I had the distinct (dis?)advantage of having spent a school year in the Soviet Union by then, so it was abundantly clear to me when the textbook and teacher began lying about Marxism and even Soviet policies. I distinctly remember being sent to the Principal's office for one exchange I had with the teacher. I don't remember if the book actually said this, but I do remember the teacher saying, "From my own readings I've learned that in the Soviet Union, once you get to a certain age, you are denied medical treatment." Impulsively I bellowed out, "Oh, for God's sake. If you want to discredit the Soviet Union's policies, you don't have to just make stuff up out of thin air." Off to the Principal's Office I went where the Principal was familiar with my background and when he read the note about what had happened, he looked up at me and smiled. He told me the teacher would be very angry with him if he sent me straight back to the classroom, so I was to sit quietly in his office until the bell rang. The bell finally rang and then he said something that still rings in my ears. He said, "Mike, he's a Bircher and you're not going to change his mind. Best to keep your views to yourself in his class this term and pretend to believe what he says." I was completely flummoxed.

..just. Wow. You win the Wunderkind-du-jour Award on several levels; ~fluent (enough, I presume) in pre-Evul-Empire/Reagan daze, reading/writing in that very place; thence a good start on just plain Cuth + the guts to confront an Asshole (and restraint avoiding employing same) and daring The Accusative inner-voice .. to boot. {{sigh}}

Por moi: having met 'My Bircher-live' Gramma, I possessed merely the small-wits to Notice her dogmatic views on {well, Everything?} garnered as a 9-yo, sans any authentic USSR-ken at all. Absent then any debating-skillz, (likely I also lacked the Guts to fling such a Truthiness-koan at --> a Teechur, either.) You can't be making-this-up as, manifestly you do not suffer from er, a cringing need for Ego-enhancement.

(How nice too that the Principal [with Principles!] did not merely elide facing you with patronizing platitudes but: revealed your Teech as-a-Bircher--presumably building from earlier encounters with you--also comprehended that you Would know the exact-implications of just that one word, 'Bircher'/needing no long-winded philosophical intro. It's a bitchin Tale, I wot.

(I must remain self-satisfied via a lesser confrontation)--a physics 'blue-book-test' at Institute--wherein I deemed that A Problem was complexificated {so as to mis-lead us proles?}--when I compared the presentation with Niels Bohr's ..somewhat nebulous 'Cloud Theory of the Electrons around atoms. Alas, there:
The Grader (a harassed Grad-student du jour/much like the Blue-coated Interns in Med School, underpaid and overworked) had not the wit to respond-in-Kind, saying only: Is this a pun? {sigh}

Carrion ..sometimes it's the cumulative detritus from having missed n opportunities to overcome some ~petty-tyrant via a pellucid retort of logic-with-a-Sting :-(

Example of such in a similar venue/merely read about:

Q. on Test: ~How would you use (a pressure gauge?) to determine the height of (a tall building?--I forget)
A. (several, also ~
1) tie a string to it, lower to ground; measure.
2) swing the thing (at top) measure its (inertial) action; ditto at bottom; calculate.
3) drop it off the top; calc from Time, the height.
4) more (another might have been: measure the shadow cast by the 'Px gauge' thence ratio of shadow cast by building (?) ..Heh ..heh.

Seems the Teech marked it 'F' (he never mentioned the Wanted -reply re altimeters).
IIRC there was a kerfluffle; student Appealed; wiser heads prevailed. He HAD given several answers to problem-as-stated. Loved. It. aka The Precise is the enemy of the Nebulous.
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When we're in one of those kewl /also cool caves, folk shall be amusing selves with such tales, ever demonstrating..
Of all sad tales of tongue or pen
The saddest are these
It might have been

Under 'apologies for the length of this: I had not the time to make it concise':
(Maybe someone's solar-laptop shall contain legions of unread-zIWE?)
..when they've re-read The Iliad, The Odyssey twice already ..and transistorized-guitars have worn out, at least 'figuratively'. ;^>

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