“Ms. Lively, what’s the name of a city in Paris?”

As they answer perfunctory questions in their workbook

Filling in the blanks stops them in their tracks

They’ve been trained since the age of eight

To answer multiple choice

To pick the “best answer.”

Blank spaces are road blocks of uncertainty.

Multiple choice – they know.

They’ve trained and drilled and practiced for years

To find the best answer from the list of choices.

Now, as teens the choices are harder

More multiple

Less choice

When you’re in Middle School, who will help you when you:

a) Don’t get enough to eat at home

b) Start having sex at age 14

c) Get punched in the face by your father

d) Have to care for your 2 year old sister all day and night so your mother can go to work

Who will check those answers?

Where can you find the answers?