[title] Beyond the Focal Point
[description] Whilst reading The Pet @@ANIMAL@@ aloud to a class of children from a nearby primary school, you notice that not a single student has paid you any attention: everyone seems to prefer chit-chatting, roughhousing and even sleeping to concentrating on the reading session.
[validity] has organised, but underfunded, education
[option] "When you keep a bunch of energetic nine year-olds cooped up in a cramped classroom for a third of the day, what else can you expect?" yells @@RANDOMNAME@@, the teacher of the class, as @@HE@@ tussles with a child attempting to play with his stapler. "Newsflash: kids get bored at school and the current emphasis on reading textbooks and grinding maths worksheets all day is outdated and ineffective. There's a whole world outside for our children to explore but we're too focused on preparing them for the next big test. Methods of teaching through excursions and games must be better integrated into the curriculum, which will certainly keep kids more engaged than staring at pieces of paper. Children are sensitive beings, and it's important we treat them wit- GET OFF ME YOU LITTLE RASCAL!"
[effect] disruptive students being 'sent out of class' has a whole new meaning
[option] "The last thing we need to do is pander to these spoilt brats," groans tiger mum @@RANDOMNAMEFEMALE@@ as she brandishes a cane with suspicious-looking crimson stains. "Back in my day, I'd get a thrashing from the headmaster and my parents just for looking out of the window during class. And guess what? I turned out JUST fine. Set up a few 'study camps' to inculcate good old-fashioned discipline into these troublemakers and everything will be back to normal."
[effect] restless kids are sent to concentration camps
[option] "Why waste resources on all that crap when we should be tackling the root cause of this lack of inattention?" snarls paediatrician Dr. Craig Hose, as he pulls out a capsule labelled 'breath mints' from his breast pocket. "Our nation is suffering from an epidemic of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and we don't even know it. Start a nationwide awareness campaign to get more children diagnosed with ADHD and loosen the lousy restrictions placed on us doctors to prescribe stimulants. There, I've solved the case, my work here is done." He pops a couple of 'breath mints' and winks at you.
[effect] talking during class is a gateway to lifelong drug addictions
[option] "Just let kids be kids," says your nephew, his eyes still fixated on a tablet screen displaying a brain-numbing smorgasbord of short-form videos on WhoTube. "If we don't want to listen to some boring old fart read out a stupid book out loud, why should we be forced to? Schools should be providing us with these awesome tablets for self-directed learning, so that we aren't wasting time on rubbish like maths and reading which are boring and will never be used in real life."
[validity] has technology
[effect] teenagers often watch explicit content during class as part of 'self-directed' lessons on the human anatomy
comments appreciated as alwayz