An ordinary back-to-school season

Here are three short stories, teasing about what it could mean for kids and teachers to use computer at school. The first and second stories are diversion to underline how ridiculous the situation is in school concerning IT.

Story 1

It's 12:00, the bell just rang, and Pauline is getting ready to go home. She is excited because it's the first day of school, and her mom has prepared her favorite dish for launch: pan-fried Chinese dumplings. But before that, she needs to finish packing her large tote bag with the school supplies she just received. At 12 years old, 152 cm, and 49 kg, she looks up at the mountain on her desk. Nevertheless, she is relieved because the 10 binders, their papers, and the 4 notebooks can stay in the classroom. However, she knows that she will have to stuff her bag to fit in the 14 books and 11 activity files. Her older brother had teasingly warned her, "Get ready to turn into a mule throughout middle school!!" She bears it patiently; it has always been this way.

Story 2

It's 6:00 PM, time to go home. Paul needs to prepare his things as he will be teleworking from home tomorrow, Wednesday. He chose this day to telework because the children are home, and he looks forward to this day of the week, even though it requires some extra organization. Indeed, he needs to bring home the billing binders for the 8 commercial services. These lever arch binders are practical but a bit bulky. This time, he will try not to forget the company's journal book. Last Wednesday, his department head had asked him to do a remote verification, but he couldn't because he had forgotten the book. Given that, he will also take the 6 auxiliary books, just in case. This time, he thought to bring his favorite tote bag, which is sturdy and has survived all his back-to-schools in high school.

Story 3

September 2025, tomorrow is Paulette's first day at middle school. As requested in the letter sent to parents during the summer, Paulette has started the synchronization process for her Dynabook. This time, she remembered to do it; last year, she was completely lost on the first day of school because she didn't have her schedule! She felt like the kid from the last grade wandering around the halls of her school, it was understandable for the younger ones, but not for her!

For this new school year, Paulette is thrilled because she shares the same class as her best friend, Justine. In fact, she has already drawn a heart in the class memory book dedicated to her. Curious, she took a look at the math book, and there are still fill-in-the-blank exercises where you have to write the answers with the stylus. These were her favorite exercises last year; they were not difficult to do and easy to send to the teacher for correction. Sometimes, there were self-corrected exercises, but the answers from the Dynabook were sometimes weird and not always understandable. What she preferred was the teacher's handwritten responses on her Dynabook exercise sheet or notebook.

But her favorite subject is geography. From her atlas, she copied the map of Taiwan onto the color screen and colored the places she visited this summer: Kenting, Taroko gorge,  Yang Ming Shan, Jiu Fen, all good memories.

Tomorrow, she will have lunch at school with Justine. Mom has prepared a great picnic for her, and it's already in her bag with her Dynabook. She will approach her first day at middle school with a light heart and a spring in her step.