I graded L.’s paper today. She always arrives late to class, then settles herself in and starts eating a snack. She likes potato chips in cellophane bags. Then she’ll decide to clean out her purse, taking out papers and crumpling them up. A couple of times I’ve turned to her, saying, “Are we all done now? Got everything squared away?” Then she’ll say either “Yes” or “Almost.” Sarcasm is lost on her. L.’s story was among the worst things I’ve ever read in my life. How on earth did they allow her to graduate from high school? Even Tomoko, who is from Japan and can just barely speak English, is a
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