Meet the kids at Meadows

 The Spoiled Middle-Class Kids

It’s 8 a.m., and I’m at Green Meadows Academy—one of those fancy schools where kids wear blazers that cost more than my monthly fuel budget. The school is run by Mrs. Oloo, a tyrannical headmistress who thrives on micro-managing teachers. She monitors lesson plans like a hawk and sends emails with exclamation marks when things don’t go her way. The parents? Oh, they’re no better. They want to decide how lessons are run as if they have education degrees. Discipline is out of the question—any form of punishment might result in a meeting with Mrs. Oloo and an angry parent threatening to pull their child out of school.

Today, we’re working on a group project. Well, that’s what the syllabus says. In reality, it’s me mediating a debate about which football club is better: Arsenal or Manchester United. I’ve learned to let them argue. It’s a safer bet than trying to steer them back to algorithms.

Then there’s Jeremy. Jeremy’s mom emails daily about his giftedness and “needs to be challenged.” Meanwhile, Jeremy is busy figuring out how to bypass the school’s firewall to stream FIFA highlights.

At 3 p.m., I clock out. The kids pile into SUVs with drivers who look as tired as I feel. My day isn’t over, though. It’s time to switch gears—literally.