In Miss Ralston’s small-town classroom, the boys always carry water from the railway station to the school. Carrying the water is a status symbol and a break from the daily routine. One day, one of the girls challenges this tradition. (Summary)
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Short Stories About School
Joey has a newfound celebrity status at school. She’s reminded of her first day when everyone was interested in her left arm. It’s her last day for at least six months. She’ll be going to live at Sky Tower with the team. Her friends speculate about who she’ll become and who she’ll be replacing. There’s a lot of uncertainty and excitement about Joey’s new path.
This story can be read in the preview of Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories.
“Celia Behind Me” by Isabel HugganCelia is a chubby, diabetic young girl. The narrator, Elizabeth, has been ordered by her mother to be nice to Celia. Elizabeth doesn’t like Celia at all and tries to oid being ostracized by her classmates. The mental strain escalates, bringing Elizabeth to a breaking point. (Summary)
“All Summer in a Day” by Ray BradburyHumans are living on Venus. The children are eagerly awaiting an event that scientists he confirmed: it will stop raining for two hours, the only break from rain in seven years. The kids speculate about what the sun is like. One student remembers the sun from Earth, but the others don’t believe her.
“The Kid Nobody Could Handle” by Kurt VonnegutJim Donnini is a new kid in town. He is Mr. Quinn’s nephew by marriage, and no one knows what to do with him. Jim is moody and a trouble maker at school. The head of the music department, George Helmholtz, tries to help the boy. (Read here (PDF)
“The Fun They Had” by Isaac AsimovIn the year 2157 Tommy finds a real book. It is about how school was in the old days. He and Margie talk about how different school used to be with human teachers.
“The First Day of School” by Jeffery DeerJim Martin makes the morning walk to Thomas Jefferson Middle School. It’s the first day, so he’s excited and nervous. He remembers some significant moments from prior school years. (Read “The First Day of School”)
“The School” by Donald BarthelmeA teacher relates all of the experiences with death that his class has in a single school year. He starts by telling us that all the trees they planted died.
This is the second story in the preview of The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction.
“Indian Education” by Sherman AlexieA chronicle of the life of Victor, from grade 1 through high school. Victor gets bullied, wrongly judged by teachers, and sees his peers take destructive paths.
“No Win Phuong” by Alden R. CarterNgo Huynh Phuong (pronounced “no win fong”) starts school in central Wisconsin. Bull and Jeff, members of the baseball team, want him to join the team, assuming he’s a great baseball player. He turns out to he a strong fastball but poor control. Phuong doesn’t want to play on the team. (Read “No Win Phuong”)
“The Era” by Nana Kwame Adjei-BrenyaBen is in school learning about the Long Big War and the Big Quick War. Ben isn’t optimized; he’s a clear-born. His sister, Marlene, is a rarity; her optiselection made her a para-one. She’s highly ambitious. Everyone receives regular helpings of Good at breakfast to function normally. Ben goes to the nurse for more.