“Pass your political bias papers forward,” Mr. Starney instructed as he stood to face the class. He paused as the teenagers before him shuffled through their papers, and he noticed without surprise that several students made no effort to hand in anything. Before he could continue, a hand was raised in the middle of the classroom. “Sorry, Jessica, no delays, just turn in what you have.”
“I already did,” the young woman named Jessica retorted. “I have a question.”
“Well, then,” Mr. Starney gave a little shrug, “ask away.”
Jessica cocked her head to one side as she met his eye. “My parents and I saw your name in the paper this morning, in that article about Mr. Johnson. I heard there was a rule that teachers couldn’t talk about that. How come you did?”
“A fair question,” Mr. Starney assented. “There are various guesses one might make about that. One might guess that there is no such rule, or that I was showing disregard for the rule, or that in my old age I forgot the rule.” His exaggeration about his age drew some grins among his students, but they remained silent. “The salient point is that I did speak to a reporter about the controversy regarding Mr. Johnson, so it stands to reason that, at the time, I felt it was appropriate to do so.”
When he said nothing more, Jessica looked at him more skeptically than before. “That’s not much of an answer.”
“Sometimes,” Mr. Starney replied, “when you ask a person a question they do not wish to answer, they will answer it with the least substance possible. If you feel I am doing that, you shouldn’t feel alone, as I suspect the reporter had the same impression.”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “If you didn’t want to answer the reporter’s question, why didn’t you follow the rule about not talking about it?”
Mr. Starney gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “As I said, at the time I felt it was appropriate, just as I felt it was appropriate to address your question today. That does not mean, however, that I am going to be held to any specific level of detail in my answer.” Another hand rose, and Mr. Starney was not sure whether to feel relieved or annoyed. “Yes, Aaron?”
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