One early morning, Mama Pockets went to Pockets’ room. "Pockets! O’ Pockets, it’s time to get up and get ready for school," she exclaimed.
"Pockets," said, "Why so early?"
Mama Pockets replied, "Because I have to make sure that you are there on time."
Pockets retorted, "I was on time one-day last week."
Mama Pockets scolded, "Don’t talk back to me. One day is not going to cut it. You have to be on time, all the time. That’s part of life, do you hear me?"
Pockets said, "Yes ma’am. I am getting up now!"
Mama Pockets instructed, "Go take your shower and get ready for breakfast."
"Yes ma’am," Pockets replied.
"Oh! No, mom, oatmeal again? I am not hungry," complained Pockets.
Mama Pockets responded, "Well, suit yourself. People in other countries will be glad to have oatmeal or grits to eat. That’s the problem with you kids these days, thinking that money grows on trees! One day you will see that it doesn’t grow on trees. I cannot wait until you are old enough to see how hard it is to work 2 jobs just to keep a roof over your head. Saying, 'Why do you have to get up early?' Boy, let me tell you something. You are going to appreciate me when I am gone."
"Do you have everything? Let’s go! I will be in the car," she continued.
"When you are old enough to get a job, you will be on time. They will think that you don't have any home training. Then they will look at me and blame me. When I was younger and when I did not make it to school, they would have Truant officers come to the house to make sure that you are going to school. You would not like that, that was the law back then in North Carolina," Mama Pockets lectured, holding his head to keep it from falling.
"Now listen to your teacher! Love you, Pockets, and tell your teacher, Mrs. Crab Tree, to give her a call," she added before driving off.
Once Pockets made it to school today on time, he went to his desk and immediately raised his hand. His teacher said, "Yes, Pockets, may I help you?"
"Yes, teacher, I have a question. Why do we have to go to school?" Pockets inquired.
The teacher's reply was, "You are preparing yourself for the outside world. We have math to help you count your money, tell time, and figure things out with numbers. We have alphabets to learn how to write, to learn how to read, and to figure things out with words and diagrams, to communicate and respect other people and yourself. Learning to write your name in cursive so you can sign your check, then nobody else can take it because they have a different signature than yours. There’s a lot to learn, but you have to be patient and make sure you make it to class on time so you won’t miss out on important things that you may need to learn one day."
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Question 1 of 2
Why did Mama Pockets want Pockets to be on time for school every day?
What did the teacher say school was preparing Pockets for?
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