Zoology Class Fall 2004

The slightly dingbat student that the class had adopted as "that girl that always has something dumb to ask*" raised her hand in the middle of our teacher's introduction. Something declared by the teacher (who has a doctorate, mind you) didn't sit right with the front row student. "So you're saying we're animals?" She asked.
"Yes. We're animals," our teacher replied.
"We're animals?" She asked again in a tone that sounded like she was waiting for the punchline.
"Yes."
A look of shock, dissapointment, heartbreak washed over the dingbat's face. I remember thinking to myself, "Why is she so crushed?...and how could she not know this???" It was then that I realized there are still "those people**" in this world. The people who think they are so special, so above everything on earth (instead of one with it) that they become almost angry and defensive when it comes to certain scientific discoveries. "But that's okay," I thought, "I'm glad she's in this class because it will broaden her horizons."
A month later, the teacher was going over our first test scores and telling us what the correct answers were. "Now I noticed that all but one of you got this answer right." She began, thinking carefully how to go about phrasing her next sentence. "When I asked what the age of the earth was, I wanted the scientific answer. Now, I know that some of you have certain religous beliefs and that's great. But since this is a science class, your answer needs to be about 4.5 billion years old and not 7,000 years old. Is this okay with everyone?"
Everyone knew who that one person was and we each took a turn staring at her. The dingbat continued to look distant as the teacher talked, but she held her head proudly as if to exclaim, "Nope, no horizons broadened here."
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*Alright, while I strongly believe there is no such thing as a dumb question, as I have had some dumb ones myself, this girl had REALLY dumb questions. Questions only an 8 year old should ask.

**Don't hate me. Whatever you believe is fine with me. But a science class is not the right place to hold tight to your religous beliefs. Why did you take the class in the first place? And do you realize you're being graded?