The Private Phone

The school bell rang. Faculty and staff assembled in the cafeteria to listen to the principal speak. Miguela Ortiz was somewhat stout, in her fifties, and had a square face which complimented her coiffed brown hair.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it has come to my attention that we will be seeing an influx of private schools. No more will there be a monopoly on the school system. We will be reminded just how important our school system is when the parents realize that they will be paying exorbitant fees for their children to attend school. Now, we can do this standing up by resisting the idea that we can’t educate our kids. We have the capabilities and the expertise to better serve these children than any private school.”

“So, with that, I encourage you to go out there and fight for your classrooms. It will be a battle but one we will win. That’s all.”

Some teachers were befuddled. Some looked slightly miffed. Two teachers ventured back to Haillie Nesser's classroom. Melinda Gadley looked like she could be an actress. Her cheekbones seemed high and coconut shell colored skin surrounded them. Hailie looked like she could be a runner up to a beauty pageant as well. Brown skin and soft features spoke of a woman that had, in her mind, sacrificed a career as a meteorologist for Channel 30 news in Wilmington, Delaware. Melinda checked a text. She laid her phone on Hailie’s desk. The elegant blackness and the gleam from the screen could still marvel.

“It’s a problem,” Hailie mentioned. Some bile bubbled up in her words.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, 'oh.' We have all these kids with parents who can’t afford––”

“Can’t afford….?”

“They can’t afford to go to a private school.”

“Oh, really?” Melinda asked. She held up her smartphone. The light reflected off of the screen.

“This technology, the origins, cost more than some cars at the time. The first model for the cellular phone was over $10,000. Now, people can pay these off with just over $1,000. That’s how markets work.”

Hailie gave an audible “humph.” It was not a sign of defeat but merely a breath of exasperation.

“So you mean to tell me that you feel that the same will happen in private education?”

“Absolutely.”

Hailie calculated. “If other nations had adopted––”

“China, India, and countries in Africa already have employed wider private education. The government schools there had serious competition because they were using free books, and free modules, but getting no results. On about a dollar a day, private schools thrived based on the ideals of free markets.”

“Free markets! Free markets! What is this, a business?”

“Yes, it is,” Melinda answered.

“That’s cruel. No child should be looked at as a commodity. It’s just plain common sense. Kids aren’t products.”

“But they are. We are the engineers that produce them to the world. And it’s not just for them to find a job but to live happy, flourishing lives,” Melinda explained.

“There’s no way that the parents are going to go for this. There’s no way. We must have some kind of rally or organized walk to challenge this decision.”

“I say we embrace it.”

“Why? How did you become Miss Capitalist?”

“I’ve been doing some reading. I found out how the government’s role is not in education. I have noticed this to be true on two fronts. One, it’s immoral and the other, it’s impractical.”

“What is moral and practical, then. How so?”

“It is moral that we only use the government as defense and a judiciary. It is practical that we see the rates of children wanting to learn by teachers eager and engaged. What we need is a revolution in teaching.”

“What we need is to go back to the old ways. I mean keep the new stuff, the computers, and tablets and what have you, but instill in these kids that they have to learn to go to college to find a career.”

“Did you miss what I just said? We should be teaching them that the way to a full, joyous life is through learning. Education is the source of all values. And to be a valuer, everyone ought to recognize the process of selecting what you like. Once you figure out what you like, you can hold onto that thing and express your delight in the work you wish to do, what kind of romantic partner and friends you want to have around you and what you enjoy most outside of those things.”

“It’s a lot to take,” Hailie admitted.

“For me, it’s not. The privatization of the school systems in Delaware will free up the space for entrepreneurs to invest and reap profits, both physical and spiritual in education.”

“So, you’re saying a bunch of money grubbing, greedy corporate puppets should flood the market and drive us out?”

“Not exactly in those terms but about that same sentiment.”

Hailie’s voice grew higher and a bit colder. “You’re telling me that some billionaire who just wants to buy another half a billion dollar yacht is alright with you messing around with our kids’ minds?”

“I’m telling you I’d take the greediest, most cutthroat businessman over some bureaucrat who’s never going to get fired if the school fails. That billionaire is going to care a lot more about the school system because his or her pocketbook is going to be on the line. Some politician will just stay in the same musty corridors of corruption until he or she dies or is voted out of office.”

Hailie shifted her weight. She had had her arms folded but now she just leaned back in her chair. Her mind swirled. Her bottom lip puckered some. She attempted to digest just what Melinda was talking about. It was like a twitch that overwhelmed her left eye. The barrage of information and the way that it was presented truly shook her. But she kept fighting down the hill as Melinda charged upward.

“You were talking about the cost of phones….”

“And cars, refrigerators, flat screen TVs, even online courses. That’s more related to what we do.”

“Yes, I’m glad you mentioned that. Can the schools even compete against each other for space on the Internet? Won’t it be too noisy and crowded?” Hailie asked earnestly. The bile had subsided some.

“It is true that with any new thing, it will have a sticker shock. The reason why prices plummet is because of competition. They may even use the same component like in the case of this phone. Multiple nations and companies combine to make a beautiful product like this.” She waved the phone and then replaced it on the desk.

Hailie’s eyes grew wide. She raised up from her seat. Melinda tracked her with her eyes like a hunter in a forest spying on deer. Hailie went to her closet and withdrew a hammer.

“You know I often use this to keep the nails above the board in place holding the banner.”

Melinda, beginning to grow anxious, walked around to where Hailie had just closed the closet door.

“You know, insurance plans on those things must be sky high. Maybe there should be more competition between carriers rather than just the Big Three.” Hailie said as she edged closer to Melinda.

“Okay, Hail’, I know we may not see the same plane of view. But this doesn’t have to happen.” She waved her hands over the phone.

“Move!” Hailie exclaimed.

Melinda slid her hand away. The face of the hammer struck down on the smartphone, shattering the glass like an automobile collision.

“What the hell?!” Melinda shouted. The commotion alerted another teacher. Yelina Cott, slightly taller with striking features, wrapped her hands around Hailie’s wrist and the hammer clattered to the ground.

“Call 911!”

“I can’t!” Melinda yelled. Yelina spotted the broken phone. Immediately, she kept with Hailie.

“Reach into my pocket and call for emergency services,” Yelina commanded Melinda.

“Hello, my colleague is experiencing a mental disturbance. Please come with help as soon as you can.”

“We have traced your call at Newark Middle School. Assistance is on the way.”

Melinda then tried to hold down Hailie and aid Yelina. The two women watched as other faculty members crowded at the door. Hailie thrashed about in fits of anger. She also sobbed. Tears rolled down her cheek and pooled at her chin.

“Why is she like this?” Yelina asked with urgency.

“We were just having a discussion and Wham! there she was with the hammer.”

“I’m sorry about your phone,” Yelina lamented.

“It’s okay. I just want Hailie to first be prosecuted and then get the care she needs.”

Paramedics arrived and placed Hailie on a gurney. Melinda covered her mouth and Yelina placed her hands on her hips. They both looked down at the floor. When everyone else had left the scene, Yelina asked Melinda what had transpired to lead to suggest a destructive turn of events.

“I was just showing her how the private phone is like the private school system then she had a violent episode.”

Yelina shook her head and put a hand to her mouth. She then walked over to the hammer, picked it up and handed it to Melinda.

“An eye for an eye,” they both shot a glance at Hailie’s phone.

“That wouldn’t be blindness but wilful wrecking in retaliation. I’m not about to do that,” Melinda pointed out. The teachers left the room with the knowledge that Hailie would be charged with destruction of private property and sent to a psych ward for evaluation.

“You think she’ll lose her job?” Yelina asked at lunch the next day.

“If she does, I can only say that a private school owner will give her another chance.” They both looked at each other with growing smirks.

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