The next day, Maya brought in a National Geographic book to show her. Mrs. Gable didn’t even look at it. She confiscated the book, called it a "distraction," and made Maya write "I will respect the curriculum" fifty times on the whiteboard.
Maya came home in tears. Her favorite book was gone, and she felt like her passion was being treated like a crime. I emailed the teacher, and she literally replied: "I don’t need 'fun facts' from a fourth grader. I teach the syllabus."
That was it. Game on.