Twins in the same classroom

[Wilson Gray]

I had never heard of the splitting up of twins till I was in my
forties. A colleague mentioned that she had been bullied in junior
high school by the mean girls because her middle name is Stuart. When
I asked why her twin brother didn't come to her assistance, she
replied that it was against local educational policy to allow twins to
be together at school, even during recess.

I was taken aback. Blacks have twins more often than whites do. So
I've spent nearly my entire life in the company of twins.

Carl came down with a case of public lice and was too embarrassed to
go get the meds, so he had his brother, Earl, go to the drugstore for
him. Since Earl was Carl's identical-twin brother, I'm still trying to
figure out the logic of that move.

-Wilson


On 12/14/06, Brenda Lester <alphatwin2002 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Brenda Lester <alphatwin2002 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Twins in the same classroom
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> My twin sister and I were separated in the second grade. I don't know why. My sister and I went to the same university. She stumbled out with a low GPA, and I sailed out with good numbers. Linda is the extrovert, and she spent too much time having fun, while I stayed home and studied. I think it all comes down to personality. Linda has intellect but little patience.
>
>
>   Brenda
>   Rhinebeck, NY
>
>
> Amy West <medievalist at W-STS.COM> wrote:
>   I had a pair of twins in one of my freshman comp. classes this
> semester. They always sat together. One had slightly higher marks on
> writing assignments than the other. Go figure.
>
> ---Amy West
>
> >Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:04:27 -0800
> >From: "James A. Landau"
> >Subject: Re: Pompey, nickname for Portsmouth
> >
> >My uncle had twin daughters, three weeks older than me. He made a
> >point of making sure that the two were never in the same class
> >(apparently back in those days the school system did not have a rule
> >about twins). Theory? Perhaps, but the two, although twins, were
> >very different. Kay was brash and outgoing, Rebecca was bookish and
> >introverted. Putting the two in the same class would have resulted
> >in each one comparing herself unfavorably with the other. Also,
> >there is a strong tendency for teachers and classmates to assume
> >that twins are twins and therefore should be equally good both
> >socially and academically. I'm sure my uncle was right.
>
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--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
-Sam'l Clemens

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