Smitty

From the book: He pays attention when he has to, to get by and stay out of trouble. There are many he thinks to be like him, bored, and he knows of many who are not as calm about their boredom as he is, kids who do not get by and do get in trouble. While he and the others are spending their days in classrooms where they would rather not be, those who run the school, his parents too, tell him why he should be there and why he should try harder to do what he is asked to do, why he should do what he gets no satisfaction for doing. School, he is told, is good for him, will do well by him, if he tries, when he is older. He sometimes believes this to be true, knows it is on occasion, but just cannot get himself to get excited enough about what goes on to get into it. He stays on. He will stay on until the end because he is Smitty. There are others who are not Smitty who will not stay on until the end. Love, Eienstein is quoted as having said, is a far better motivator than duty.