The Teachers' Lounge: Polarization Without Polarization

Every morning at eight o'clock, the teachers' lounge in our school awakened to the same scene. Three teachers from unions E, G, and H would gather around the worn-out couch in the kitchen corner, clutching their pastries, their eyes radiating that innocent "we" gaze.

"Oh, colleagues," said Mr. Frank (Union E), crumbs of sesame bread spilling from his mouth, "our school is wonderful, isn't it? No polarization whatsoever. We eat and drink together. Unity, solidarity, brotherhood!"

"Well said!" added Ms. Grace (Union G), sipping her tea. "Look at this table. Union E, Union G, Union H... all here. No one gets hurt. World peace begins right here, friends!"

Mr. Henry (Union H) lifted a piece of pastry into the air. "Every layer of this pastry comes from a different union! But look, they're all together. That's what I'm talking about!"

Just then, the door opened, and Mr. Sam from Union B entered. The small badge on his jacket sleeve was enough to make the atmosphere in the room suddenly dry up.

"Good morning," said Mr. Sam, walking quietly toward his own desk.

Mr. Frank, Ms. Grace, and Mr. Henry exchanged glances. Ms. Grace winked. Mr. Frank coughed.

"Good morning, good morning," said Mr. Frank, his voice rising an octave. "Look, everyone's here again. So there's no polarization!"

Mr. Sam sat at his desk and opened his laptop. Then silence fell. That silence was, in fact, the loudest moment in the teachers' lounge.

Ms. Grace whispered—but in such a whisper that it could be heard from the other end of the corridor: "At least we're not like them, right? We're understanding. Open-minded."

"Yeah," continued Mr. Henry, again in that conspiratorial whisper. "Some people, you know, become so fanatical. This isn't what unionism is about, my friend. We have humanity."

Mr. Frank nodded, this time raising his voice slightly: "Don't I always say it? There's no polarization in our school. We're all brothers. But some people want to destroy that brotherhood. They just don't understand."

Mr. Sam continued staring at his screen. His ears had turned red, but he remained silent.

Ms. Grace brewed tea. Of the three teapots, two went to the E-G-H table. The third was placed in the center, supposedly "for everyone," but the cups remained at the E-G-H table.

"Help yourselves," said Ms. Grace, without looking toward Mr. Sam. "We love to share. No polarization here!"

As lunch break approached, Mr. Frank stood up, positioned himself in the middle of the room, and spread his arms wide—as if he were a peace ambassador, perhaps delivering a Nobel Prize acceptance speech:

"Colleagues! Look at this table. E, G, H. Three different colors. But the same table. This is the photograph of defeating polarization!"

The door opened again. This time, two more teachers from Union B entered: Ms. Amy and Mr. Jack. The air in the room had now become the driest of the dry.

"Well," said Mr. Henry, smiling but with unsmiling eyes, "you're quite crowded from Union B today. Is there a meeting?"

Ms. Amy smiled. "No, we were just going to have lunch."

"Ah," said Ms. Grace, "so were we. Let's eat together then. After all, there's no polarization!"

But there was no room at the table. The three teachers from Unions E, G, and H had completely occupied the three-seater couch. Only a single chair remained at the side, with an old coffee table in front of it.

Mr. Sam stood up. "You sit," he said. "I'll eat standing."

"Nonsense," said Mr. Frank, his mouth full. "Come here, sit with us. We make no distinctions here. No polarization!"

But no space was made on the couch. There were only smiles—that sweet, sticky, "we're the good ones" kind of smiles.

Ms. Amy leaned against the wall and began eating her pastry while standing. Mr. Jack sat on the radiator by the window.

"How wonderful," said Ms. Grace, "we're all eating together. That's it! Unity, solidarity!"

That afternoon, the teachers from Union B talked among themselves:

"Why do we always eat by the wall?" asked Mr. Sam.

"No polarization, right?" said Ms. Amy, rolling her eyes. "That's what they say."

"Perhaps," said Mr. Jack, "the only place where there's no polarization is their table. We're not there, that's why."

The next day, the teachers from Unions E, G, and H were in the same spot again. But this time, they had brought a cardboard sign that read: "NO POLARIZATION—UNITY AND SOLIDARITY." They took a selfie and posted it to the school group.

Mr. Frank commented below: "Our school has unions of every color, but one heart! 🙏❤️"

Five minutes later, a teacher from Union B liked it. Ms. Grace immediately commented below: "Thank you, brother! That's it! 👏"

But that day, the next day, and the day after that—the teachers from Union B either ate their lunch standing, leaning against the wall, or alone in their own classrooms.

Because there was no polarization. They had said so. Three times. Four times. Perhaps a hundred times.

And the more they said it, the larger that couch grew, the longer that table extended, the more crowded that "we" became.

One day, the school principal dropped by the teachers' lounge. The teachers from Unions E, G, and H were in their usual spot. Those from Union B were scattered again, on the margins, silent.

The principal asked: "Is there a problem? Why are you sitting separately?"

Mr. Frank jumped up: "Principal! There's no problem. Quite the opposite! We have no polarization. We're all together. They just don't want to come!"

Ms. Grace added: "We invite them, we call them over. But they stay among themselves. Fanaticism, that's what it is."

Mr. Henry extended the narrative: "We're open-minded. But some people... unfortunately."

The principal looked at the teachers from Union B. Mr. Sam shrugged. "There was no room on the couch," he said simply.

"How could there not be?" shouted Mr. Frank. "There was yesterday, there is today, there will be tomorrow! They're lying, Principal! We have no polarization!"

That evening, the same photo was shared again in the school's WhatsApp group. Unions E, G, H, smiling faces, the sign: "NO POLARIZATION."

This time, a teacher from Union B commented below:

"Yes, there's no polarization. You're right. Because polarization requires at least two poles. You are one pole. We are simply... distant."

Mr. Frank immediately replied: "See! They're doing it again! We say brotherhood, they say pole!"

Ms. Grace added: "Unfortunately, some people don't want to understand."

Mr. Henry put the final point: "At least we're understanding. There's no polarization, after all! 😊"

And so it was. There was no polarization in our school. There never had been. At least that's what the teachers from Unions E, G, and H said.

Every morning.

Every lunch break.

Every meeting.

And each time, those words hung in the air, hovering over the teachers from Union B like a cloud—but whether anyone saw it, nobody knew.

Because there was no polarization.

They had said so.

And they were always right.

THE END

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Reading Comprehension Questions

Vocabulary & Context Questions

1. The phrase "that innocent 'we' gaze" in paragraph 1 suggests that the three teachers:
   • A) Are genuinely inclusive and welcoming to everyone
   • B) See themselves as a unified group while unconsciously excluding others
   • C) Are aware of their exclusionary behavior but hide it deliberately
   • D) Feel guilty about excluding other union members
2. In the context of the story, what does the author mean by "that silence was, in fact, the loudest moment in the teachers' lounge"?
   • A) The teachers were shouting at each other silently
   • B) The absence of communication revealed more than words could
   • C) Mr. Sam was playing loud music on his laptop
   • D) The physical noise level was actually very high

Inference & Analysis Questions

3. What does the "cardboard sign" symbolize in the narrative?
   • A) Genuine commitment to unity among all teachers
   • B) The performative nature of the E-G-H group's claimed inclusivity
   • C) An official school policy mandating union cooperation
   • D) The principal's intervention to solve the conflict
4. Mr. Sam's final comment—"There was no room on the couch"—can be interpreted as:
   • A) A literal complaint about furniture shortage
   • B) A metaphor for systemic exclusion disguised as inclusion
   • C) An apology for not joining the group earlier
   • D) Evidence that Union B teachers prefer isolation
5. The story's title "Polarization Without Polarization" is an example of:
   • A) A factual error by the author
   • B) An oxymoron highlighting the hypocrisy of claimed unity
   • C) A typographical mistake that should read "No Polarization"
   • D) A scientific term describing magnetic fields

Theme & Critical Thinking Questions

6. Which statement best captures the central irony of the story?
   • A) Union B teachers are secretly planning to take over the lounge
   • B) The E-G-H group repeatedly claims inclusivity while practicing exclusion
   • C) The principal is unaware of the union conflicts in his school
   • D) All teachers eventually realize they need to change their behavior
7. The author's use of repetition ("No polarization" appearing multiple times) serves to:
   • A) Emphasize that the statement is objectively true
   • B) Show how the E-G-H group convinces others through persistence
   • C) Illustrate how empty slogans become meaningless through overuse
   • D) Demonstrate the frequency of official school announcements
8. What does the final line "And they were always right" suggest about the nature of power dynamics in the story?
   • A) The E-G-H group has legal authority over other unions
   • B) Those who control the narrative can define reality regardless of facts
   • C) Union B teachers have accepted their inferior status
   • D) The principal has officially ruled in favor of the E-G-H group

Discussion Questions (Open-ended)

9. How does this story reflect real-world situations where groups claim diversity or inclusion while maintaining exclusionary practices? Provide examples from workplace, political, or social contexts.
10. The story ends without resolution. What would be necessary for genuine "polarization without polarization" to occur in this teachers' lounge? What specific actions could different characters take?

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Note to Learners: This story contains advanced vocabulary including words like conspiratorial, performative, systemic, oxymoron, and narrative. Pay attention to how the author uses irony and repetition to develop the theme. The humor in the story comes from the gap between what characters say and what they actually do.