Chapter 27: Echoes on Campus
Early March, the beginning of the school semester.
In the library of Oak Creek Middle School, a new "Agricultural Science Corner" had been established. Copies of the Silver Spoon collected volumes were neatly stacked on the shelves, each with a library barcode, sitting right next to actual agricultural technical manuals.
Mrs. Hayes, the literature teacher, stood by the shelves watching a group of students huddled around, flipping through the pages. They were reading intently, occasionally whispering:
"Look at this part, the way Hachiken holds the syringe for the calf is exactly how my grandpa does it!"
"Really? My grandpa does it the same way!"
"The drawing is so detailed, you can even see the angle of the needle..."
A boy with glasses looked up, saw Mrs. Hayes, and looked a bit sheepish. "Mrs. Hayes."
"Can you understand it?" Mrs. Hayes walked over.
"Yes!" The boy's eyes lit up. "It's way more interesting than the textbooks! The textbook just has a few sentences, but here it's drawn clearly."
A girl next to him chimed in. "And Hachiken feels so real. His hands shake the first time he gives a shot. My hands shook when I gave my dog medicine last time..."
Mrs. Hayes smiled. This was exactly the effect she wanted—using the manga format to make dry knowledge vivid, to make distant agriculture feel intimate.
"Mrs. Hayes." The librarian walked over, lowering her voice. "Another school group is here to visit."
"Which group is this?"
"Third one this week." The librarian sounded resigned. "They're all here to see the 'Agricultural Science Corner,' saying they want to learn from our experience."
Mrs. Hayes nodded. Since the Department of Education issued that notification, schools from all over the state had been coming to Oak Creek Middle School to "learn the scriptures"—how did an ordinary rural middle school think of using manga for agricultural science education?
It was actually simple. Because she had read Silver Spoon, and she knew the power of this work.
"Mrs. Hayes!" A student ran over, holding a notebook. "Can I borrow this to take home? Just for tonight!"
Mrs. Hayes glanced at it; it was Silver Spoon Volume 2. The library card was almost full, with a different name on every line.
"Remember to return it tomorrow," she said.
"Thanks, Mrs. Hayes!" The student ran off hugging the book.
Mrs. Hayes watched his retreating back. A month ago, this student thought "agriculture is just farming, it's lame." Now, he was actively borrowing agriculture-related books.
Change was happening.
_____________
In the capital city, in the staff office of Riverdale High School, several teachers were arguing.
"Manga in the classroom? What is this nonsense!" Mr. Stones, the strict Literature teacher, slapped the table. "I flipped through Silver Spoon. Isn't it just drawing some pig and cow raising business? How can this be teaching material?"
"But it really has sparked student interest in agriculture." Mr. Lee, the Biology teacher, pushed up his glasses. "Several students in my class actively looked up modern agricultural techniques because they read this."
"That's temporary! Once the novelty wears off, they'll forget!"
"They won't." Mrs. Zhou, the Ethics teacher, spoke up. "I had students write reflection essays. Guess what they wrote? They wrote 'Every bite of food is hard-won,' 'Labor is glorious,' 'No profession is high or low.' We preach these principles a hundred times, and it's not as effective as this manga doing it once."
Mr. Stones wanted to retort, but the Principal pushed the door open.
"What's the noise?" Principal Jenkins was a sharp, capable middle-aged woman. "I could hear you from the hallway."
The teachers explained the situation. The Principal listened, pondered for a moment, then said, "Let's do an experiment. Class 7-3 will use Silver Spoon as supplementary reading. Class 7-4 will not. In a month, we check the results."
"Principal, this..."
"It's decided." Principal Jenkins waved her hand. "Practice brings true knowledge."
__________________________
One Month Later.
In Class 7-3, the Biology teacher was lecturing on "Animal Digestive Systems." As soon as he opened the PowerPoint, a student raised their hand. "Teacher, cows have four stomachs, the manga showed it!"
"Right, the manga drew the function of each stomach too!"
"It drew the rumination process too!"
The Biology teacher paused, then smiled. "Then tell me, what are the four stomachs called?"
The students answered in a clamor: "Rumen! Reticulum! Omasum! Abomasum!"
"And their functions?"
"Rumen is fermentation, Reticulum is filtering, Omasum absorbs water, Abomasum is the true digestion!"
The Biology teacher was astonished. This content was in the textbook, but usually, students got it mixed up. Now, the whole class could answer.
"Looks like the manga works better than the textbook," he joked.
"Not better than the textbook," a student said seriously. "It's the manga that made us willing to read the textbook."
Next door in Class 7-4, covering the same content, students were drowsy. When the teacher asked questions, only a few hands went up.
At the end-of-month summary meeting, Principal Jenkins held the test score sheets. "Class 7-3, Biology unit average 86.7. Class 7-4, 78.2. The gap is obvious."
Mr. Stones was silent.
"Not just Biology," the Dean added. "The number of agriculture-related books borrowed by Class 3 students this month is three times that of Class 4. And several students wrote in their weekly journals that they want to study agriculture."
Principal Jenkins looked at Mr. Stones. "Mr. Stones, do you have any other opinions?"
Mr. Stones was silent for a long time, then sighed. "I reserve my opinion. But... the data speaks."
Principal Jenkins nodded. "Then starting next month, Silver Spoon will be included as recommended extracurricular reading for 7th and 8th grades. But note—not mandatory reading, but recommended. Those interested can read; don't force those who aren't."
After the meeting dispersed, Mr. Lee caught up with the Principal. "Principal, you are very open-minded."
"It's not that I'm open-minded," Principal Jenkins smiled. "It's because my daughter is reading Silver Spoon. She used to be a picky eater. After reading the manga, she suddenly said, 'Mom, every grain of rice is hard-won, I can't waste it.' Tell me, what reason do I have to oppose a manga like that?"
Mr. Lee paused, then smiled too.
Online, the discussion about Silver Spoon was intensifying.
The thread "Is Silver Spoon Overrated?" had been bumped to over three thousand replies, becoming a legendary thread on the forum. Every few days someone would necro it, sparking a new round of debate.
The latest war was started by a user claiming to be a "Senior Manga Critic":
"Silver Spoon indeed has educational value, but as a manga, where is its artistic value? The storyboards are flat, the art is average, the plot drags. It's popular because it capitalized on the niche 'agriculture' theme. If it were a popular genre, it would be nothing."
This statement caused a massive uproar.
(To be Continued
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