Emily the Genius
1 Corinthians 13:7
“Emily the Genius” is episode #699 of the Adventures in Odyssey audio series. It was written and directed by Bob Hoose, and originally aired on November 26, 2011.
Summary
Emily is overwhelmed when a school test shows that she is a genius.
Plot
Emily Jones and Matthew Parker are at Emily's house when Emily's parents come in with big news: Emily's results on a recent school test have showed that Emily is actually a genius! To confirm this, Emily is going to have to take another test to make sure that she is a genius, and, if she makes it, she will be able to get into extra honors classes because of it.
Although excited, Emily wonders why she has never realized that she was a genius before. She asks Eugene Meltsner when he first realized the truth, and Eugene responds that he first realized that he was a genius when he was three years old. This answer doesn't help Emily, and she still wonders why she hasn't realized this before.
To celebrate, her dad takes Emily to his office, reminding her about when she was young, she used to hate coming here, and remarking how she likes it because she is now grown up. Her dad introduces her to all of his friends and wonders if Emily will become a judge when she grows up, like he is. Emily immensely enjoys her time with her dad, and mentally resolves not to disappoint him with the results of the next test she will be taking.
When going to school though, Emily gets a sudden shock, when the school counselor calls her in and tells her that there was a mix-up. The test results her family had been sent were actually the results of Laurie Jones' test, and not her own. And though, Emily didn't do awful in the test, she hadn't done as well as Laurie, and thus was not actually a genius. Although upset, Emily worries about how much her family's hopes will be dashed and asks to take the second confirmation test anyway, just so that she can try to prove her worth and not disappoint her parents. Though her school counselor doesn't exactly understand Emily's motives, she lets her do it anyway, and recommends her to the board so that Emily could take the test.
Emily tells Matthew about it and Emily begins furiously studying a lot of subjects to try and get a really good test score. Matthew doesn't agree with Emily's decision not to tell her parents, but helps her anyway to try and cram during the week that she has before the test. Emily is nearly exhausted in the effort and tries to think of ways to avoid sleeping so that she could study during that time. Unfortunately for her, she can't think of any (because she is not a genius).
The night before the test, Mr. and Mrs. Jones come home to find that Emily is missing. Her brother, Barrett, hadn't noticed her leave since he was playing a video game. Then, just as they wonder where she is, Matthew comes over and tells them that she's at the library. He tells Mr. and Mrs. Jones everything about Emily not being a genius and about her furiously trying to study to be able to do well on tomorrow's test so as not to disappoint them.
They go looking and find Emily asleep at the library, apparently having been studying before she fell asleep. They wake her up and Emily is startled and confused before she realizes that Matthew told them the truth. She and her father later have a long talk about the fact that she shouldn't need to feel that she has to do academically well to please her parents and that they will love her no matter what her scores are.
Although Emily now doesn't feel the strong desire to take the test, after all that work, she still does. Afterwards, the school counselor asks her if she'd be able to take a position where she could give advice and help people to be motivated to study for tests given how driven she was the last couple days. Emily tells Matthew that she will probably decline the offer because she couldn't give them what motivated her to study: her love for her parents.
Discussion questions
- Do you think that Emily should have told her parents about the actual results?
- Do you think that Barrett should have paid more attention to Emily instead of playing his video game?
- Should Barrett's video games be completely confiscated?
- Should Emily's parents have told everyone about her success on the test?
- Did pride have anything to do with Emily's decision not to tell her parents?
Cast
Heard in episode
Mentioned in episode
| Character | Mentioned By |
|---|---|
| Katrina Meltsner | Eugene Meltsner |
| David Parker | Simon Jones |
Notes
- Trivia
- A child struggling with the potential of brilliance was previously explored in #553: “Potential Possibilities”.
- Allusions
- Eugene's prompting Emily to answer his question about the 14th Amendment is reminiscent of Andy Griffith's prompting Barney Fife to "recite" the Preamble to the Constitution in the episode of The Andy Griffith Show entitled "Opie's Ill-Gotten Gain."
Quotes
Barrett Jones: Emily?? A... a genius?
Emily Jones: Do you mean literally, or figuratively?
Dorothy Jones: Uh-Huh! Literally!
Matthew Parker: Why do I smell fish?
Eugene Meltsner: I was working on a new milkshake that combines the omega3 benefits of fish oil with various fruity substances.
Matthew Parker: Yeah, well..
Eugene Meltsner: The fishy aroma is overwhelming the fruity sweetness?
Eugene Meltsner: Which is why I have this handy air freshener near by. Does that help?
Matthew Parker: Now it smells like a fish died and all the other fish sent flowers.
Resources
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- Episodes aired 9 times
- Episodes in Album 54: Clanging Cymbals...and the Meaning of God's Love
- 2011 Season Episodes
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