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Halfway through the class, Mrs. Lissenger told the students to widen the center row, and then she placed the room divider between it, a five-foot tall section of corrugated cardboard that unfolded like an accordion. “Now,” she said, drawing an “A” and a “B” on the blackboard, “I want those on side A to get something from side B without using pronouns. Then, side B do the same thing.”

It took a few minutes, but the class eventually settled on stilted language exchanges that sounded laughably formal. “Jody,” said Brian to the girl on the opposite side of him, “give Brian the English book that belongs to Jody.”

“Why certainly,” she said, standing up and handing her English book to him over the divider. “Now Brian, give me –”

“Bzzt!” said Brian.

“No fair!” she said, hitting the divider in protest.

“Try number two,” he said.

“Brian, give Jody the stick of gum underneath the chair that Brian sits in.”

Brian laughed. “No way! You’re crazy!”

“Bzzt!” she said standing up and hanging over the divider. “English book, please.”

“Ok, ok.” He gave it back.

After a few more minutes, Mrs. Lissenger pulled back the divider and addressed the class. “There. I think We see the value of pronouns now, correct?”

Almost in unison, the class responded, “Yes we do!”

Brian thought that it had never felt so good to say the word “we” before.

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