WORD LISTS

"The Superteacher Project" by Gordon Korman, Chapters 15–20


Wed Dec 13 15:08:54 EST 2023
By Vocabulary.com (NY)Visual Thesaurus Moderator
When a new teacher arrives at a New Jersey middle school, students are curious about why he has a grandfatherly assistant, doesn't smile or eat, and knows so much about everything.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–14, Chapters 15–20, Chapters 21–25, Chapter 26–Epilogue
dubiously
“Quiz,” I repeat dubiously. “That sounds a lot like school.”
bray
"Wrong!” I bray. “It was Juice Wrld! Ha—in your face!”
jeer
“You don’t have to do this, Mr. Aidact,” Darryl mumbles.
“Sure, he does,” Mr. Yarmolenko jeers from the doorway. “These teachers act like they know everything, but what have they ever accomplished in the real world?”
slink
The teacher has hit fourteen in a row by the time Mr. Yarmolenko slinks out of the gym, scowling.
trajectory
“It’s a physics problem. Force, trajectory, arc, gravity.”
sift
“Everybody’s on the internet.”
“Not Mr. Aidact,” I conclude, sifting through the pages of links on my computer.
transfixed
We watch, transfixed as a door opens and another figure steps out of the nearer of two bedrooms—skinny, slight, and lugging a large briefcase.
concede
“Student teachers don’t get paid. Maybe Perkins is bunking with Mr. Aidact to save money.”
“Maybe,” I concede.
obscure
He’s the exiled prince of some tiny, obscure country where Aidact is as common a name as Smith or Jones.
dinky
Only that doesn’t answer the biggest question of all: What self-respecting prince would move into a dinky apartment and teach seventh grade?
ideal
The curtains are closed, but there’s a gap of about three inches in the middle—an ideal vulnerability to be exploited by a Submarine Commander periscope.
mantel
The living room has a fireplace, and across the mantel is a collection of Chia Pets in various stages of sprouting.
goggle
I gawk. I goggle.
reedy
“Make that—two artificial arms,” I murmur in a reedy tone.
indicator
A timing wheel whirls on the screen as a progress indicator rises to 100 percent.
digest
The first link that comes up takes us to an article from Educator's Digest, summer 2018:
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SHELVES
"AIDACT” PROJECT
android
The goal of AIDACT—which stands for Artificially Intelligent Designated Android Classroom Teacher—was to place convincingly human robotic teachers in classrooms across the country.
exasperation
“Oh, I don’t know,” I retort in exasperation.
supple
It's fine for the kids—they’re made of rubber. They don’t even notice it. But when you get to be my age, you’re not nearly so supple.
delude
I don’t delude myself into believing they could be state championship material.
monotone
“That’s nice,” she comments in her usual bland monotone.
shambles
“The poetry unit is a shambles. All they want to do is rap and recite lyrics. And when I ask where they’re getting it, they all say Mr. Aidact.”
chide
“You’ve both been teaching long enough to know a thing or two about kids and their obsessions," I chide them both.
elements
“We're real people, who can feel the cold, the wind, and the rain. He can’t suffer from the elements any more than a car that’s parked outside in the snow.”
petty
When I socialize with other principals, our favorite topic of conversation is how teachers are often pettier and more immature than students.
maintain
Not much like the robots from the old movies; he’s not clanking along with his arms out in front of him—although Paul assures us that the moving parts have to be oiled and maintained like on any other mechanical device.
exhilaration
And then the players see his reaction, which only acts as an amplifier for their own exhilaration. It’s no wonder they adore him.
strident
Mr. Aidact's strident voice rings out, clear as a bell: “Anyone can see those sticks never touched! They were separated by a full two-point-five millimeters!”
groundbreaking
“It’s unfortunate that we have to keep it a secret for now. But one day, we’ll get full credit for the groundbreaking work we’re doing for the future of education.”
cinch
It’s a great feather in my cap to be principal of the school where the very first AIDACT unit was launched. It’ll be a cinch to get a superintendent’s position after that.
morosely
“Groundbreaking,” Syesha echoes morosely. “If they start making AIDACTs by the thousands, we’ll all be out of a job.”
sophisticated
Will sophisticated robots from the Department of Education one day replace teachers?
signify
On the field, the final whistle signifies another big win for the Bobcats.
trivial
Big talk from a guy whose whole life is pretty trivial.
prompt
“What do you say, Rosalie?” Avalon prompts.
notorious
Come to think of it, I seem to remember that a lot of the votes I saw yesterday looked suspiciously like Stinky’s notorious chicken-scratch handwriting.
barge
Oh no—the last thing I need is for Mom to see him and barge into the cafeteria on a flirting mission.
haywire
The building thermostat goes haywire, and suddenly the temperature in all the rooms is eighty-eight degrees and rising.
muster
Mr. Perkins can’t even muster the strength to lug his briefcase from room to room.
incur
I performed adjustments on AIDACT's right hand to repair minor damage incurred during numerous high fives.

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