Fifth graders, I have decided, from a marginal sample size in an unscientific setting, have trouble with understanding cause and effect.

Take this conversation:

“Did you hit him?”

“No.”

“I saw you hit him.”

“Because he hit me first.”

“Why did you hit him first?”

“Because it was a redo and he said it wasn’t.”

No, they do understand cause end effect. They understand which causes lead to the effect of a redo.

Many things in a fifth grade life can lead to a redo. Someone walking across the court, for example, during a botched shot will most certainly lead the shooter to believe that a redo is in order.

The defense will need a lot of convincing that this set of circumstances does indeed call for a redo. Possibly, some hitting will be required in order to advance that argument. It was, after all, only Brianna who walked across the court since she is tiny and un-intervening .

My mantra to them is that in life there are no redos. But they look at my like I’m telling them life has no ice-cream. Of course there’s ice cream and redos, and possibly dragons–science doesn’t know for sure.

Because it’s apt, let’s throw Jay Gatsby into all this.

Gatsby believed in redos. When Nick tells him that he cannot repeat the past he emphatically declares, “Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can!”

Gatsby needed to believe that he and Daisy could have a redo. Life had walked right across their court and how was that not grounds for a redo?

Even though I’m plagiarizing tens of thousands of first year English papers, I’ll say it: This is part of what makes Gatsby great. His faith in the past gives him faith in the future. It makes him a tragic figure, but a genuine one. It’s why Nick tells Gatsby he’s “Worth the whole damn bunch put together.” He’s idealistic. But genuine. Looking for that “something commensurate to his (humanity’s) capacity to wonder.”

“And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

This is the beauty of being a fifth grader. Everything is untested. No one is jaded. Even in their religious discussions they talk to each other, no one sure of anything, but eager to learn. Eager to find truths in life commensurate to their capacity for wonder. As if they are just daring their dreams to dawn.