Extra Credit

Andrew Clements’s novel Extra Credit creates a contrast of cultural difference and experience to emphasize the common humanity of people across the world and their potential for friendship and empathy, even those living in nations and cultures which are divided by wider conflict. The book creates a juxtaposition between the familiar world of American Abby and the unfamiliar world of Afghan Sadeed.

With his main plot revolving around a school project, Clements explores differences in children’s education in the US and Afghanistan, using the perspectives of his two protagonists as a means to express the different realities of their lives. In the US, schooling is free to access and compulsory until the end of high school, with approximately 87% of all students graduating high school and 25% going on to receive college degrees (High School Graduation Rates. National Center for Education Statistics, 2024). State schooling is gender-mixed and in recent decades girls have overtaken boys in attainment levels. Educational access and format in Afghanistan have varied hugely over recent decades as a result of changing regimes, conflict, and socioeconomic changes. Access is unevenly distributed, with rural areas particularly underserved. These areas are also more likely to be under conservative Islamic control which dictate what can be taught and to whom. Many traditional leaders, including the Taliban, curtailed education for boys and banned it for girls, as a form of oppression and control. In 2009, during a period of hope, educational opportunities rose during the rule of the Western-supported Afghan Transitional Authority. This made education for all children compulsory until intermediate level and more young people were able to progress to higher education. Despite this, the enrollment of girls in primary school was half that of boys in 2009, dropping to third at secondary level (Fair Access of Children to Education in Afghanistan. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 2009). Girls in education, their families, and educators are at high risk of intimidation and violence.

Clements brings this context to the fore. Like all American girls, sixth-grader Abby goes to school, though she takes this for granted and regards schoolwork as an annoying nuisance. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world in a village north of Kabul, Sadeed Bayat is an academic overachiever with a gift for languages—but growing up in rural Afghanistan means that he has few resources to enrich his learning. Sadeed can only hope that the village elders will notice his talents and hard work and help him receive a scholarship to a better school, far away in Kabul. Eighty percent of Afghans live in rural communities, many extremely remote, compared to less than 18% of Americans. The novel also reveals the gender differences in education in the US and Afghanistan: While Sadeed’s relatively liberal parents allow his sister, Amira, to attend school, many families in Afghanistan either do not or cannot allow their daughters to be educated. The strict social segregation of the sexes in Afghanistan requires Abby’s pen pal to be a girl. For this reason, Sadeed keeps his own letters to Abby a secret from everyone.

The author also paints a picture of Abby and Sadeed’s dramatically different financial circumstances. Abby is shown to have a fairly average financial background, which in 2009 would mean a household income of around $50,000. Sadeed does not enjoy the financial comfort and security that Abby has and especially envies her access to books. Afghanistan is the 219th poorest country in the world: In 2009, the median household income in Afghanistan was less than $1,000, with 60% of the population living below the national poverty line. Although his family are relatively secure, Sadeed has more responsibility than Abby, since he has to help support his family by working for his father’s store. The two also come from different linguistic backgrounds; Sadeed speaks Dari, and it is implied that he also understands another Afghan language, Pashto. At school Sadeed is also learning English to improve his chances of one day having a good job in the capital. In the US, Abby only knows English and is impressed with her pen pal’s fluency in the language.

Clements’s discussion of his characters’ different cultural and economic circumstances also highlights what they do have in common. Both Abby and Sadeed love nature and playing outside, whether rock climbing or competing in kite-flying contests. Both children feel competitive with their siblings and try to carve out unique identities for themselves in their families. Abby and Sadeed are concerned about their reputations amongst their peers and try to gain their acceptance. Clements emphasizes that Sadeed and Abby both possess a natural curiosity about other children’s lives, and a sense of empathy for each other, both of which helps them forge a unique friendship as pen pals from very different cultures.