Spain as a High School Dropout

Sometimes while grading student essays, one stumbles upon veritable gems. Here is what one student writes about the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492:

After Spain expelled the Jews, it became similar to a high school dropout who constantly lags behind everybody else, can't keep up with any intelligent conversation, and has to do trivial things just to survive.

How can one keep from adoring such students?

Spain as a high school dropout is a metaphor that, I believe, can be explored very fruitfully.