Also, I just had a sudden intuition about this. It sounds like veiled hostility towards the child's intelligence. Sort of like, "You think you're so smart, you figure it out."
I've had this impression before about certain educators. Like they were one of the "normal" kids back when they were in school, and they still feel the same squirm of distaste that they felt back then towards anyone who's different.
Of course, that may or may not be the case with this particular VP, but that's what it reminded me of.
