I don't think Dina calling Ellie 'non-school-oriented' was Dina genuinely calling Ellie stupid, or the show-runners implying so.
As someone who hated school so much I'd make myself sick from the thought of going, I too wouldn't call myself school-oriented. But that doesn't mean I am lacking in intelligence.
Ellie is smart. Incredibly so. But none of the skills she has have anything to do with the fact that she went to school. The school that she was in was FEDRA run, and she was chucked in there as an orphan with nowhere to go but where they told her to.
Ellie has amazing recollection skills and is able to pull an infinite number of facts about her interests. She's incredibly well read, but only in the topics that she enjoys.
Her survival skills, her ability to hunt and track, how to fight and sneak and shoot didn't come from school either. She didn't even know how to fire a gun properly/safely until she met Joel. A lot of these skills came from her time with Joel, her time in Jackson. The rest of it is just pure instinct, Ellie's reckless but impressive way of not hesitating and just acting. She relies a lot on her gut, something that FEDRA school definitely had nothing to do with it.
And while we don't know Dina's entire background, if she truly did go to school in Jackson or some semblance of it, she's shown that she has the drive to learn. She likes to learn new things, obtain new skills. Dina is just as smart as Ellie, but in completely different ways.
She may not have the same instincts as Ellie, the same level of survival skills that come so naturally to her girlfriend, but when it comes to navigating and planning she shines. A lot of the things she excels at boil down to an understanding of maths and geography, things that Ellie could pick up just as well if she really earnestly wanted to, but probably wouldn't find enjoyable.
Dina is also observant. Not that Ellie isn't, because they both are, but in different ways.
Ellie looks for opportunities, moments she can seize and take advantage of. She's constantly looking for how to move, get out, hide, attack.
Dina looks at everything. She's determining how many infected there are through sound alone, she's making sure they have multiple plans of attack. How do we get out of here safe without drawing more attention, while still keeping on track?
So no, Ellie isn't school-oriented. But that doesn't mean that she's not smart, or that Dina is any smarter than her.
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