Sometimes, Math Hurts
Author: Administrator
Category: My Students Say the Funniest Things, Using My Powers, Sometimes, Math Hurts
Yesterday I tutored one of the eleventy-thousand high school students who have a Spanish exam. After we had finished and I was walking him to the door he said, “Man, I can’t wait until next semester when I get to start fresh with a brand new 100 in Spanish!”
“Um, not to burst your bubble or anything,” (Liar, liar pants on fire! Anytime anyone says that, that is of course exactly what they want to do!) I said, “but that’s not actually true. You don’t start each semester with a 100, and then your teacher takes points away from you. You start each semester with a zero, and then everything you do earns points towards your grade.”
Imagine a baby, sitting in a field of golden sunshine, surrounded by tiny butterflies, happily playing with a ball while puppies and kittens look benevolently on. Then imagine that you stride up to that baby, smack that ball right out of its hands, and start yelling at it, for no reason. Imagine the expression on that baby’s face when, smack in the middle of all of that goodness, it discovers that such wretchedness and misery exists in this world.
That’s pretty much what this student’s face looked like after I’d finished breaking this news to him. So if you heard any cosmic shrieking yesterday, or sensed any rending in the fabric of the universe, don’t worry. It was only me, shattering the illusions of the young and the innocent.
And incidentally, this is exactly why I majored in words.
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6 Comments so far
1.
Ash
December 14th, 2006 at 5:48 pm
It was only me, shattering the illusions of the young and the innocent.
Best sentence ever.
2.
tiggerprr
December 14th, 2006 at 10:43 pm
you are so wonderful. LOL
3.
John Masters
December 15th, 2006 at 11:49 am
Thirty years from now, when this poor kid is a poor adult schmuck in therapy, the day you describe here will come up.
I have to admit that I always thought of each class as starting with a 100, even though it wasn’t true. I really did better the second time in college by approaching every class like this kid did. It’s one of the many mental ‘tricks’ I play on myself to get better results. It works for me. Basically, it’s a way of helping yourself into seeing the glass as half full.
Sometimes it’s better to be kind than to be right.
4.
AnnMarie
December 15th, 2006 at 4:41 pm
Wow, I can’t believe you find this funny. I find it sad. And he is right, and there are many instructors out there who take this approach. He *is* starting with a clean slate. What better way to help students than to let them know they start out great? How depressing to tell them “You all have zeros and Fs. Prove you are good enough to get anything more.” Why not say, “You are all starting with perfect scores/100s/As. Prove you aren’t worth it, and you’ll lose points.” What’s easier: attaining something you don’t have and looks far away or holding on to something you already have?
5.
Administrator
December 16th, 2006 at 12:57 pm
Best sentence ever.
you are so wonderful. LOL
Thanks
6.
Administrator
December 16th, 2006 at 12:59 pm
John and AnnMarie,
I really appreciate the fact that you feel that you can be honest here in this community and share how you really feel. Thank you for being a part of things here