Picture it!
Final exam. Students are told to put their names on the back page in the space provided. Also, in CAPITAL LETTERS and bold-faced at the end of instructions on the top of the first page of the exam booklet is the following directive:
PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME ON THE BOTTOM OF THE BACK PAGE.
On the bottom of the back page, (fully sighted) students can see the following:
Name: _______________________________________________
Student comes up after finishing the exam and asks, "Are we supposed to put our names on the back?"
Incredulous, I reply (with perhaps a touch too much snark), " Uh...yeah. That's what it says at the top, right?"
Snowflake snaps back, "Well, you don't have to be a smartass about it!" and storms off in a huff.
All-knowing mentor proffers this sage wisdom after I share my tale:
"Well, it *is* better to be a smartass than a dumbass, isn't it?"
Lesson learned by all involved?
For stupidity this perfect I have only one response: flunk them, then hound them out of the school. This was a legacy, right?
ReplyDeleteA legacy? Hah! This was at Safety School U, a R1 with profs with excellent reps who teach students with not-so-good reps.
ReplyDeleteSSU attracts some students who have heard of the good rep. These students are usually shocked to discover their fellow students are either not smart enough to get into the good state schools or too poor to leave the area (or attend the excellent SLACs nearby).
The students who didn't get into their first choice school are usually bitter for their entire 4 years they are trapped at SSU because their dreams of attending their primary choice are dashed. They are constantly reminded of the SSU's spurious rep in the community, and often fail to realize their bitterness, ennui, and lackadaisical attitude interfere with their education and only serve to keep SSU's rep low.
I am thinking dumbass was one of the bitter sort. Or the not-so-smart sort. Or a jock. Who knows? I had never seen him before!