Vignettes

When it rains it pours. After that long post about 504s, here are some short examples of student intelligence.

-Bonus Question on Freshmen Vocab Quiz: What is the normal human body temperature?

Various Answers: 64, 156, and, I kid you not, 1.96


Also, many students were unable to define: “Hilarious,” “Massive,” and “Ignite” despite the fact that we reviewed the words together numerous times, they knew to study for a quiz, AND my six year old cousin could define these words.



-After a week of conducting background research on Shakespeare, Elizabethan England, and the Globe Theater, a student raised his hand in class:

Student: “Is Shakespeare still alive?”

Me (amidst the snickering of other students): “Yes, yes he is.”

Student: “Oh.”

Me (realizing he is serious and has believed me): “You know he was born in 1564, right?”

Student (still not catching on): “Ok.”

Me: “Do you realize that that makes him the oldest person alive…Ever!”

Student: “Wow.”

Me: “Put your head down and go to sleep,”


-Lowest grade on a recent Lord of the Flies test: 14%. Having never read the book, someone could have scored higher. Most of it was either true and false, multiple choice or matching. The student decided to leave most of it blank. After receiveing her grade, she could not understand how I could fail her nor why I would not let her make it up.