Sheep

I've come to the conclusion today that my students are sheep. One leads the way off a cliff and all follow. Is cheating okay? Certainly, because everyone else in my class says it is! Should I read the directions on this test? No, because everyone else is already busy writing!

I gave them a pop quiz in social studies. Before you condemn me for being cruel to fifth graders though, allow me to share with you the directions I put on the top.

*Answer each of the following questions completely. Make sure you consider you answers carefully and reread what you've written in order to check your answer. For questions that ask for examples, give one from the book. If you've read this far, sit quietly and look like you're working hard but don't actually answer the questions.

Once you have finished, you should turn the paper over on your desk and do something quietly.*

I gave that test to 17 of my students (one was absent yesterday). In the first five minutes, one of my students raises his hand and begins to ask why it says to not do any of the questions. I shush him, then make him see that it's a test on reading directions. The girl sitting next to him catches on. These are the ONLY TWO OUT OF SEVENTEEN that read the directions.

At the end of ten minutes, I collect the quizzes. Everyone else has done the work. And most have gotten them wrong anyway, which shows they didn't really read the chapter yesterday. Sigh.