My favorite joke is the one about the man who lives down river of a large dam. The dam is about to break and the people down river have been ordered to leave.
The man stays.
His neighbor comes roaring up in his jeep and yells “Quick! Get in. The dam is about to go!”
No, the man says. I have prayed for help and God will save me. So the neighbor leaves.
The dam breaks, The water roars down river. The man climbs to the next floor of his house as the water rises.
Another man in a boat comes by and calls to the man, standing at a window: “Quick, get in! The water is going to continue to rise!”
No, the man says. I have prayed for help and God will save me. So the man in the boat leaves.
The man climbs out on the roof as the water rises. A helicopter comes by and they drop a ladder out the side: “Quick, grab hold and climb up! The water is going to continue to rise!”
No, the man says. I have prayed for help and God will save me. So the helicopter leaves. And the man drowns.
When he gets to heaven, he is angry. And he tells God “I prayed for help and you didn’t come!”
And God says “I sent a car, a boat and a helicopter – what did you want?”
I feel that my students are like this man. The assume (love that word) that they will pass even though I repeatedly say that they need to give me things I can grade. I reminded them over break and I feel that a fair number will do nothing.
We will see.
A Brief History of Blackboards and Slates
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1 comment:
I tell this story over and over. Glad to know you are sharing it with a wider audience.
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