Jet is Too Cool
May. 22nd, 2009 10:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liralenOn Jet's 'final' reading comprehension exam... he only missed one question.
And the question was a fine example of how academic questions make me want to pull my hair out.
On a cloudy, cold and windy day which would you want to wear?
A. A warm hat.
B. A swimsuit.
C. Shorts.
D. Sunglasses.
Of course, Jet picked C.
I mean... note the 'which would YOU want to wear'... and the fact that he and John wear shorts every day until it's below 0 (-15 C) out. And when we asked him a little about his reasoning, he said that just wearing a hat would be way too cold, and shorts cover more than a *hat* and are thicker than a swim suit.
John and I laughed far too hard at the answer; and we definitely made it known that if he was going to answer a question this way it was all right if the teacher marked it 'wrong', when WE all knew it was True.
And the question was a fine example of how academic questions make me want to pull my hair out.
On a cloudy, cold and windy day which would you want to wear?
A. A warm hat.
B. A swimsuit.
C. Shorts.
D. Sunglasses.
Of course, Jet picked C.
I mean... note the 'which would YOU want to wear'... and the fact that he and John wear shorts every day until it's below 0 (-15 C) out. And when we asked him a little about his reasoning, he said that just wearing a hat would be way too cold, and shorts cover more than a *hat* and are thicker than a swim suit.
John and I laughed far too hard at the answer; and we definitely made it known that if he was going to answer a question this way it was all right if the teacher marked it 'wrong', when WE all knew it was True.
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no subject
Date: 2009-05-22 04:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-22 04:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-22 04:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-22 07:25 pm (UTC)His First Grade Teacher understood! The moment she heard the question she started laughing, even before we told her what his answer was going to be...
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Date: 2009-05-22 04:57 pm (UTC)Okay, I knew he was going to pick C, too. You know, that's pretty awful phrasing. It's asking what *he* would want to wear, and unless he's marking something that *he* wouldn't want to wear, then it's right. They need to change the wording on that question. :P
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Date: 2009-05-22 07:25 pm (UTC)I was pretty proud of him. *grins*
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Date: 2009-05-22 05:30 pm (UTC)STANDARDIZED TESTING-0
EPIC WIN
<3
no subject
Date: 2009-05-22 05:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-22 07:26 pm (UTC)I do love him, lots. *whew*
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Date: 2009-05-22 07:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-22 05:49 pm (UTC)"They say you lose 90% of your body heat through your head. If that was true, you could ski naked if you wore a really good hat."
no subject
Date: 2009-05-22 07:27 pm (UTC)I mean that measurement must have assumed what the test writers assumed, that the *rest* of the body was clothed, too...
or something.
but, yeah. Like THAT.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-22 06:27 pm (UTC)To pass on its genes to the next generation, an organism must:
(a) Survive
(b) Reproduce
(c) Both of the above
Now, I reasoned that strictly speaking all the organism has to do is reproduce; and if it found some way to do that without surviving that would be pretty unlikely but it would in fact pass on its genes. So I marked (b). The "correct" answer was (c), and I argued my case vigorously but was unable to convince the teacher that I was clearly right.
Not that I'm bitter or anything.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-22 07:28 pm (UTC)What about all those male Black Widow Spiders?
Heh.
You WERE RIGHT! Ahem.
*giggles far too much at the last*
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Date: 2009-05-22 09:11 pm (UTC)I am also reminded of Chesterton, who when asked what book he would like on a desert island, said, "A practical guide to shipbuilding, of course." (Or so the story goes.)
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Date: 2009-05-22 09:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-23 12:04 am (UTC)Properly phrased it should probably say, "In addition to other clothes, MOST people would want to wear...." Hee hee.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-23 01:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-23 07:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-23 07:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-25 02:30 am (UTC)I've found one of the most difficult things to explain to Cosmo is that sometimes the teacher is wrong, but because she's the teacher he still has to follow her rules/ways. Ugh. I know it's a necessary lesson in life to learn but it still freaking sucks.
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Date: 2009-05-25 03:56 am (UTC)Yeah... John and I figure he'll learn it when it matters. For now... it doesn't, really; and Jet's kind of picking it up. He's okay with having gotten it 'wrong' on the test, which I think is the key bit and he understands that it is wrong...
It's a weird thing to balance with kids.
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Date: 2009-05-26 05:28 pm (UTC)Jet's a cool kid and his parents are very cool too!
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Date: 2009-05-26 10:52 pm (UTC)yay! We're cool!! *laughs*
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Date: 2009-06-02 01:31 pm (UTC)-- Tom
no subject
Date: 2009-06-02 03:48 pm (UTC)