by Karyn K., Rockaway Care Center Contributing Writer
The teacher called our 3rd-grade class together in seriousness, and told us all to sit quietly at our desks. She firmly announced she was about to hand out a surprise test that was going to “test our true knowledge.” We students were to take out only a pencil, and wait to receive our test sheet.
Make sure you read the instructions at the top of the test before beginning, the teacher proclaimed, while handing out the test sheets to each student.
Be sure and read the entire test through before beginning, she said. Yeah, duh, why did she just say that again? Everyone knows you have to read the instructions. What’s the big deal?
People started the test. It was a hard one, with 10 questions we hadn’t seen before, but I started to tackle #1, slowly.
The first one to finish should turn over his or her test page and remain sitting quietly.
This was a really, really, hard test. Even just the question #1 took me several minutes to figure out.
You must read the instructions at the top of the test before answering the first question, the teacher announced, yet a third time
When you finish, turn over your test page and remain seated.
One student turned over his test sheet. What? I thought. He’s not even one of the smartest ones, and he’s already finished?
The teacher started to have a kind of gleam in her eye, and a twerk on one side of her lip.
How did this one guy finish already? Then another student turned over her test page.
Oh. Wait. Maybe I’ll read the instructions. After all, my mom often says, “When in doubt, read the instructions.” Maybe this is what she means?
So, I buckle down and read the instructions, which say, First do the last question of the test, #10. Hmmm. So I scroll my eyes down to the bottom. Question #10 says: Turn over your test sheet. You have completed the test.
So I do as instructed, trying not to smile too profusely. The teacher catches my eye. She, too, seems to be trying hard not to smile.
Ahah, it’s April 1st. This is her trick on us. She’s not really testing our knowledge of information, she’s testing our “true” knowledge that we need to listen and read before starting a project, not just jump into it without thinking.
On this April Fool’s Day, what tricks can we learn from at Rockaway Care Center?