Teachers take on a rather awesome responsibility. They are there to care for the children and to make sure that they are prepared for life, regardless of what their life happens to be. They are more than educators, they are babysitters, disciplinarians and sometimes, psychologists. At the same time, they also need to be somewhat flexible and if they don’t show that flexibility, they could end up with egg on their face. That is what happened with this teacher, who couldn’t figure out why her student was giving such a ‘dumb answer’ to her question. As it turns out, she was hearing what he was saying but she wasn’t understanding it.
Teacher: “If I gave you two cats and another two cats and then another two, how many would you have?”
Johnny: “Seven!”
Teacher: “No no, listen carefully… If I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?”
Johnny: “Seven.”
Gets frustrated
The teacher rubs her temples and takes a deep breath.
Teacher: “Come on Johnny, you’re better than this. Let me put it to you differently. If I gave you two apples, and another two apples and another two, how many would you have?”
Johnny: “Six.”
Teacher: “Good. Now, if I gave you two cats, and another two cats and then another two, how many would you have?”
Johnny: “Seven!”
Teacher: “Johnny, where in the heck do you get seven from?!?”
Johnny: “Because I’ve already got a freaking cat!”