Observation Is Key

My English class really can't be constituted as an "English class". If we talk about the book/short story/play/article/movie in question, it's for a whopping 10 minutes and then we end up having a deeply philosophical discussion about using the bathroom. No joke, we have had 11 days of class where we only talked about excrement. It doesn't help that 5 out of the 9 boys in my class have the maturity level of a small rock. My 5 year old cousins laugh at the word "butt" and so do they, sadly. When asked what their favorite discussion was during the entire year, they bring up the time we talked about the Zombie Apocalypse or really how disgusting airplane bathrooms are.

They're both just as gross, if you ask me.

This is exactly what we have been doing the past two days in class. (Not having a zombie apocalypse, that would be way too awesome. I mean the talking part.) Our teacher hands out slips of paper with questions on them like "Of all the books we have read this year, which did you end up liking more than you thought you would?" or something like "Pick a favorite character". Thankfully, I got the more abstract question. "Do you have a favorite class moment?" Of course. It's when we talked about how Europeans go to the bathroom. No. A few responses in, and I realized that the teacher was taking notes. He never takes notes. He was freaking grading us on our answers. Originally I had written down that my favorite moment was when he threatened to "Shear The Lamb" when one kid's hair had grown past his ears, and proceeded to grab a pair of scissors and chase the kid around the room and under the table.

I wasn't going to let myself be graded on a non-philosophical moment like that. Instead, I went with the time we tested our observational skills. You have to understand, my English teacher doesn't go "by the book" (pun intended). In order to test such a skill, everyone would climb up onto the table, one at a time, that we all sit around. After a minute or so of staring at said person, he or she would leave the room, change one thing about their appearance (like buttoning a button or putting a necklace on backwards), then come back into the room and everyone would have to sit and think about what that person changed. Not only did it show me how important observational skills are, but it also highlighted just how badly a lot of people dress. Not judging, just observing. You would be surprised what a lot of people have on the bottoms of their shoes.

I took this moment and the skill it was supposed to teach everyone, and applied it to my writing.

"The devil is in the details."

"You see but you don't observe."

These, as well as several more ambiguously-answering answers, were my replies as to why it was important and memorable. Not so much. I just wanted a good grade. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was memorable, just it was a bit awkward for everyone to be answering so humorously and then have my serious and somewhat emotional response. I'm guessing everyone else realized the teacher was taking notes because today we did the same exercise and almost everyone answered as if it were an exam question.

I'm starting to think it actually is part of our exam. Why else would he be grading us on the second to last day of school?