Little Johnny shrugged and replied: “My teacher isn’t quite excellent.” Johnny’s father was astonished by his excuse and urged him to increase. “Well, on Monday, my instructor claimed 3+5 = 8.”
“So?” his father replied.
The father’s “astonished” reaction to this rationalization even more underscores the importance of Johnny’s declare. His urging of Johnny to “expand” on this level indicates a willingness, however grudging, to at minimum look at the chance that the instructor may possibly bear some accountability for the bad test performance. This openness to hearing Johnny out, even if briefly, represents a glimmer of nuance in what could have been a simple disciplinary conversation.
“Then on Tuesday, she advised us 4+4 = 8, and on Wednesday she stated 6+2 = 8,” stated the little one., “If she doesn’t know what equals 8, how am I supposed to know the suitable answer?”