TRUE.....OR.....FALSE
I had stressed the need
for honesty, explaining to my students that many
times we don't even know our integrity is being tested...
So my class should have
been prepared for the snap quiz I gave them that
Thursday afternoon. It was a twenty-question, true-or-false
test covering
material we had discussed during the week. They finished the
test just as the
bell rang for dismissal.
Later that evening I very
carefully graded each paper, recording the score
in my grade book but leaving no marks on the papers.
When the class assembled
the next morning, I passed the papers back and,
as usual, asked that each student grade his own paper...
"Please count five off
for each one missed and subtract the total from one
hundred," I instructed. "Your scores please."
"John?"
"85."
"Susan?"
"95."
"Harold?"
"80."
"Arnold?"
"90."
"Mary?"
The response could hardly be heard: "45."
I went one, putting the
grades in my grade book, carefully recording each
oral report next to the grade I had recorded the night before.
The comparison
was revealing.
A stillness settled on the class when I explained what I had done...
"This was a different
kind of test. This test was a test for honesty. Were
you true or false? I noticed that many of you looked at Mary
when she announced
her score of 45. Mary, if you don't mind, would you please
stand up? I want each
of you to know that in my book Mary just achieved the highest score
in the class.
You make me feel very proud, Mary."
Mary looked up rather
timidly at first, then her eyes glistened as she broke
into a smile and rose to her feet. I had never seen Mary stand
so tall.
--Wayne B. Lynn--