- KNOWLEDGE: I refuse to learn how to cheat!

Learning how to make educated guesses on multiple choice questions, a student felt she was being told how to cheat

Student 1

So according to the rule of ABSOLUTE QUALIFIERS [1] when the question has the word NEVER, I am supposed to mark it as FALSE...If I say I never lie, I am a liar!? It is bullshit. I refuse to learn this! I don’t want to learn how to cheat on tests!...I strongly disagree about teaching and learning rules to make educated guesses on tests....a "cheating" strategy to be successful? I don’t want my kid to have a doctor who had used the “cheating” strategy to be successful…I don’t want to be smart this way; I am a person of principles

Later in a feedback interview:

Student 2
You seemed really upset about "ABSOLUTE QUALIFIERS" today. I would like to understand more your view

Student 1
It is cheating...I am not going to guess on a test. Either I know or I don't. I am divorcing and on court I am full of people saying that I am lying when I say that I have never done this or that. They don't know me...I don't lie.

---

[1] Test taking strategy:

" Watch for absolute qualifiers, such as non, best, always, every, constantly…Few things are ever absolute, so when absolute words appear in an answer choice, the answer is most of the time untrue…If you don't know the answer, mark it as a False"

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Dialogues&Stories (Life, School, Classroom)

- KNOWLEDGE: If a tree falls in the forest...

• Four different standpoints

Teacher (Trying to show different meanings and that there is no such a thing as truth)
Imagine that it's raining. There is a light. A tree is hit. If a tree falls in the forest, and there's nobody there to hear it, does it make a sound? Did it even happen?

Student 1 (showing Science point of view)
Yes. The sound and light have physical manifestations. Pressure waves in the air...sound.

Teacher
But sound only becomes sound in the sense that we mean when those waves cause parts of the ear to vibrate, and the brain interprets the vibrations

Student 2 (a third point of view)
Well the essential question is "who cares?"

Teacher
I care and you should care to. It is philosophy, it is important to question things.

Student 2
I don't mean to say I don't care what you are saying, I like philosophy.

Teacher
Good for you! Then another question is "when we go out of the classroom does it still exist?"

Student 2
When we see the image of that Chinese student standing in front of that tank, it was the media who brought that image to life, to existence. The whole world came to know that. If something exists or not, it is a matter of who cares... that was what I meant.

Student 3 (a fourth point of view)
It is the majority…exist what the majority believes…but still affects all of us!

Main Page(Introduction)
Dialogues&Stories (Life, School, Classroom)

- KNOWLEDGE: My choice "I don't care"

(In a later feedback interview)

Student 1

During our class discussion, the question "who cares" seemed really important to you, could you tell me more? I don't feel I got everything.

Student 2

Sure. My point was "Do we really care?" When that young Chinese student stood in front of the tank, if the tank had crushed him and the news had not reported it, what difference would that make to our lives? If nobody knew about it, it would be like it didn’t exist.

Student 1

So your point is that something only exists if we care about it? If I refuse to know, it will be not important for me, I might not care. We can choose not to know.

Student 2

I don't think you can choose not to know if the media spreads it. What choice do we have then?

Student 1

?

Student 2

To choose if you want to care or not.

Student 1

Hum...But as M1 said it still affects us to some point?

Student 2

It doesn’t matter. The majority might be affected but still it is a matter of who cares

Student 1

?

Student 2

What really happens to people everyday doesn’t matter. Lots of relevant things are happening right now. These things don’t exist if the media doesn’t care so why should we bother, get it?

Main Page(Introduction)
Dialogues&Stories (Life, School, Classroom)

- KNOWN OR NOT: The fall of a tree will affect all of us

• Whether we know it or not, it still affects all of us

After debating if a tree had or not fallen if nobody was there to heard it:

Student 1

I would like to understand better what you mean “still affects all of us”

Student 2

Something is happening across the street that we don't know, but it still affects us to some point.

Student 1

It is a good point…Why didn’t you say your view?

Student 2

It is not my view, I suppose this is what the elders would say but when you are a student, you're not a "credible source"

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Dialogues&Stories (Life, School, Classroom)