ignorance is bliss?

Today was a review day, and the best way to get kids interested in that sort of thing is by enticing them with games and junky prizes.

Nummon drew four columns on the board with the headings "yesterday," "two days ago," "last week," and "a year ago." She stuck a picture to the chalkboard in each column.

My job was to ask questions like, "What did you eat yesterday?" The first student to raise his or her hand had to answer in past tense. If they did so correctly, they won a prize.

Round One was fairly standard. The kids enjoyed it, but the stakes weren't high enough. Nummon decided to spice it up during the second period by adding another round.

She told the students the first one to raise his or her hand could call on another student to answer -- a student who they thought wouldn't be able to answer correctly. If the poor sacrificial lamb got the sentence wrong, the kid who chose him could have a prize. Twisted, right?

They loved it. In third period, one kid -- Mangkorn -- was called on five or six times in a row. After the fourth shameful display of ignorance, he started hiding under his desk. He finally got one right, just before the bell rang to end class. Pobrecito.