One day in 9th grade civics we were told "we have a project today. Finish all five tasks and you get an A. If you don't finish all five you fail."
Color a simple picture of fire. Cut out a picture (food or clothes?). Draw an arc for an igloo with a protractor. Something with glue. All simple tasks, and just five.
But there were severe limits on the number of tools given. 6 pairs of scissors. 4 crayons.
As soon as the teacher said "go", the jocks and bullies rushed to the stations and shoved others away. I waited my turn. By the time everyone stopped shoving and I had a chance, time was nearly up. I didn't finish.
At the end of class, those who pushed in got their As. The rest of us supposedly failed. I learned a lesson, but not the one the teacher likely wanted: some people will do anything to get what they want.
I learned a second lesson though, and one she also didn't expect. I completed the survival tasks for food, water, and clothes first. I used the protractor point to perform the cutting task and thought up a way to hypothetically stay warm enough to survive without an igloo. After class, I told her that I deserved an A, because even without that task and a crude cutout, I had a structure and a means of fulfilling the last requirement in an alternate way. I was angry, frustrated and upset, but I remember her stunned look.
I don't know what grade I got or if the grades that day were even real. But I learned that some people will do anything to come out on top, even hurt others. I learned they do this chaotically, without regard for reason or logic. And I learned creativity and determination can also lead to success - but for all, not just a few. But only if enough other people get out of their grasping rush for imagined survival.
What should the class have done? Each student should have performed a selected task repeatedly and then distributed theirs to all the others. The others should have done the same. If everyone shares. Then everyone wins. But that isn't what usually happens, is it?
