Funny/sad tutoring experiences

Years back, I was tutoring this Grade 5 boy when I asked him "what are odd numbers?" Now that question is something he ought to have answered quickly and correctly, but whoa, guess what he said? The numbers on the left side. I was aghast. I knew why he said what he did. In exercises/ quizzes which are broken down into columns, the tendency is for the numbering to be thus:

1. 2.
3. 4.
5. 6.

and so on.

After expressing my dismay, I challenged him, what if the numbers are arranged in 3 rather than 2 columns, as in:

1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

and so on?

That made him scratch his head and smile sheepishly.

*********************

A question my tutees perpetually ask me after I show them a solution to a problem is this: "Teacher, walang short cut?"

In this day and age when everything is instant (noodles, soup, etc), where computer games and those in consoles have cheats available, inevitably the boys who patronize the same also want instant solutions. Sad...

**********************

A girl who took a college entrance exam complained afterwards, "They didn't allow us to use calculators!"

**********************

Call me mean, but when I tutor, I generally don't allow my tutees to use their calculators. I prefer that they think. I know they sometimes resent it but my point is, what if while taking a test their calculators run out of power?

**********************