Exam
The teacher entered the class room. We were supposed to have an exam,
so he delivered the questions and gave us an additional paper for
the answers. The answering paper was to be handed over to the teacher
at the end of the exam.
I
looked at the questions. They were complicated but not too difficult.
I would manage if I only wrote down the answers.
The
answering sheet was an ordinary A4 paper. I proceeded question by
question until I had finished the first page. I turned it around and
noticed that the other side had some markings: there was text written
with a pall-point pen and some games of lumberjack. There was space
only for one more answer, even if there were six more questions left.
I
raised my arm asking for more paper. The teacher said one sheet of
paper should be enough. "But the other side is already full,"
I protested." The teacher said he didn't have additional paper
but added, "If you find more paper, you can write your answers
there."
I
stood up and walked around the class room looking for extra paper.
I peeped into the teachers drawers and the book shelf next to a wall.
In the drawer I found only pens. The shelf was full of old students'
information. The maps were dusty and poorly organized. A4 paper couldn't
be found anywhere.
Time
went by as I looked for the paper. The exam would end in twenty minutes.
Even if I managed to find the necessary paper, I'd be in a hurry to
finish my exam.
The
situation made me nervous. Other pupils, too, got disturbed about
my movement. Some asked what exactly was I looking for?
"This
is not right!" I said. "The exam should measure whether
I have understood the subject, not whether I can manage to find the
paper in time."
The
teacher didn't say a word. One of the students pointed out that she
had been forced to take the same class twice because of the same reason.
"The principal didn't give in," she said, "even if
I asked for a new exam."
