A colleague and I typically teach each other's classes 1-3 times each term when the other is traveling. Although it can be strange to drop into someone's class for a lecture or three, it can also be fun. Sometimes.
During my last substitution experience, it was just my luck that I also had to return an exam. The graduate student who was originally assigned to be a grader and assistant for this large class had been fired from that position recently, so I was on my own. I decided to return the exams at the end of class, stopping my lecture a bit early to allow time for the chaos of returning exams to a large class. Before returning the exams, I told the students to talk to Professor X if they had any questions about their exams. In fact, Professor X had told them in the previous class that they should direct all question to him, the professor of the class, and not to me, the substitute who was just filling in for the next class.
When the exams were handed back, one student approached me, exam in hand.
Student: I have a question about how I was graded on question #9.
Me: You will have to ask Professor X about that.
Student: But I just want to know why I lost points on question #9.
Me: You will have to ask Professor X about that. I haven't even looked at the exam.
Student: But I just have this one question.
Me: You will have to ask Professor X your question. I did not grade the exam. I have not looked at the exam. I cannot answer your question.
Student: But my question is about [TOPIC], which I wrote about in question #9.
Me: You will have to ask Professor X about that.
Student: I just want to know about this question (starts reading aloud his answer to question #9).
Me: What part of "You will have to ask Professor X" don't you understand?
OK, I did not really say that. Let me try again.
Me: Maybe if you were a better listener, you wouldn't have gotten such a low grade on the exam.
No, I didn't say that either. I was, however, reminded of a time, years ago, when I used to dog-sit for a friend of mine. When she and her family were out of town for short trips, I would stay overnight at her house and take care of her dogs. My cats, who had to spend the night at our house without me, were very mature about this, and I enjoyed having some dog-time.
One of the dogs was very young and energetic. I spent a lot of time playing fetch with this dog, and she was always disappointed when I stopped throwing her favorite ball; she never wanted to stop. One day, I decided that I was going to play fetch until the dog got tired of it. I wanted to find her limit; I was going to wear that dog out if it took all night. We played fetch for more than 4 hours without stopping, and then I gave up. She was sad when we stopped, and kept dropping the ball at my feet and looking at me beseechingly. Wouldn't I just throw it a few or a thousand more times?
I was reminded of this because, when this student kept repeating his question, I decided to wear him down. I wanted to make him give up asking me this same question over and over. And I was curious: How many times could he ask this question, despite my repeated insistence that I was not going to answer his question? Who would give in first?
Pop quiz!
The correct answers to the questions above are:
a. 11 times, FSP gave in first
b. 11 times, student gave in first
c. Why are you so competitive with puppies and students?
d. Why do you hate men and dogs so much?
This student was extremely annoying and seemed to lack certain listening/comprehension skills, but perhaps his persistence will be useful to him in some career?