Test Takers
Back when I was a student, I was always really good at taking tests.
I scored very well on my SAT’s and never actually panicked when we had the mid-terms or the final exams.
I bring it all up because I had a bunch of guys in front of me taking a construction safety test.
The rules were, you can talk to each other, look it up on the phone, or use the book I had that has all the rules in it.
Then I sat back and listened.
Some guys, when it was their turn, struggled to read the question. Others wanted to just guess at the answer. One guy pretended that he knew everything about everything, and he got virtually every one wrong.
But I liked his confidence!
I let them take a stab at it, and then I jumped in.
“I hate taking tests,” one guy said. “That’s why I became an equipment operator.”
And it’s odd for me to see it from his point-of-view.
I didn’t struggle much when it came to school, and I have learned to read the questions and let them answer as a group because I once asked a man to read it and give me the answer, and he said:
“Go to the next guy. I don’t read well.”
A few of his friends laughed and I felt badly for the guy.
I hadn’t meant to embarrass him.
“You read for fun!” My kids often say to me as if that’s an insult.
And I do!
Reading and writing are great fun.
“You know,” one guy said. “I can take a car engine and put it back together, but answering a freaking true and false question in a room filled with people makes me crazy.”
I laughed.
“It’s all in good fun,” I said. “You have more information now than you did before.”
“Easy for you to say, you were one of those smart geeks in high school.”
I laughed too.
Different strokes for different folks, right?
We all have our strengths and weaknesses.
I’m glad I liked reading and writing...
...if I took a car engine apart...
...it would stay apart!
I scored very well on my SAT’s and never actually panicked when we had the mid-terms or the final exams.
I bring it all up because I had a bunch of guys in front of me taking a construction safety test.
The rules were, you can talk to each other, look it up on the phone, or use the book I had that has all the rules in it.
Then I sat back and listened.
Some guys, when it was their turn, struggled to read the question. Others wanted to just guess at the answer. One guy pretended that he knew everything about everything, and he got virtually every one wrong.
But I liked his confidence!
I let them take a stab at it, and then I jumped in.
“I hate taking tests,” one guy said. “That’s why I became an equipment operator.”
And it’s odd for me to see it from his point-of-view.
I didn’t struggle much when it came to school, and I have learned to read the questions and let them answer as a group because I once asked a man to read it and give me the answer, and he said:
“Go to the next guy. I don’t read well.”
A few of his friends laughed and I felt badly for the guy.
I hadn’t meant to embarrass him.
“You read for fun!” My kids often say to me as if that’s an insult.
And I do!
Reading and writing are great fun.
“You know,” one guy said. “I can take a car engine and put it back together, but answering a freaking true and false question in a room filled with people makes me crazy.”
I laughed.
“It’s all in good fun,” I said. “You have more information now than you did before.”
“Easy for you to say, you were one of those smart geeks in high school.”
I laughed too.
Different strokes for different folks, right?
We all have our strengths and weaknesses.
I’m glad I liked reading and writing...
...if I took a car engine apart...
...it would stay apart!
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