So here’s a story you’re probably not gonna’ believe, but it’s true. I promise you! At least I remember it happening…
It was a long time ago, when I was teaching in a school that was a bit strange, and a bit peculiar (but not nearly as peculiar and strange as the school you’re in right now!).
As I remember, it was the first day of school and everything seemed perfectly normal. The problem is that it really wasn’t. As a matter of fact I could have never imagined what was going to happen on this particular first day of school…
You see, all my new students showed up on time at 8:30 and I had them sit on the carpet to welcome them. After I introduced myself and went over some basic information about fourth grade, I had each of them introduce themself by telling us their name, one favorite thing they liked to eat, and one favorite thing they liked to do.
As we went around the classroom, I heard typical things. For example, Jenna said, “My name is Jenna, I like to eat pizza, and I like to play basketball.”
Then a boy named Jake said, “My name is Jake, and I love sushi, and I like playing video games.”
Yes, everyone was pretty typical until we came to a boy who was new to the school. He said,
“My name is SchmipMorp, I like to eat fungus salad and butterfly soup, and my favorite thing to do is lick car tires.”
“Oh, I didn’t know car tires tasted good,” I said, trying to go along with his joke.
“Oh they do, especially racing tires,” said ShmipMorp in a very serious voice.
“Licking tires, and eating fungus salad and butterfly soup sounds a little weird,” said a girl named Jackie.
“Oh, It’s delicious. Especially the red fungi, and the Goodyear tires on Jeeps.
“Now that’s even weirder,” continued Jackie.
“Everyone,” I said, “Let’s not judge a person because they do some things that you don’t. We’re here to celebrate and learn from our differences, not judge or criticize them.”
“But licking tires, and eating fungus salad and butterfly soup? Are you sure you’re not an alien or something,” blurted out a boy named Joe.
“Joe,” I said, “Please don’t make any more comments. ShmipMorp deserves the same respect that you got when you shared facts about yourself.”
“It’s OK,” said ShmipMorp, “I’m not an alien. I’m pretty sure I was born in a hospital right here on Earth.”
“Pretty sure?” asked a girl named Sarah.
“Yup,” said SchmipMorp, “I can’t remember being born, but my mom told me it was in a hospital.”
I noticed the other students rolling their eyes, and because he was new to the school, I was already a little concerned ShmipMorp would have trouble fitting in with the other students.
If the students rolled their eyes, 245 times, and then another 247 times, how many times had they rolled their eyes?
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