Well, in just a minute you'll know what happened to that picnic basket...But let me back up just a bit.
Today in class, I had a student who was staring into space, not doing her work. I reminded her that the assignment in front of her was going to be taken up for a grade, and to "get to work" (that's probably the single most-frequent thing to come out of my mouth on a daily basis!).
She proceeded to tell me that since it's the start of a new semester, she currently has a "100% A" in my class. I begged to differ. I told her that she didn't have a grade at all, since there was nothing in the grade book yet.
She went on to assure me that she would soon have a "100% A" in the very near future.
My words to her..."Don't put the cart before the horse."
Now, I knew when I said it that it would be followed by silence and looks of bewilderment on every face in the room. However, knowing this, I was immediately prepared to explain the meaning of this idiom.
After a succint (and I thought understandable) explanation, this child looks at me and says (word-for-word)..."I think it's more like don't put the picnic basket behind the cart or someone will steal it."
HUH???????
I absolutely laughed out loud, which cracked up the rest of the class.
She still looked confused.
**********************
Fast forward to last period.
I told another girl about this exchange, because she likes idioms (she giggles at the word because it sounds like "idiot") and she has a good sense of humor. I told her about what the student said (no, I didn't tell her who it was).
Her reply to me... "Why do you need a horse OR a cart, when you can just drive in a car?".
{sigh} How many days until Spring Break?
They start all that stuff in 1st grade.... I laugh at least 5 times a day at things they say that they think are right!!
ReplyDeleteGreat story!
That's hilarious. I think I get the question "What's _____?" Every time I even try and use an idiom or a word we adults use regularly. It takes too much time to explain. If I did, I's spend my entire day just explaining words I use all the time. That tells me I either speak in a foreign way, or they don't hear words like that very often. {sigh}
ReplyDeleteDon't forget...she laid that one on me, too. It's a shame youth is wasted on the clueless! :0)
ReplyDeleteWe're half way to the weekend...
This. cracked. me. up!!
ReplyDeleteOh my. What's super sad is that when I was teaching, I was trying to explain those to HIGH SCHOOL kids and they still didn't get it. I don't know exactly what grade you teach, but I feel your pain!
ReplyDelete