SHE.HER.

KIDS SAY THE DARNEST THINGS

The year 2006 is almost coming to an end, and Semester Two examinations (aka finals) have once again swept across schools in KL. My fourteen year-old, school-going brother is naturally not spared from the examination fever, so he braved the storm....

One may think that being a Form 2 student (Eight-grader in the USA) is no big deal. After all, it's only high school, so how difficult can it get? Many of us have been through this before, and it was a piece of cake. Right?

Not anymore.

The syllabus have certainly change since I graduated from high school. A lot. Why, back in my Form 2 days, all I had to sit for were (all compulsory, mind you):

1. Bahasa Melayu (BM) - Paper I (Objective paper) & II (Essay paper)
2. English (BI) - Paper I (Objectives) & II (Essay)
3. Mathematics - Paper I (Objectives) & II (Subjectives)
4. Science - Objectives only
5. Geography - Paper I (Objectives) & II (Projects/Research paperwork)
6. History (Sejarah) - Paper I (Objectives) & II (Projects)
7. Living Skills (Kemahiran Hidup) - Paper I (Objectives) & II (Projects)
8. Moral studies - Consisted of objective & subjective components
9. Art (Pendidikan Seni) - Paper I (Theory; objectives) & II ( Practical)

Okay, so there WERE many papers we had to sit back then as well, BUT check out the current additions in my brother's time (again, all are compulsory subjects):

1. Bahasa Melayu (BM) - Paper I (Objective paper) & II (Essay & Literature paper)
2. English (BI) - Paper I (Objectives) & II (Essay & Literature)
3. Mathematics - Paper I (Objectives) & II (Subjectives); additional folios
whipped up from time to time
4. Science - Paper I (Objectives) & II (Subjectives)
5. Geography - Paper I (Objectives) & II (Projects/ Research paperwork)
.6History (Sejarah) - Paper I (Objectives) & II (Projects)
7. Living Skills (KH) - Paper I (Objectives) & II (Projects)
8. Moral studies - Consisted of objective & subjective components; additional
folios
9. Art (Pendidikan Seni) - Paper I (Theory; objectives) & II ( Practical)
10. Physical Education - Theory paper
11. Civic studies - Theory paper

"Interesting", don't you think? Compare to what the current students are going through at the moment, ours was (almost) nothing to shout about.

But why am I getting down to all the fine details of our current examination system, when the topic of the day is "Kids Say the Darnest Things"? you may ask. Well, the story I'd like to share revolved around the Physical Education (PE) Paper my brother sat a few days ago. So allow me to explain a little more about this particular subject before I delve into the main topic, ok? =P

Now what kind of questions would they ask in a PE paper anyway? Well, anything with regards to sports and well-being.... and when I say anything, I mean PRACTICALLY ANYTHING, from the usual "Which foods contain high levels of vitamin C?" to the downright ridiculous "What is the length of a badminton shuttlecock? State measurement in centimetres...." (Side-note: length varies between 6.4 - 7.0 cm , according to the PE textbook my brother reads)

Got a rough idea of a PE paper already? Good. ^^ Now back to the story....

So my brother sat for his PE exam, and out of the 50 questions, one of them went like this:

In a 100-metre race, which part of the body would 'touch' the finish-line when one reaches the end of the race first?

A. Head
B. Chest
C. Knees
D. Feet

The answer was obviously B [Kindly look at the picture I have above, for your viewing pleasure]. However, a friend of my brother's chose A instead. Why? This was his reply:

"As far as I can remember, the finish-line is always placed above the waist, so choices C and D are eliminated..."

"And now I only have to choose between A and B..."

"So why did I choose A instead of B??? Well, errrm....."

"............................................"

" In the 100-metre female category......"

"If they do place it at the chest level ah......."

"Wouldn't it be a disadvantage to a flat-chested girl as opposed to a 'well-endowed' one if both of them were to reach the finish-line at the same time???"

Talk about critical thinking!! ^^