Teachers

When I was in first or second grade, we had the most inconceivable assignment: to invent something. As soon as I heard this, I immediately thought that my teacher was batshit crazy. Inventors are people who are in the prime of their life and maturity and have the experience to know what needs to be fixed and the insight into how it can be fixed. But we are mere children who most likely haven't even developed logic and common sense yet. We still believed things like eating a watermelon seed would make a watermelon grow in your stomach. How the heck are we supposed to invent something?

So, obviously, I failed this assignment. My "invention" was some kind of a pully system that allowed me to wake up my mom from my bedroom with a little poking motion. Why did I need to do this? I didn't. I'm pretty sure it was my mom who needed to wake me up in the mornings, anyway.

Obviously, the other children didn't do so well, either. The only memorable invention was an umbrella with a cup holder attached. And hey, that might be useful in some situations, but seriously? These kind of assignments are ridiculous for children; it certainly made me feel dumb.

I also can't stand when children get assignments/projects that really end up being for parents, ie: building models, sewing costumes, or cooking treats for potlucks. The kids will probably only end up doing 15% of the real work and that's not fair for the parents who have enough to deal with as it is.

Okay, I'll stop, but only because I am reminiscing about childhood and 90's things.