Test Taking, Clock Watching & the Warping of Time by Andy Jobson

Tick, tick, tick...

Last Saturday I spent my morning serving as a room supervisor for the SAT. While I had a busy weekend planned, our testing coordinator asked me to help her out, and with four kids at home and one in college, I can always use a little extra money.  So I agreed to sacrifice some Saturday morning sleep and relaxation to help her out.  Some might think that watching kids take a test is a pretty easy way to spend several hours and earn $100.  I'd have to disagree.

I always think of Camus’s The Plague when I proctor.  While I don’t remember much about the book, I do remember a discussion of time.  A character in the novel speaks of wasting time; he argues that the least wasteful use of time is to be excruciatingly aware of each passing second.  Waiting in the doctor’s office, for example, where time passes agonizingly slowly, makes you fully aware of the passage of time. Of course, it’s also a form of torture.  With the proliferation of handheld idiot boxes, we don’t suffer from this as much.  (Instead we suffer from carpal tunnel and decreased attention spans, but that’s another story.)

Proctoring the SAT fits Camus’s analogy quite well.  As the timekeeper, I have to keep a close eye on the clock so that I can announce sonorously, “You have five minutes remaining for this section.”  That’s about as exciting as it gets, sadly.  You watch the timer closely.  Okay, there are twelve minutes remaining.  Better make a pass up and down the aisles… You move up and down the aisles, checking to make sure everyone is on the right section and is using the correct pencil.  Perhaps you quietly remind a student to keep his calculator flat so that others aren’t tempted to look. Hmm, still nine and a half minutes.  Should I stay or go?  You look away, gaze around the room, and pray for time to pass before glancing again.  Really?  Still seven minutes and forty-five seconds?  Please….  Time warps when you're watching the seconds. Occasionally I wish I were taking the test again just to have something to do.

Perhaps the problem is that the tests aren’t stressful enough.  When I spent my junior year of college in the United Kingdom, end-of-year exams were essentially an “all-or-nothing” proposition; you only earned credit if you passed the exams.  Hence, students were quite stressed out, and sometimes amusing incidents resulted.  I did not observe it, but I heard the perhaps apocryphal story of a student who brought a teddy bear to the exam, ostensibly as a good-luck charm.  After returning from a brief visit to the bathroom, the student grew visibly agitated and started tearing apart his teddy bear.  “Haven’t you gotten more done than that?” he reportedly shouted.  “What have you been doing while I’ve been gone?”  If only we had such things to anticipate for the SAT.

I’m glad to help out my friend, and I’ll be glad to receive the check when it comes.  I’m also glad when I hear students express feelings of confidence that they did well, as it means my fellow teachers and I are doing our jobs.  Nevertheless, I ask that you think of the proctors’ mind-numbing, soul-sucking boredom as they watch the clock, making this essential rite of passage possible.

I guess it’s just one more reason to thank a teacher.


An educator of 22 years, Andy Jobson has taught government, economics, and U.S. History. Currently teaching English literature at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA, he’s also been an administrator, a STAR teacher twice, and taught elementary school with Teach for America.

Energy Solutions: Who Chooses? New Release Exploring the Unintended Consequences of Energy Decisions.

It's not a trick for October, it's a treat! We have another new release for you.

Check out Energy Solutions: Who Chooses?

Join Johan Norberg on another exploratory adventure about the unintended consequences of energy decisions like ethanol and fracking around the world, from Germany to the U.S.

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Writing Across the Curriculum by Love Merryman

How do you teach 7th grade students to write a five paragraph essay? You give them something to write about.

When newcomers arrive in St. Marys, a coastal city in South Georgia, their initial reaction often is, "This place is fabulous!" The residents here love their country and are dedicated to life in the United States, largely because Kings Bay Naval Base is located there. At least 40 percent of our students' parents are connected in some way to either King Bay or the naval base in Jacksonville, FL, just thirty miles away. Our students frequently have unique life experiences, having moved here from Spain, Italy, or other U.S. locations such as San Diego, California, Washington, or Hawaii.


Such diverse backgrounds elicited strong, informed opinions when the class began discussing American- made versus internationally-made products. Should we participate in the global economy extensively or just buy American? That was the impetus for excitement when the class viewed Free Trade, a wonderful izzit.org video. Taking the enthusiasm of seventh graders, and applying it to the five-paragraph essay assignment for all students was almost delightful when presented in segments.

First, the students watched the video, identifying important parts about trade and economy. Their discussion included comments about raw materials, transportation of materials, wages of workers, buildings for manufacturing, and tariffs. They noticed how Hong Kong, now part of China, had grown economically because of its free trade policy. They heard from Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman, who discussed myriad factors affecting economic decisions in countries such as Estonia.

After brainstorming, they began the first leg of their assignment:"Write a paragraph about manufacturing a 'Made in the USA' product." The next day students shared their paragraphs and the conversation naturally led to production in a global economy. The second leg was to "Write a paragraph about producing and selling a product in a global economy," and the students had to look at the experience from a different perspective.

When they returned the next day, they were excited to share their writing and compare their results. They did an excellent job articulating their differences. Thirteen-year-olds were discussing their cell phones and the multitude of countries in which the parts may have been made. Next, the real body and writing challenge  began: "Choose a position, either American-made or globally produced and give at least four reasons to support your argument." Then a brave student asked, "What if I can't choose?" I suggested that if he couldn't, he should present at least three reasons for and against each perspective.

The next day again was spent sharing the delightful, informative paragraphs. And the information learned was resonated in the writing of the students: "A global economy could lead to more interdependent societies/countries, thus WORLD PEACE."

Not only had they watched an interesting and informative video, but they also had created the body for their essay and only needed to add an introduction and conclusion. Have you ever seen seventh graders excited about writing across the curriculum? I have, and they had something important to say!

Thank you, izzit.org!