When I taught second grade, one
of my students was especially smart. He often asked questions that made me
think.
Sometimes he even asked questions that made me say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out and give you the answer tomorrow.”
So one day, this boy raised his hand and asked, “What would happen if everyone in the world farted at once?”
I looked at him. He looked at me. At looked at his classmates. They looked at me.
Of course, there is no real answer to that question. First of all, it couldn’t happen. There are just too many people and fish and bugs for us all to fart at once.
And the real answer is: “It would be stinky for a few seconds and then everything would go back to the way it was.”
But I knew that smart second grader and his classmates didn’t want a real answer; they wanted a story. So I made up a story about a town where everyone and everything happen to eat food that makes farts. And instead of it being stinky for a few seconds and then it getting better, crazy things happen. Things get all turned around. Luckily, something comes along at the end and saves the day…but not for everyone!
Sometimes he even asked questions that made me say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out and give you the answer tomorrow.”
So one day, this boy raised his hand and asked, “What would happen if everyone in the world farted at once?”
I looked at him. He looked at me. At looked at his classmates. They looked at me.
Of course, there is no real answer to that question. First of all, it couldn’t happen. There are just too many people and fish and bugs for us all to fart at once.
And the real answer is: “It would be stinky for a few seconds and then everything would go back to the way it was.”
But I knew that smart second grader and his classmates didn’t want a real answer; they wanted a story. So I made up a story about a town where everyone and everything happen to eat food that makes farts. And instead of it being stinky for a few seconds and then it getting better, crazy things happen. Things get all turned around. Luckily, something comes along at the end and saves the day…but not for everyone!
