Filed under: daily discoveries, films & the tube | Tags: anne sullivan, are you smarter than a 5th grader
Last night while channel surfing, my niece and i came across a Game Show entitled “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?”. By the first half of the show, we were both laughing so hard that our sides were aching. Here’s a lowdown on the episode that we watched:
Host: “Ok, let’s see your $1,000 question.”
Host: “How many times does the letter ‘E’ appear in the following phrase?”
Host: “Pledge of Allegiance”
Obviously the contestant is confused on this 1st Grade Grammar question.
Contestant: “I wish I could write it down, so I could look at the spelling of it. I’ll do it at my head though. The word Pledge has two ‘E’s, ‘THE’ obviously has one ‘E’… that’s three.” (short pause) “Allegiance…”
Host: “Pledge of Allegiance.”
Contestant: “Pledge is two, THE gives me three..”
At this point, the host couldn’t help but cut in to save the contestant from further humiliating himself on live TV.
Host: “Pledge of Allegiance.” (emphasis given on the word “of”)
Contestant: “Are you trying to play games? I don’t understand.”
The fifth graders and audience are shown laughing and clapping at this point.
Host: “I’m just trying not to make this any more difficult than it already is.”
Host: “Read my lips: Pledge of Allegiance.”
Just like a lightbulb, the contestant suddenly lit up.
Contestant: “OH!”
Host: “I’m trying to help you here.”
Host: “I don’t know if this makes you feel any better, that pack of fifth graders over there all have the correct answer.”
Host: “Give me an answer or you have two cheats up there, you can peek at Jacob’s paper or you can copy his paper.”
Contestant: “I’m gonna answer on my own.”
Host: “I admire your bravery. It’s first grade question.”
Contestant: “The answer I’m gonna give…” (a short pause)
Audience laughing.
Contestant: “… is Four.”
Host: “Was first grade this tough for you the first time around?
Anne Sullivan once said, “Children require guidance and sympathy far more than instruction.” Obviously in this case, “Adults require tons of instruction, guidance, and a lot of sympathy.”
