Questioning Question Mark

(In grade five, our teacher gave us a math test that contains a really hard question. Most students leave the question blank, but because she was always telling us off for ‘skipping questions’ I decided put question marks in the boxes to show that I read the question but didn’t know the answer. After we turned in the test, she sat at her desk and proceeded to tell each student off in front of the entire class for getting questions wrong.)

Teacher: “[Student #1], why did you circle 9 as a prime number?! Didn’t you learn anything last year?! And [Student #2], you left this question blank. Come and write an answer this instant, or I’ll take points off your other questions. NEVER LEAVE A QUESTION BLANK!”

(She keeps flicking until she gets to my test.)

Teacher: “How dare you put questions marks?! HOW DARE YOU. Don’t you ever try to act like a smart-alec again! I’m reporting this to your parents.”

Me: “But, I… I…”

Teacher: “DONT TALK BACK TO ME. HOW DARE YOU TALK BACK! DONT TRY TO EXPLAIN YOUR BEHAVIOR BY TALKING BACK!”

(The teacher ended up sending the report, which my mother found hilarious. She proceeded to report the teacher to the school, who was more-or-less fired a year later after she walked into a class taught by another teacher and shouted at “all the people who have been reporting her”.)