The Final Exam

Oh how much life is like the classroom... We all get the grade we deserve.

The Final Exam

Once upon a time there was a school with different levels of classes. Once you graduated from one class, you and your entire class would go on to the next class. The teacher of all of the classes was the same, wise old man. Every year when a new class of every level started, he would warn his students about the importance of preparing for the final exam. You see, the school only had one final exam, and it was taken whenever a class entered the final level of school before completely graduating from the school.

One year, he sat down in front of his class of these seniors on the first day of class and warned them to prepare very hard for the final exam, which would be at the end of the year. They had all gone through the other classes and years together as one unit, all having the same amount of time to prepare, and it was in perfect fairness that every student would have to take the same final at the end of the year.

The teacher also told the class that there would be daily reading assignments and homework to be completed. However, he told them that he would not require proof of the assignments each day, and it was up to their honor to complete the work, and they only had to turn it in if they chose to do so.

All of the students seemed happy with this arrangement at first, and in the beginning, about half of them did no work at all, not seeing the point, and about half made it a point to try and do it. 

But soon, many of the half that were doing it, stopped seeing the point, because there was no reward for doing the work, so why bother?

Fewer students turned in their daily papers as the year wore on. And even some of the diligent students stopped doing the work because it didn’t seem fair for them to work, when those who didn’t weren’t given any kind of penalty. 

Towards the end of the year,  you could count on one hand the number of students who were still, and who had been doing the work. Sometimes after class, one of the girls who had always worked very hard, would approach the teacher and sadly tell him, “Sir, I am concerned with the fact that the homework isn’t mandatory, and I don’t want to upset you, but I think hardly anyone is doing it. You worked hard to prepare these lessons, and when they don’t do the work, the class discussions fall apart. Many of the kids no longer even come to class, and many of the ones who do, talk and listen to music. Shouldn’t you do something to stop them?”

She respected him and loved him like a father and it broke her heart to see her fellow students treat him so shamefully. However, the teacher just smiled knowingly at the girl and patted her on the head and said, “Don’t worry, dear.”

The girl was not satisfied because she hadn’t been given a specific answer, but used all of her willpower to trust him that things really would be fair in the end.

Through it all, the teacher simply gently reminded everyone that the final was coming up, and to make sure they were prepared. 

There was also a boy in the class, one of the few who did his daily homework. When he saw that hardly anyone did any work, and that people started taking the teacher less and less seriously and disrespecting him more, he decided he would do everything he could to motivate his fellow students. On his own time, he would offer study sessions at his home, and speak gently and encouragingly to his fellow classmates. Many of them mocked him, because you see, his diligence made them look bad and they didn’t like him drawing attention to it. Some would smile at him, and would go to him when they wanted to copy his notes, but when he gently suggested to them that they could get the same notes if they would simply pay attention, they changed the subject or walked away. Still though, even though he sometimes wondered if he was wasting his time, and never saw the fruits of his labor, and never knew that he had really helped anyone; he had influenced his fellow students more than he knew.

Some days before class he would go to his teacher in tears, and ask him if there really was a point to all this, and if he really was doing the right things because he felt so alone.

Still, the teacher would simply pat his head and say, “Don’t worry, dear.” Then once class started, the old man would do what he did everyday, and tell the students that the final exam was coming up.

Finally, on the last day of class, because it was mandatory to attend for the final, every student, even the ones who had not gone for months came to class and slouched down in their seats. They were convinced that they knew all there was to know about the subject matter, and nothing the old man could throw at them would be a surprise, so it didn’t matter that they never studied or worked.

However, at the front of the room on opposite ends, the boy and the girl both sat on the edge of their seats, reviewing legitimate facts they had researched in preparation for the class. Also in the front row were the few others who had been doing work for all, or most, of the class time. 

“Well, it’s time for your final grades,” said the teacher.

“What!? But we haven’t taken the final exam yet!” said many in the class.

The teacher smiled and held up stacks of homework that had been turned in throughout the year and said, “This was the final.”

Many of the students felt sick to their stomachs, wondering what their fate was.

The teacher walked across the front row and handed the girl who loved him so, an “A” and a golden diploma. She had tears in her eyes and thanked him. He also gave the As and golden diplomas to the boy who had tried to help the others, and to the few others who had worked very hard. 

Others, who had done some work, but not as much were given Bs and silver diplomas. And those who had done even less work were given Cs and bronze diplomas. Because the teacher loved the students as his children however, he still allowed even many of the slackers to graduate, but they received no further reward, and only had themselves to blame as they lamented the close to all of their years at the school.

As they walked out the door, the boy and the girl who received the gold diplomas finally noticed each other, as they had not known the other personally before. They smiled when they saw the gold the other had earned, and clasped hands as they left the class room.

“See,” said the teacher, “I told you not to worry.”

Author's Note

My take on karma of sorts. Open to interpretation.

Reviews

[Omegax45]

I like this story. It had a surprise twist at the end and it was wuick to decipher what the moral was. It's also true of what they say: kama can hurt very painfully when you least expected. Thank you for sharing.