Today I had an experience that made me laugh . . . not in an “Oh, that’s so funny” kind of way, but in a “My, that’s so ironic” kind of way.
I (along with droves of other unassuming parents) got to participate in a game of “Are you Smarter than a 6th Grader?” at my daughter’s Honor Roll Assembly. Now before you feel too sorry for me, let me clarify that this wasn’t me alone against the 6th graders. Instead, this was a group of kids (collectively) against a group of parents (collectively). Whew.
The categories were what you might expect in a game like this – Science, Math, Social Studies, English, Language and Reading. As we sat in the bleachers waiting our turn, it was fun to watch the other parents interact with the game. Some were making playfully defensive comments like, “This just proves that you learn a lot of stuff and NEVER have to use it EVER again!” Others were taking the low-expectation route saying, “I’m pretty sure I won’t know any of these!”
And then there was me.
I thought to myself, “I’ll probably do OK on the Math questions; I might be able to guess some of the Science and Social Studies; but, I will FOR SURE know all of the English, Language and Reading questions.”
They do say that pride comes before a fall.
When the Language category was chosen by the group, I received a few “You got this!” glances from parents around me. I waited confidently for the question . . .
“What part of speech gives additional information about a noun in a sentence?” (or something like that)
How easy . . . an adjective.
WRONG!
No, my friends, the answer they were looking for was an “appositive.”
I must confess that I couldn’t have defined the word “appositive” if my life depended on it. But, I do know how to use one . . .
Amy, an editor who tries not to take herself so seriously, sincerely hopes you enjoyed this silly little post 🙂
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Oh my, gotta love it. I would have said the same thing! And had the same confidence! 🙂
I’m a fellow editor/writer (from Missouri, no less) and happened upon your site today. What a funny anecdote! Thanks for sharing. I certainly would have answered “adjective,” too! I’ve enjoyed how genuine you are in your blog… very refreshing.
Hi, Maggie! My sincere apologies for just now responding to your comment . . . I have been on a blogging hiatus 🙂 I’m glad to hear that another editor/writer would have shared my same response! Blessings to you.