Author Archives: Kelly Mettler

Game – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Vancouver, WA
Performance Date: March 20, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, German

Heads Up Seven Up

“So, seven people volunteer to go around and touch other people’s thumbs. And these people whose thumbs are being tapped or touched have their, uh, heads down and eyes closed so that they can’t see who taps their thumb. So basically after, uh, the seven people have tapped someone’s thumb, then they go back to the front of the room and then, um, I don’t know, wow. I think they say something, like…I don’t know, like, “Stand up now”. They say something! So basically anyone who had their thumb tapped stands up and they try to guess which one of the seven people tapped their thumb. And if they, they get one chance to guess it right, and if they guess it right, then they get to replace that person and then the next round, that person who guessed right gets to tap a thumb. I mean basically, if you don’t guess right, then you have to put your head down and thumb up the next round and everything. And actually, at the beginning of the round, you’re supposed to say “heads down, thumbs up” to inform the people that the game is starting, and they need to put their heads down and their thumbs up.”

*Each volunteer is allowed to only tap one thumb

*Prior to having your thumb tapped, your thumb is supposed to be in a “thumbs-up” position, where all of your fingers are clenched except your thumb, which is upright

*After your thumb has been tapped, you bring your thumb down so that it is tucked underneath your other fingers (this way, double-tapping can be avoided)

Heidi first learned how to play this game as a first-grader (about age 6 or 7), and this game typically takes place in elementary schools. As far as she can remember, she has never played it anywhere except at school. Sometimes, students cheat by opening their eyes slightly to see who tapped their thumb; in fact, Heidi says that she has been accused of cheating. In general, she doesn’t really like playing this game.

Elementary school teachers probably like this game because it is generally very quiet, except during the period in which students must guess who tapped their thumb. Students probably like this game because of its mysterious nature—unless your eyes are open, you don’t really know who tapped your thumb. Students must also learn to make use of their other senses: perhaps they heard someone’s athletic pants swishing nearby after they were tapped, alerting them that the person who tapped their thumb is probably wearing athletic pants; once the round is over and the guessing begins, the person who heard the swishing athletic pants will be more inclined to suppose that that person was the one who tapped them. Also, some people might have noticeably warmer or colder fingers, so that if a person’s thumb is tapped by someone with cold hands, he or she might be able to guess their “tapper” based on what they know about the volunteers’ tendencies to have cold or warm hands. True, some students will cheat from time to time, opening their eyes to get a peek at whoever might have tapped their thumb. However, this must be done with extreme care, since the volunteers try to watch for those who might be looking, and call them out on it. If a student is able to catch a glimpse of their “tapper” successfully, he or she knows that when it comes time to guess, he or she can’t choose the person without some hesitation, otherwise the cheating behavior may seem obvious for the rest of the class.

Ultimately, this game teaches students how to use senses other than vision to make observations, and also teaches students deductive skills as they try to guess who tapped their thumb. For those who walk around tapping thumbs, the game teaches them how to be sneaky; the game also implicitly teaches cheaters how to be sneaky and avoid being caught.

Joke – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 6
Occupation: Student
Residence: Vancouver, WA
Performance Date: March 20, 2008
Primary Language: English

What do you call a snail on a ship?

A snailor!

My brother says that he first heard this from one of his friends. The punchline makes use of a pun on the words “snail” and “sailor,” combining them into one word: “snailor.” Derek likes this joke because “snailor is a funny word!” When asked if he knows any jokes, this is typically the one that comes to his mind first.

As a current first-grader, children at that age are becoming more creative with language and are learning how to express themselves more clearly through written word and oral speech. At this time, they are also figuring out what words can and cannot go together, in addition to distinguishing nonsense words. Combining two words to form “snailor” makes no sense outside the context of the joke, but the combination of “snail” and “snailor” is easily seen when the punchline is accompanied by the question. First-graders know that “snailor” is not a real word, but the fact that it exists in this joke makes sense for them: they know what a snail is, and they know what a sailor is. The jump from the two separate words to one word is easily made, since the first syllable of “sailor” is nearly identical to “snail.” Since the two words are relatively simple, it is easy for a 6- or 7-year-old to see the cleverness of the term “snailor,” and thus find the joke amusing.

Another interesting feature of this joke is its alliteration. With “snail,” “ship,” and “snailor” all beginning with the letter “s”, the joke is probably easier for children to remember, and it also has a nice ring to it. Additionally, all of the words (except “snailor”) are only one syllable, possibly contributing to the being more easily remembered among first-graders. The joke is also fairly short—a quick question, a quick answer. Since children’s attention spans are still growing at this age, a short joke fares better on the playground than does a longer one.

Game – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Vancouver, WA
Performance Date: March 20, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, German

Silent Ball

Silent ball is usually played in a classroom, I suppose. So anyone who wants to play sits up on the top of their desks and one person starts off with the ball and it can just be like…a tennis ball, or a wiffle ball, or whatever. And you also have a sound monitor person who basically judges whether or not someone has made a sound that uh that should I guess constitute them as “out” of the game. And it’s usually okay to laugh, um, I think. But if you talk, or do anything other than laughing or bodily functions like coughing or sneezing. So basically if you talk, you’re “out.” So, then, the person who starts out with the ball throws it to whoever they want in the classroom and you just keep throwing it around to different people and if the ball touches your desk or the floor, or if you just don’t catch it while it’s coming at you, then you have to sit down on your chair—not on your desk—because then that means that you’re “out.” And the goal is to be the last person sitting on your desk, or, sitting on a desk. And, um, I guess the sound monitor person also judges um, like, if the ball was thrown between two people that sound monitor person decides who is out. So it’s kind of the ultimate judge.

*Teachers can play, but generally don’t

Heidi first learned this game sometime during the later half of elementary school. It is usually played in the classroom during times when the teacher doesn’t have a lesson planned, or when there is a substitute teacher. Students probably start playing it during the later half of elementary school because their finer motor skills have developed a bit more—they’re able to throw the ball with some accuracy, and catch it as well.

Since the goal is to get people out, a person in possession of the ball could potentially “just chuck the ball at people.” Heidi says that, “if they miss it, too bad for them.” Methods for getting people “out” include, but are not limited to: throwing the ball very hard so that some people might not want to catch it; throwing the ball just out of reach of the person so that he or she cannot catch it; and throwing the ball towards a person without giving him or her very much notice. While these are all good methods, the players also need to keep in mind that these same strategies can be used against them when it comes time for them to catch the ball. One of the lessons of this game is to develop a strategy for winning that may include several of the above methods. However, the developed strategy must also account for the fact that others will try to sabotage your chances of winning. Since the students’ fine motor skills are more developed during the later elementary school years (ages 9-10) than during the early years (ages 5-6), it is easier for students to establish a strategy for throwing the ball to their opponents.

Utter, Brenda. Pick and Plan: 100 Brain-compatible Strategies for Lesson Design. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press, 2007.

School Quotes – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Vancouver, WA
Performance Date: March 20, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, German

IB: The few, the proud, the sleep-deprived.

I think, therefore IB.

Heidi is currently a student in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, an internationally recognized curriculum that encompasses many areas of study, in addition to encouraging students to become involved in extracurricular activities and complete a capstone project. Heidi and her friends often make jokes and comments about IB, and the two above statements are examples of these. Exclusive phrases like these help to distinguish IB from non-IB students; IB students feel like non-IB students can’t really relate to what they’re going through with the Program. At Heidi’s high school, the curriculum is vastly different between the IB and standard high school requirements. As the program was created in 1968, neither of the comments existed prior to this time (terminus post quem 1968)

The first statement is a play on the United States Marines slogan: “The Few, the Proud, the Marines.” In relation to IB, the “Marines” is substituted with the “sleep-deprived.” IB students typically do not get a bountiful 10 hours of sleep per night—when I went through the program, I usually got 3-4 hours of sleep every weeknight. Certainly there were IB students who managed to get far more sleep than me, but some of us were able to dub ourselves “The 3AM Crew.” For the word “proud,” IB students are definitely proud of themselves and their achievements, nearly reaching the level of hubris. One of the downfalls of some IB students is their conceited nature, thinking that because they are IB students, they should have special treatment. As an IB alumni, I do agree with them: the IB students do deserve special treatment because of the huge quantity of work and time they must put in to their studies and extracurricular activities. As for “few,” the IB students were definitely a minority. In my graduating class of about 360 students, just short of 30 people were taking a full IB course load. The phrase asserting that IB students are “the few, the proud, the sleep-deprived,” is actually a very apt description of that particular group.

The second statement is a play on the famous quote “I think, therefore I am,” by René Descartes. One of the required courses for the IB program is Theory of Knowledge, in which students learn about various philosophers and different modes of thinking. It is a discussion-based class where students talk about current issues and abstract concepts. Often, the teacher tries to bring in relevant quotes from different figures in philosophy, in order for the students to learn about what other people thought about the process of thinking. My guess is that the phrase “I think, therefore IB” arose as a result of a teacher bringing in this quote from Descartes. For people merely hearing the phrase, it sounds as though the person is saying “I think, therefore I be,” clearly a grammatical error. However, when written as “IB,” it becomes a clever comment used to distinguish IB students from the “non-thinking,” non-IB students. It appears that this phrase is a good example of the hubris sometimes exhibited by IB students, even appearing on t-shirts.

Generally, these two phrases are not used when in the presence of people unfamiliar with the IB program. Sometimes they will be used in conversation with students who participate in the Advanced Placement curriculum. Between Heidi’s high school and its rival high school, there is an ongoing dispute about whether AP is better than IB or vice versa. Often, these sorts of phrases will be used in the arguments, as clever justifications for why IB might be better than AP.

Joke – United States of America

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Vancouver, WA
Performance Date: March 20, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, German

Knock knock.

Who’s there?

You know.

You know who?

That’s right, Avada Kedavra!

My sister first heard this from one of her friends. To someone unacquainted with J.K. Rowling’s world of Harry Potter, this joke is probably not funny at all. Thus, it is only told within groups of people who are familiar with the Harry Potter canon, specifically those people who have read the series through Goblet of Fire, because the term “Avada Kedavra” was not introduced until then (thus the joke exists terminus post quem 2000).

This joke follows the pattern typical of knock-knock jokes, but is customized for fans of the boy wizard. In the books, the villain, Lord Voldemort, is nearly always referred to as “He Who Must Not Be Named” or “You-know-who.” Here in the knock-knock joke, the latter is used since it fits the knock-knock formula. In the Harry Potter books, nearly all of the characters are so afraid of Voldemort that they are unwilling to even say his name (only a very small handful of characters are bold enough to say “Voldemort”). For someone who has never read the fourth Harry Potter book, the term “Avada Kedavra” makes no sense. However, a person familiar with the text knows that this is the incantation for one of the three Unforgivable Curses: the Killing Curse. This is Voldemort’s specialty, and he does not hesitate to use it: instantly killing the victim, he or she has no time to react and block the spell, and the spell leaves no mark—other than the fact that the individual is dead, he or she looks like a healthy, living person. Harry Potter is the only person to have survived this curse, and the idea of life versus death is a key thread linking together all of the books in the series.

The very nature of the joke as a knock-knock is also humorous. On the night Harry survived the Killing Curse, Voldemort came to his house and essentially walked in through the front door, then proceeding to kill James and Lily (Harry’s parents). The fact that the joke is a knock-knock, simulating Voldemort being at the door, makes this joke funnier. It appears that Voldemort, a fictitious character, has arrived at your doorstep, instead of the Potters’, and is preparing to kill you, not James and Lily Potter. True, this may be slightly disturbing, but for a “HP fan,” the knowledge of the context of the story makes the joke seem all the more humorous.