Students, teachers and parents in New York State don’t know what to make of this bizarre question on the state exams. Let’s see if you can do better. Sharpen your pencils! But first, everyone’s familiar with the story of the pineapple and the hare, right?
Imagine this: You’re a terrified year 8 student in the middle of mandatory standardised testing in the US. If you fail, your beloved teacher loses his job. The pressure is on. And then you turn the page to this brain-teaser on your reading exam. The Daily News reports:
In the story, an apparent take-off on Aesop’s fable about the tortoise and the hare, a talking pineapple challenges a hare to a race. The other animals wager on the immobile pineapple winning — and ponder whether it’s tricking them.
When the pineapple fails to move at all and the rabbit wins, the animals dine on the pineapple.
Students were asked two perplexing questions: why did the animals eat the talking fruit, and which animal was wisest?
What? Umm, I would say the hare is the wisest. OBVIOUSLY. Pineapple’s definitely dumb, though, because it got eaten alive.
How would you answer this question? And more importantly, what the hell is going on in the offices of New York state exam writers? [NY Daily News via Laura Nahmias]
Image via Mighty Sequoia Studio/Shutterstock.com.