The Spoiler, by Kathy Williams, July 2002

 Woops! I didn't intend to… I didn't know it was a big deal. What am I talking about?

Okay, I'll start at the beginning.

I was taking my last grad class for my masters (before the big paper). It was called Teaching Math to Gifted Students or something like that The class was held in one of the music rooms at Black Hawk College. There was actually a grand piano in the room. My instructor, Dr. Smith, was from Western Illinois University. He chose this room, because he enjoyed playing the piano.

Dr. Smith' teaching style was really different I never understood the relationship between our assignments and the title of the course. Naturally, I never mentioned my confusion to Dr. Smith. This was my last class, and hey! I just did what Simon said. (No, his name wasn't Simon.) Oh, one more thing about Dr. Smith, he grew miniature goats. Told you he was unique.

One evening, I walked into the class and noticed everyone was milling around the front of the room. The piano was over by the chalkboard. I guess we weren't going to hear any Mozart tonight In the area where the piano use to be was a long rectangular shaped table. Sitting on the table were a bunch of Dixie cups. In fact, there were 5 sets of 20 cups. Each set had a number and was separated by a strip of masking tape stuck to the table. In each cup was a bubbly brown liquid Pop!

Standing in front of the table, Dr. Smith asked us to be seated Class was about to begin. Dr. Smith was usually a very serious person. He never told a joke and rarely smiled. However, on this day, Dr. Smith had a big grin on his face. His hands were together, chest high, (in front of his body) fingers separated, spread out, almost a praying position. He rocked back and fro, heel to toe. He seem pleased with himself.

Dr. Smith said that we were going to participate in a taste test. He explained that he believed adults can't tell the difference between cola drinks, and it was a big waste of money to buy expensive brand names. Generic is just as good. He further stated that be has beat doing this activity for 4 years with the same results. No one has successfully identified all of the colas.

Next, Dr. Smith passed out index cards. He told us to write our names on them and put the numbers 1-5 on the cards. Then we were instructed to take a drink and write down what  we thought the name of the drink was next to the corresponding number. He didn’t tell us the name of the colas. We had to guess. We were also told not to talk and share answers.

This didn't seem like a big deal to me. I could tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi. How hard could this be? I've seen something similar on TV. People always chose Pepsi over Coke. This was a little different. What the heck! Go with the flow, besides I’m thirsty.

While Dr. Smith smugly rocked and smiled, we walked along the table drinking colas, and writing down the names. The room was quiet. When everyone finished recording their answers, they handed them to Dr. Smith. He continued to grin as he read each card, affirming his belief. So far no one has gotten all 5 correct Until, me. I was the last to turn in my card. I wrote:

1.   Pepsi

2.      Coke

3.      RC (sneaky)

4.      Generic (yuck!)

5.      Dr. Pepper

The expression on Dr. Smith' s face was one of surprise and disbelief. I had burst his bubble (pun intended). He asked, "How did you know the answer?" Before I could respond, the rest of the class clapped and cheered. Dr. Smith didn't seem to share their enthusiasm. When thing quieted down, he asked, " Did someone give you the answers?" I didn't exactly like the way in which he was asking those questions, but since he was The Instructor, The Main Man, Giver of Grades, I replied politely, " "I just knew and no, I didn't have help from anyone."

That seem to take the wind out of Dr. Smith' s sail. He never got around to explaining how this activity related to teaching gifted children. Dr. Smith's brow fun-owed and his lip curled up slightly on the left side of his face, (a sneer), as he announced we could leave a little early. He stated that even though one person was able to guess the names of the drinks correctly, his theory that adults can not distinguish between the different colas, had been proven.

As I guiltily walked out of class, I heard a few "Thanks Kath!" and Terry Davis added, " Way to go Cola Girl!" Debra Steven congratulated me on my cola ability. These comments made me nervous. This was my last class and I wanted an "A."

After that Dr. Smith didn't seem too pleased to with me. He always gave me that funny look, furrowed brow and curled lip. I later found out that he stopped doing the taste test.

To my surprise, I got an "A" out of the class. Whew! I'm pretty sure it was for my work and not my cola ability.

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