Tricky Old Teacher Mary Top Portable Info

Most teachers teach the test. Mary Top taught around the test. She was tricky because she hid the answers in plain sight, disguised as common sense. For example, on day one of her Ethics class, she wrote the following rule on the board: “You may bring one 3x5 index card to the final exam with anything written on it.”

By: Eleanor Vance, Guest Columnist

The class cheered.

When I first heard the phrase “tricky old teacher Mary Top,” I thought it was a joke. A pun, maybe. Or a bizarre nickname whispered in the hallways of Westbrook High School. But after spending a full academic year in her Advanced Literature seminar, I can tell you with absolute certainty that “tricky old teacher Mary Top” is not a joke. It is a warning, a legend, and—if you are lucky—a rite of passage. tricky old teacher mary top

"No rubric. No warning. And then she’d grade it based on 'honesty of sensory translation.' I got a C+. I argued with her. She looked at me and said, 'Jake, you said the music was blue. It was obviously ultraviolet. You’re not listening deeply enough.'" Most teachers teach the test