Monday, May 09, 2005

Eureka !!

a break through ..
I have 22 students over the course of the day. I expect that I will nearly double that next year. Of the 22 students, there are:
6 students with averages that are in the "B" area.
9 students with averages that are in the "C" area.
5 students with averages that are in the "D" area.
2 students with averages that are in the "F" area.

One of my "F" students came to me today with a question and a comment. It seems as how his grandfather (with whom he resides) bought a couple new window units to keep the place cool this Summer. He got the units home and put them in the windows. When he tried to plug them into the outlet, it was a 'no go'.

It turns out that his outlets at home were old style outlets with only two slots and no ground prong slot. The new AC's had three prong plugs on them. His grandfather picked up a few newer receptacles and they proceeded to change them out. "R" did two and his GF did one. He said he was amazed that he knew as much as he did. However, there was a problem. There was no ground wire in the box. He asked if that were a problem.

It is not a problem, persey, but it is not a desirable situation either. The AC's will work without the ground, but it is a much useful safety feature. I gave "R" an extra credit assignment to help his grade. It is an essay type assignment. He is to explain to me why they changed the outlets and how. He is also try to come up with a couple solutions to the no-ground problem.

He seemed genuinely excited that he was able to change out the outlets, but even moreso that he recognized a problem.

Hopefully this light is not too long in the tunnel to help.

1 comment:

TammyJ said...

See I told you that you are a great teacher