(In the continuing sporadic series on the wisdom of seventh grade students.)

My friend the seventh grade teacher once had to deal with a class that had gotten out of hand by assigning the students a short essay in which they had to address three questions:

• How am I contributing to class?
• How am I detracting from class?
• How can I contribute more while detracting less?

One of the more disruptive students answered the questions thus:

• How am I contributing to class?
  “I tell jokes.”
• How am I detracting from class?
  “Sometimes I talk out of turn.”
• How can I contribute more while detracting less?
  “Tell better jokes.”