11:58 AM View

 I asked the students to tell me what things they wish were never invented.  They gave some answers that got me thinking.

One student said alarm clock.  It got me to thinking of a Chinese emperor being shown a clock by European visitors.  The emperor was said to have been wary of the invention.  I wrote “slave to the clock” on the board and one student agreed with me absolutely.

Another student wished homework had never been invented and another said exams.  I asked the students if it was perhaps the Chinese who had invented the exam with the creation of the process of civil servant selection.  The students all said no… It had to be the Europeans.