When I taught the real estate licensing course, I often joked that I could make students pick up their pencils. All I had to do was say, “This sounds like a good test question.”

It was fun and arguably effective, but it wasn’t great teaching. The best teaching is autodidactic. (If you look that word up, you’ve been autodidactic.)

Of course, one student chastised me: “You said it would be a good test question, but it wasn’t on the test.” I replied, “Gee, I’m sorry you learned it.”

Do you see what’s wrong with this picture?

Quick Quips are a developing feature of the Walter Writes Blog, which explores simplicity in a complicated world.