The
Magic Computer
I had a difficult geography project to finish by the end of the
semester. My teacher
wanted it to be
typewritten, so I went to the school computer room. But when I got
there, all the computers were turned off. Apparently there was a
recent problem, and
technicians were fixing it.
I
knew of some private study rooms downstairs. They were small and dark, and the
computers were very old, but I had no choice. At least the computers were
operating
correctly. I typed and
highlighted the assignment’s title:
“Evaluate the Government’s
Response to
Global Warming.” But I didn’t know what to write in my
essay. Finally I
decided to find a book to help me. I went to the library, checked the book
indexes and
eventually found a useful book. Then I returned to the computer.
When
I looked at the screen, I saw something so
weird that I nearly
fainted! The essay
was complete! Had somebody in
cyberspace written it? I didn’t know, but I was very
happy. I printed it out and handed it in. I got an “A.”
After that, I used the computer for all my assignments. I’d type the title, wait
awhile, and
the computer would do it. Every assignment was perfect; I never had to
edit anything. I
stopped paying attention to my teacher’s
lectures and spent my extra time in the
gymnasium.
And my grades got better and better.
A month later, I was walking into class when
my friend said, “Are you prepared for the
test?”
“What test?” I asked.
“The geography test!” he replied. “I hope you studied. It’s worth seventy percent of
our final grade!”
I failed the test, of course. I was completely
ignorant about the subject.
After that, I made a
resolution never to use the magic computer
again. The
moral of this story is that if you cheat at
school, you won’t learn anything.