Over at the Teacher Reddit , there was a post about whether teachers should follow the same rules that students are supposed to follow. Of course not, the teacher is in charge, but occasionally, it’s fun to play along.
Early on, I came up with the Wheel of Science. To layout the wheel, it was easiest to have 28 cards. So, half of the deck and two jokers. Each student picked a card from the other half of the deck. That was their card for the year. Their card was used when I needed to pick students randomly.
One use for the Wheel was to choose a student to explain one of the homework problems for the class. The student doing the current problem would spin the wheel to decide who’s doing the next one. If a card came up that wasn’t assigned to a student, then we spin again. If a joker came up, then I would demonstrate the problem.
Eventually, we needed a rule for when a student spun their own card. It seemed fun to have that person do the rest of the problems remaining in that set. It just added a little peril, and the students didn’t really mind. When a joker came up, I’d spin, and more often than you’d think, another joker would come up. Sure, I didn’t really have to do the rest of the problems in the set, but it was better fun to feign irritation. “Son of b… Why do I have to do all the work? This is a rip off.”
At the end of each year, students inevitably ask what they are supposed to do with their card. I started telling them, “Keep it. It’s good for a free drink at the 10 year reunion.” I haven’t had to come through on that promise, but if a former student contacted me and asked, I would have to come through.