Murphy’s Laws of Education

in Education by AdamS — May 9, 2007 at 10:07 am | 0 comments

“Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong — and usually at the worst possible moment.” This universal truth — also known as Murphy’s Law — can apply to many areas, from economics to sports, as anyone who lived through either of the Great Depressions knows. (By that I mean either the Great Depression following the stock market crash of 1929 or the one in Chicago following the infamous “Bartman episode” in the 2003 NLCS.)

A website entitled "Murphy’s Laws Site” has created a catalog of Murphy’s Laws and has organized them around specific subjects such as love, technology, nursing, lotteries, graphic design, and parenthood. There is also a section devoted to education and teaching. As a former college student and a current college instructor, I can certify that these laws are absolutely true. A few of my favorites include:

The time a teacher takes in explaining is inversely proportional to the information retained by students.

When reviewing your notes before an exam, the most important ones will be illegible.

Eighty percent of the final exam will be based on the one lecture you missed or the one book you didn’t read.

The one course you must take to graduate will not be offered during you last semester.

The closest library doesn’t have the material you need, and no matter which book you need, it’s on the bottom shelf.

The library will close five minutes before you remember that you left your book bag inside. Corollary #1: It will be Saturday, and it won’t open until Monday. Corollary #2: Your half-finished term paper, which is due Monday morning, and all your research will be inside.

When you study for easy tests you fail miserably; when you don’t study for the hard ones you pass with flying colors.

For my part, I would add one more Murphy’s Law to the collection. I’m calling it “Murphy’s Law of Course Evaluations” — it is that the only student that provides detailed feedback at the end of the semester is the one that absolutely detests me and that rarely, if ever, attended class.

What are your Murphy’s Laws?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Benjamin Welch has been a college instructor in writing and composition for nearly six years. When he’s not teaching or playing golf, he offers advice for students seeking information about online education, continuing education and online degrees.

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