My responsibilities as the Social Studies Supervisor for the Princeton public schools included working with elementary school teachers and students. Princeton is the site of an important Revolutionary War battle in which George Washington led his men across a battlefield blanketed with clouds of cannon smoke.
This dramatic event gave me an opportunity to create an innovative lesson. I purchased a tri-corner hat from a nearby museum and presented myself as General George Washington to a series of fourth grade classes. At first the strategy sparked a number of enthusiastic questions. But then a SKEPTICAL student raised his hand and declared, “You’re not George Washington. You need to see a psychiatrist.”
The student’s blunt SKEPTICISM deflated the illusion. Unable to recapture the magic I pushed ahead and finished the lesson. At the end of the day, I placed my trusty tri-corner hat in box.
SKEPTICAL – not easily convinced; very doubtful