A high school student, known for being a bit lazy but surprisingly clever, is called into his English teacher’s office after receiving a very low grade on his latest essay.
“Johnny,” the teacher begins, looking disappointed, “I’m afraid this essay is simply unacceptable. It’s too short, the grammar is terrible, and frankly, it makes no sense.”
Johnny shrugs. “I tried my best, Miss.”
“Your best isn’t even close to passing,” the teacher replies. “You wrote only two paragraphs. And for the concluding sentence, you just put ‘The end.'”
“But Miss,” Johnny protests, “I thought it was brilliant! It was efficient!”
The teacher sighs. “Efficient for whom? You clearly didn’t put in the effort.” She then points to a section of his paper. “And what is this? Right in the middle, you just wrote, ‘Please deduct points here’?”
Johnny grins. “Oh, that! That was for extra credit, Miss.”
The teacher blinks, utterly confused. “Extra credit for deducting points? What on earth are you talking about?”
Johnny leans in conspiratorially. “Well, you always say that you appreciate honesty, and that you reward students who bravely point out their own mistakes. So, I figured, if I make a mistake, and then honestly tell you where to deduct points, that’s like, super honest, right? So, extra credit!”