RIP Gene McCarthy.

Took the ATS-W, which is yet another NYS teacher test, @ Briarcliffe College, which is a small trade college near me. The test was as ridiculous as the other two, though since it's "common sense stuff" I probably did worse. Under theories of multiple intelligences, I'm not all that smart b/c I have trouble w/real life skillz.

Someone wearing a nametag made us get in different lines and told us which room to go to (the names were things like Bridgehampton and Long Beach. Silly). Then we all had to file through one door, kind of obviating the need for the separate destination lines. Proctors went into tremendous detail re how to get fingerprinted. First verbal instructions, then a demonstration. I was starting to wonder if this was some kind of guerilla theater parody--what would be the most effective way to teach this skill to a roomful of learners with diverse styles? Let's start with auditory learners, and then try kinesthetic learners--but it turns out it wasn't. Alas.

Halfway through the test I got bored and went into the bathroom to read a book. I'm not sure how long I was in there--it was a good book, on Rosalind Franklin, the "Dark Lady of DNA"--but when I came back one of the proctors fluttered over and said, "You were gone so long we were getting worried!" I had a nice Thai lunch afterwards. The test had maybe five questions on special education: there were more on things like cooperative learning. Insert rant here.