Wally is planning on meeting Eddie and Lumpy then going over to see Mary Ellen Rogers but Ward has other ideas: Wally has a big history test coming up and he will spend the day studying. When Eddie and Lumpy show up to get Wally, they give Wally the business, they don't have to study as they have it made. A surprise for Wally as Eddie got a 45 on his last test.
Eddie has a plan to write the answers on a paper towel and then get an excuse to go to the bathroom where the towel has been hidden. It's clear from the start of the test Lumpy doesn't know an answer. Unfortunately, Wally has an accident when his pen breaks and he goes to the bathroom and unknowingly wipes his hands on Eddie's cheat sheet. When Eddie goes to the bathroom he can't find the towel. Eventually Mr. Gannon sends Lumpy to look for the missing Eddie. Without the cheat sheet Eddie and Lumpy are sunk and they blame Wally for the failure of their plan and for their certain failing grades.
At dinner, Ward asks how Wally feels he did. Wally feels good and is going to check the list of posted grades. Eddie got a 61 and Lumpy a 52 but Wally gets a 92. Eddie and Lumpy accuse Wally of cheating. Eddie is determined to get revenge on Wally.
That night Mr. Gannon calls Wally and says he wants to see him in his room before school starts. Mr. Gannon has a note that accuses Wally of cheating, but Mr. Gannon knows about the cheating, he found the towel himself and left a message on a towel for the would-be cheats. Mr. Gannon tells Wally it looks like his friend Eddie tried to make Wally look bad. Wally doesn't believe his friend would do such a thing until he recognized Eddie's handwriting on the accusatory note.
Wally is having a talk with his dad, Wally wants to beat Eddie up but Ward doesn't believe that would do much to change Eddie. Ward tells Wally at some point in time if Eddie is going to change, that change will have to come from him. Surprisingly, Eddie shows up to apologize, but it was after he too had a talk with Mr. Gannon. Regardless, the guys are friends again. Eddie even says he might give that studying thing a try. Beaver recalls a time when some eighth graders were throwing rotten apples at him and some friends and Eddie stopped them, so maybe Eddie a totally bad guy. Well not totally bad but he skirts the edges by being unctuous and insincere.
In school the next day, Mr. Gannon offers a little talk about cheating in class but doesn't mention any names, he just affirms cheating is a poor life choice. Next Mr. Gannon asks a question about last night's assignment, and Eddie holds up his hand to give the answer. Mr. Gannon suspects a request to go to the bathroom, but Eddie has the correct answer to the question. Has Eddie turned a corner, we know better but at least he did peek around the corner.
Good episode that I am sure many teachers enjoyed as they too, Like Mr. Gannon, discovered many ingenious methods students used to cheat. My personal favorite was a student who took the mechanism out of his wristwatch and drilled fine holes in the case to install rollers. He then wrote answers on a scroll he could "wind" and read the answers he had previously written down. I still have that "watch." The days of posting grades is over because of the possibility of destroying a student's self-esteem. Not necessarily a bad thing about stopping the posting of grades, but I thought it over the top when teachers were told to stop using red ink to correct and grade a student's work because the red was intimidating. So a 45 in purple ink is more relaxing? As a side note, I found it interesting that Eddie tells Ward Lumpy is now in their class because he was left behind last year. I figure that by now Clarence should have graduated a year ago. He was a junior when Wally was in eighth grade and Wally is now a sophomore, so Clarence should be off at work or in a college if Fred could have bullied one into accepting Lumpy.
Eddie has a plan to write the answers on a paper towel and then get an excuse to go to the bathroom where the towel has been hidden. It's clear from the start of the test Lumpy doesn't know an answer. Unfortunately, Wally has an accident when his pen breaks and he goes to the bathroom and unknowingly wipes his hands on Eddie's cheat sheet. When Eddie goes to the bathroom he can't find the towel. Eventually Mr. Gannon sends Lumpy to look for the missing Eddie. Without the cheat sheet Eddie and Lumpy are sunk and they blame Wally for the failure of their plan and for their certain failing grades.
At dinner, Ward asks how Wally feels he did. Wally feels good and is going to check the list of posted grades. Eddie got a 61 and Lumpy a 52 but Wally gets a 92. Eddie and Lumpy accuse Wally of cheating. Eddie is determined to get revenge on Wally.
That night Mr. Gannon calls Wally and says he wants to see him in his room before school starts. Mr. Gannon has a note that accuses Wally of cheating, but Mr. Gannon knows about the cheating, he found the towel himself and left a message on a towel for the would-be cheats. Mr. Gannon tells Wally it looks like his friend Eddie tried to make Wally look bad. Wally doesn't believe his friend would do such a thing until he recognized Eddie's handwriting on the accusatory note.
Wally is having a talk with his dad, Wally wants to beat Eddie up but Ward doesn't believe that would do much to change Eddie. Ward tells Wally at some point in time if Eddie is going to change, that change will have to come from him. Surprisingly, Eddie shows up to apologize, but it was after he too had a talk with Mr. Gannon. Regardless, the guys are friends again. Eddie even says he might give that studying thing a try. Beaver recalls a time when some eighth graders were throwing rotten apples at him and some friends and Eddie stopped them, so maybe Eddie a totally bad guy. Well not totally bad but he skirts the edges by being unctuous and insincere.
In school the next day, Mr. Gannon offers a little talk about cheating in class but doesn't mention any names, he just affirms cheating is a poor life choice. Next Mr. Gannon asks a question about last night's assignment, and Eddie holds up his hand to give the answer. Mr. Gannon suspects a request to go to the bathroom, but Eddie has the correct answer to the question. Has Eddie turned a corner, we know better but at least he did peek around the corner.
Good episode that I am sure many teachers enjoyed as they too, Like Mr. Gannon, discovered many ingenious methods students used to cheat. My personal favorite was a student who took the mechanism out of his wristwatch and drilled fine holes in the case to install rollers. He then wrote answers on a scroll he could "wind" and read the answers he had previously written down. I still have that "watch." The days of posting grades is over because of the possibility of destroying a student's self-esteem. Not necessarily a bad thing about stopping the posting of grades, but I thought it over the top when teachers were told to stop using red ink to correct and grade a student's work because the red was intimidating. So a 45 in purple ink is more relaxing? As a side note, I found it interesting that Eddie tells Ward Lumpy is now in their class because he was left behind last year. I figure that by now Clarence should have graduated a year ago. He was a junior when Wally was in eighth grade and Wally is now a sophomore, so Clarence should be off at work or in a college if Fred could have bullied one into accepting Lumpy.
