Verona - he really thought all she wanted was his opinion of the stories and of her selection of reading material for the class. We jokingly call him Captain Literal, because he doesn't pick up on nuance in some instances while he does in others.
Of his own volition he wrote her an email apologizing and redoing the assignment once he understood what she wanted. He also apologized in person (although his apology did include the statement that he assumed since she used the words in class that were in his essay that they were acceptable - but that now he was aware they were not acceptable in writing, he would no longer use them in written assignments).
I explained to him that when a teacher asks for an opinion, usually they are just offering the opportunity to be a little more creative in the real assignment of comparing and contrasting the different stories so that she can affirm that he not only read all three but understood them as well. He was quite disgusted and asked why someone didn't just ask for what they wanted, why the need to play games and mess with kids' heads by asking something they didn't really care about...
I have a feeling this will not be the last email I receive before he graduates ... or possibly even before he finishes the school year.
