While I don’t recall ever using a faux British accent to complain about exams (I have used other things that started with f…), this year I had the distinct pleasure of an exam that was literally bloody. During the exam, I noticed a student getting a tissue out of her backpack, which was not particularly peculiar. Instead of blowing her nose, however, she just held the tissue by it. Glancing in her direction a few moments later I could see that part of the tissue was bright red. While her dedication to the exam was commendable, I quickly walked over to her and told her that she was free to leave the classroom (likely in a tone that implied that I strongly preferred that she do so).* She returned a short time later and continued her exam with a tissue nearby. When grading the exams I realized that there was, in fact, some blood on the exam. Thankfully, there wasn’t a lot of it and it didn’t obscure any answers. Regardless, I think that I prefer my exams to be bloody in the British sense.
*I don’t have any sort of “no leaving the classroom during an exam” policy, but I think that hiding a capsule of fake blood in a tissue, holding it to your nose, and breaking it would be an effective way around such a policy if a student had a friend with all of the answers waiting in the restroom.
