User Reviews

Dear parent, Beaver is close to failing in English. June believes Ward should contact the English teacher because the teacher is a man. The logic behind that escapes me; as warden of consequences if I was in trouble, my dad saw all those teachers. Questions as to their sex never came up as an issue.

Beaver has a flip, and out of character attitude for me, response to Ward when it comes to his education. Nonetheless, Ward offers to tutor Beaver in English, and Beaver arranges to have Gilbert included in the sessions. And June, who always seemed to be a mother who valued education, informs Ward that he needs to postpone his first "session" because the Rutherfords are coming over to play Bridge. Perhaps this explains the difference between the Cleavers and my family; my father and his friends played pinochle.

Wally gets volunteered to tutor Beaver in his struggles with adjectives vs. adverbs. The first two "challenging" questions are to determine in which sentence is early an adjective (The early bird gets the worm) or adverb (We arrived early). I cringed at the responses Beaver gave to Wally; and yet people wonder why teachers burn out. Faced with the arrival of Gilbert, Wally throws in the towel; he gives the boys an old English test he had in the sixth grade. They can look at the questions and also see the correct responses, perhaps that will help them in their quest to understand the English language. They are still flummoxed; but perhaps if they just memorize the test and the answers, they might learn something.

Next day in English class, the gods of coincidence have Mr. Blair hand out the very test the boys have memorized. After the test, Mr. Blair wants to see the boys; he is thrilled that the boys each received a 96%. Now he wants the boys to take the tests home so the parents can share in the glory. Gilbert is over the moon; but Beaver feels someone stole the spoon. Beaver knows his chances of replicating his performance are near F. So the dilemma presents itself: accept the false praise, or be darned for the truth.

June and Ward are thrilled: they knew what Beaver could do if he just buckled down; and the proof is in their hands. But when Beaver says Gilbert received the same grade, a cloud of consternation floats past Ward's face. Beaver has a chat with Wally; even Wally sees it as a heck of a coincidence. But is it cheating, that's a difficult discrimination to make. Beaver decides to discuss the incident with Ward to get his opinion.

Even Ward is stumped as to what to call it. But Beaver, knowing there will be testing in the future and that his chances for a string of 96's seems improbable, decides to tell Mr. Blair of the coincidence. Gilbert, however, is basking in glory; his dad is taking him to the circus as a reward. When Beaver tells him that he is going to tell Mr. Blair what happened, Gilbert panics; he can't allow Beaver to talk with Mr. Blair. But when Beaver says he will keep Gilbert's name out of it, Gilbert is then go ahead, feel free to get whacked. Beaver is surprised at how calmly Mr. Blair takes the news. There is no blame assigned, Mr. Blair says he is sure with study and hard work that Beaver can do well. Beaver is surprised at the iteration, and says so to Mr. Blair. Mr. Blair is pleased that Beaver compares him to Ward, and says he hopes to meet Beaver's dad because a teacher's life is improved when there are responsible parents at home.

At home, both June and Ward are overall pleased at how Beaver handled the incident. Upstairs, Beaver and Wally are both doing their homework, Wally asks why hasn't he seen Gilbert hanging around. Well, say Beaver, Mr. Harrison (Gilbert's dad) has decided that if Gilbert can get a 96 on one test, he can get a 96 on all his tests. Therefore, Gilbert is home studying; because if he doesn't produce, his father will clobber him.

I was surprised that Beaver was nervous having a man teacher for the first time. I know that after a string of nuns and other women, I was relieved to see one of us in front of the class. Finally, someone who used to be a boy was up there. I was on familiar footing; and every kid (male) in the class felt the same way. It was as if a heavy burden had been taken off our shoulders. Just don't get Beaver's nervousness. Way too much time with Miss Landers.

A curious situation. Because Beaver is doing badly in English, Wally attempts to tutor him. Was Wally ever known to be such a good student? As a last resort, Wally lets Beaver study an old English test that Wally had previously taken. Beaver's (somewhat annoying) friend Gilbert also studies Wally's old test. Wouldn't you know it? Beaver's teacher gives the class the exact same test, the next day. It was curious that the teacher didn't question how Beaver and Gilbert both got a score of 96. Not only was this a case of two mediocre students suddenly doing very well, but both getting the same score. Actually, this was not a case of cheating, but of coincidence. Beaver didn't need to feel guilty. The teacher should not have given the same test that had previously been given to another class. The actor who played Mr Blair was another curious choice. Wendell Holmes had previously played a drunk, in a season three episode. Prior to that, he also played a different teacher. An example of the range that an actor is capable of having, but still a little unsettling. The same actor that was a drunk begging Beaver for a "drink" was now a teacher, trying to tell Beaver about morals and ethics. Overall, a good episode, but the "message" was kind of ambiguous.