ROT: A Gift or a Curse?

In freshman year, many people learned of the harsh and terrifying ROT (random oral testing). These tests have haunted me through high school, up until senior year. These tests are the things of nightmares, the beginning of which goes like: “I found myself in the middle of a classroom. I look around me and see other students frantically* scribbling words down on the piece of paper in front of them. I look down at my paper to see a litany* of words sprawled* across the page. I quickly became distraught* as I became cognizant* of the inexorable* slaughter that is imminent*.

‘Alright kiddies, time’s up!’ Mr Heahnal exclaims as his face beams from excitement.

‘Daniel, portend*’

I look up in shock. Why must I be the first one to go? The room undulates* around me as I realize that I have no idea. John unremittingly* hits his pencil on the desk besides me, and with each stroke I feel time slowing. Hours seem to fly by as I try and think of the answer, but nothing comes. I finally consign* my grade to Mr Haehnal and say: ‘Bananas’. In an instant I could feel myself turning from the student who always studies into the class pariah*. Pejorative* words flow through my fellow classmates minds as the nightmare starts to kick in.”

At this point most people would wake up in a cold sweat and realize that there is a ROT the next day and that they need to study beforehand.

In all seriousness, ROT has two sides to it. For people who can look at a list of words twice and have every word memorized, ROT is a walk in the park. But for people like me, it take hours upon hours to remember just 20 words. The night before, and day of a ROT I might spend 3-4 hours beforehand trying to memorize the newest 20 words and refresh myself on the previous 200 words. For people like me, memorizing ROT is an inordinate* task.

There is one good thing that comes out of ROT, you never really forget all of the words. Out of all 243 words that we “learned” in Comp II, I might be able to utilize* ¼ of the words we were supposed to learn, and understand most of the words. Throughout this post I have starred words that I was able to utilize* correctly that were in the ROT that I learned last year. This means that there is the irrefutable fact that ROT has allowed me to learn new words.

So overall, even though ROT is not really worth the pain that must be endured in the form that it is used in class today, if it were reformed to a friendlier, less cut-throat quiz, with less words, ROT might be almost bearable.