Pop Music and Standardized Tests

I know, only in the Nance household do these two logically come together. As I've been cleaning house today, my music reminded me of this funny story. :)

If you've ever spent any amount of time around Mark, you know that he always has some tune running through his head. Most often this is just a subconscious habit that spreads whatever song is on his mind to everyone around him (often just me :), but on some occasions his musical mind comes in very handy.

About a year ago, Mark took the Praxis, as is required for all aspiring elementary school teachers. The Praxis basically tests a teacher's knowledge of all the stuff they're supposed to be qualified to teach: math, social studies, language arts, science. Many many wannabe teachers have a very hard time passing the test, unfortunately. My genius husband scored the highest of all the USU students who took the test that year, all because of his musical mind.

So, Mark is in the middle of the social studies section of the test and up comes this question:

Where was Napoleon defeated?

His answer?

(And who doesn't need to see those crazy Swedes every once in a while, anyway? Gotta love the red hotpants ensemble.)

Later on, this question pops up: Which Native American tribe is associated with the Trail of Tears?

Mark's answer:

(And again, who doesn't love a crazy-haired Swedish hard-rock band singing about a displaced American Indian tribe? You really can't top the 80's.)

So there you have it. Next time someone tells you to stop listening to that crazy rock music and study, you tell that someone that you are studying, because someday those crazy lyrics just might be a stepping stone to a wildly successful career as an underpaid civil servant.