There was a mayor in a small Russian town. He had connections "in the center" and rules strictly, but fairly. Most of the business was under him, but the salaries paid in time and the market, the hospital and clinics were equipped with modern equipment, and in general the man he was good and the people loved. Well, except for those who tried to “rise” out of his control. He was a tyrant and usurper.
One day, my acquaintance, a well-established capitalist financier, came to him for talks with a philanthropist. The guest heard the greatest intellectual in the crowd, which I can confirm from the standing side - Brodsky and Galich read by the mouth uncomfortable, and the history of South America, for example, knows from ancient times with all the dates. He is engaged in trade in gas and oil futures. Just a hobby.
After long negotiations and subsequent influences, the mayor and the guest argued about the level of training of teaching staff in the best school of the city. The dispute came out tough - the guest claimed that the children are taught here by complete ignorants, the mayor defended his wall. As a result, the guest proposed to conduct an experiment. If the teachers pass it (at least half) - the mayor pays for it, if they do not pass - the guest pays.
The next day in the school is arranged a council, from which alternately teachers are introduced to the office, where the mayor and the guest sit. The essence of the experiment is simple and similar to the game become a millionaire in a simplified version:
Each teacher is asked 3 questions on deep knowledge of the subject taught (of course, outside the scope of the school program), 1 correct answer - 500 euros, 2- 2000 euros, 3 answers - 5000 euros (for the city this is the annual salary of a fully loaded teacher). Sometimes questions with options. Everyone was involved, including the director of the school.
Example of a question for a teacher of literature: Name the date of the first edition of Pasternak's novel "Doctor Zhivago" or the country in which it was published. (Unfortunately, the answer was unsuccessful)
Results - the mayor lost, 70% did not answer a single question, and only a couple of people on 2 questions. But! One young teacher (programming) answered all three questions. The next day, the mayor recruited a guest (who had already left the capital) and told him that the programmer had divided the money received on all the teachers so that there was no envy. In the end, they and the guest decided to secretly give him another 5,000. A good man, he will go far.