Mrs. Garvey is a very strict teacher, and trust me when I say that no one is spared, not even her own son. ESPECIALLY her own son. For some unexplained reason, Andrew is doing the poorest out of all the other students. Nellie, who was one of the top students with Albert, felt it was her business to tell Harriet, who decided to let Alice know that she knew, and Nellie even offered to help Andrew, but not out of kindness, as usual she had her own hidden agenda. Alice declined, hoping that Andrew would study harder. One bad grade later, Alice decided to take Nellie up on her offer, because she's an idiot. So while Harriet laughs in her face, Nellie brought Andrew up to her room, where she revealed that her secret to getting good grades wasn't by studying hard and applying yourself, but by cheating! She showed Andrew her methods, which he used when the class started taking weekly assessment tests. He got a 100%, but despite his parents being proud of him, Andrew wasn't feeling it, because it was an ill-deserved grade. Next, his tutor blackmailed him into acquiring a copy of the upcoming test, or else she'd tell, and since Andrew's mother would believe the Oleson brat over her own son whom she admitted she was ashamed of, the boy found he had no choice but to comply. So as he copied the test at home, who should walk in but Laura. Which is good because now he's got somebody on his side. She understands Nellie and her ways all too well. Of course it didn't help matters when Andrew unintentionally drove her away in tears when he asked how she'd feel if her parents were ever ashamed of her.
Week after week, test after test, Andrew continued getting high marks. He wanted to stop this charade, but as Nellie pointed out, everybody would blame him. As usual, it was Charles to the rescue after Laura told him of Andrew's plight. He took the boy fishing and dropped a few hints about fessing up to what he'd done wrong, and although he might get whipped, he'd have a clear conscience. So Andrew did just that, right in front of the class as well as Mrs. Oleson, he admitted to cheating. Things became very awkward, very fast. Since Andrew was too chicken to tell his ma the whole truth, Laura had his back. So he came clean with both his folks, and Jonathan still had to take him out to the barn. Also, Charles found out that Albert had been cheating too, but not in the way Andrew and Nellie have been doing it. See, he's been intentionally getting lower grades so he'd be popular among the other students. Charles told him that he was not only cheating himself, but God as well, since He gave him the brains and skills that he was now wasting. But anyway, let's see how they're going to give Nellie a run for her money. It began by Mrs. Garvey saying how hot it was and insisted that Nellie take off her jacket, the one she seemed to wear every time they had a test. So after lunch, the tests were graded and the one who scored the highest was Albert. Harriet, who happened to be present, asked why Nellie didn't win, and Alice showed her: the crib notes hidden in young Miss Oleson's jacket. For once realizing that her daughter is a slimy worm, Harriet angrily forced Nellie from the classroom and chased her home, and we can definitely assume she got whooped really good, hopefully from both parents.
While this episode was frustrating to watch at first, the outcome more than made up for it. I guess if you can't stand Nellie or Harriet, you may not like this one, but I do recommend it just because that pay off at the end is worth it. Perhaps this was a story most of us can relate to, those who didn't do too well in school, resorted to cheating in order to get ahead, or in cases like Albert's, fall behind. I do have to say that out of all the school teachers Walnut Grove has had, Mrs. Garvey is definitely the strictest. Maybe that could attribute to why Andrew was doing so poorly, his mother the teacher is too tough. Thankfully she owned up to this later on. So check out "The Cheaters", a prime example not to follow.
Week after week, test after test, Andrew continued getting high marks. He wanted to stop this charade, but as Nellie pointed out, everybody would blame him. As usual, it was Charles to the rescue after Laura told him of Andrew's plight. He took the boy fishing and dropped a few hints about fessing up to what he'd done wrong, and although he might get whipped, he'd have a clear conscience. So Andrew did just that, right in front of the class as well as Mrs. Oleson, he admitted to cheating. Things became very awkward, very fast. Since Andrew was too chicken to tell his ma the whole truth, Laura had his back. So he came clean with both his folks, and Jonathan still had to take him out to the barn. Also, Charles found out that Albert had been cheating too, but not in the way Andrew and Nellie have been doing it. See, he's been intentionally getting lower grades so he'd be popular among the other students. Charles told him that he was not only cheating himself, but God as well, since He gave him the brains and skills that he was now wasting. But anyway, let's see how they're going to give Nellie a run for her money. It began by Mrs. Garvey saying how hot it was and insisted that Nellie take off her jacket, the one she seemed to wear every time they had a test. So after lunch, the tests were graded and the one who scored the highest was Albert. Harriet, who happened to be present, asked why Nellie didn't win, and Alice showed her: the crib notes hidden in young Miss Oleson's jacket. For once realizing that her daughter is a slimy worm, Harriet angrily forced Nellie from the classroom and chased her home, and we can definitely assume she got whooped really good, hopefully from both parents.
While this episode was frustrating to watch at first, the outcome more than made up for it. I guess if you can't stand Nellie or Harriet, you may not like this one, but I do recommend it just because that pay off at the end is worth it. Perhaps this was a story most of us can relate to, those who didn't do too well in school, resorted to cheating in order to get ahead, or in cases like Albert's, fall behind. I do have to say that out of all the school teachers Walnut Grove has had, Mrs. Garvey is definitely the strictest. Maybe that could attribute to why Andrew was doing so poorly, his mother the teacher is too tough. Thankfully she owned up to this later on. So check out "The Cheaters", a prime example not to follow.
