You attend a small private school called Fairview that has a long-standing reputation for honesty. Honesty and integrity are part of the school philosophy and everyone – administrators, teachers, and students – take this very seriously. For generations, the school has prided itself on using the honour system. In fact, a teacher can leave the room during an exam and feel assured that the students are not cheating. Cheating is considered an intolerable offense and any student caught cheating is immediately dismissed from school.

Recently, however, a teacher felt there was evidence of cheating on the final grade 9 socials exam. A majority of students received the exact same grade and got the same answers wrong. In general, the scores on this exam were higher than any other scores on the final exam in the school's history. The teacher, suspecting a class conspiracy, reported his findings to the administration, and a formal investigation began.

The class was informed that no one in the class would move onto grade 10 if the cheaters did not turn themselves in, or if their fellow classmates did not turn them in. According to the honour code, protecting a guilty student is as bad as committing the offense. Each student was then interviewed separately by a panel consisting of the teacher, the counselor (who is silently, creepily smoking in the back of the room), celebrity James Franco for some reason (maybe he’s researching a role?), and the principal. The list of questions each student was asked follows:

1. Do you understand that any untruth you tell this panel will result in your immediate dismissal from school and will affect your chances of getting into the college of your choice or pursuing the job you’re interested in? 2. Do you understand that you will honour the school code, attend graduation with your head held high, gain the deep respect of this panel , and maybe even get a free car from us later if you admit anything you know about the cheating? 3. Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth during this interview? 4. Did you cheat on the senior final exam? 5. Do you have any knowledge of anyone in the class cheating on the final exam? 6. Have you ever cheated on an exam? 7. Do you associate with anyone who has ever cheated on an exam?

With a neighbour or two, discuss the following questions: Is this a fair investigation? How do you suspect you and your peers would react? Have you ever been put in a situation like this before?

This type of situation is what’s known as a “catch-22” which comes from the historical novel of the same name about fighter pilots in WWII. Basically, a catch-22 is when you’re presented with a situation in which either option works against you due to forces beyond your control. Powers beyond you (in this case, the school administration) have prevented you from cleanly getting out of a scenario while still creating the illusion that you can.

This sort of scenario happened all the time throughout the 1600s, but with… deadlier results…

Religious Groups in Seventeenth Century England Some background… Religious Groups in Seventeenth Century England EVERYONE went to church regularly back then. There was certainly an element of fearing God, but it’s not like you could just hang out and watch TV or take a drive somewhere. Gotta do something with your time. The King as its head. The Official Church of England The Anglicans

Religious Groups in Seventeenth Century England But you also had… Roman Catholics Protestants (which was most of England) Puritans

Puritans COMPLETELY disagreed with elaborate ceremonies that the Anglicans over in the Church of England were doing. Puritans thought that your life should be completely devoted to serving God, and that was that.

A Brief List of Things Puritans Were Against Swearing. Gambling. Drinking. Theatre. Playing cards. Bright clothing. Religious groups that weren’t Puritans. Frolicking. Jokes. Dancing. Making that fart noise with your armpit. Basically, a puritan was someone who was deathly afraid that someone, somewhere, is having fun.

For parts of the 16th and 17th century Puritans were tolerated by those who held power in England. If Puritans went to the elaborate Church of England services now and then, they could also hold their own services. Other times, it was completely illegal to be a Puritan, and they’d be fined and imprisoned for their beliefs. Frustrated with being treated as second-class citizens, many Puritans began immigrating to The New World (what would later be known as North America). In 1621, a group founded a colony at Plymouth Rock which led to that whole American Thanksgiving thing.

"The Trial of George Jacobs, August 5, 1692."

Puritan Witch Hunts Puritans made it their mission to seek out “evil “in the world, which, since they considered frolicking to be “ungodly”, is a pretty dangerous mission for them to be on. In order to rid evil, Puritans would hold trials to determine which members of society were “witches” (who they believed had the spirit of the devil in them). If you were a witch you were killed, often by being burned to death, hung, drowned, or pushed off a cliff.

Are You a Witch (According to the Puritans)? If you score over ten points, you are a witch and therefore must be purged from this earth. 5. Do you feel bad about anyone that has been wrongfully accused of being a witch? 1. Are you a woman? +2. That’s already suspicious. +8. We’re doing God’s work and you’re clearly in cahoots with the devil. 2. Do you know how to look after yourself? +5. You’re too smart. 6. Have you ever had a pet? 3. Have you participated in any of the things that puritans are against, like dancing or joking? +3. Yeah, you can’t do that either. Witches do that. 7. Do you sometimes try and predict the future? +4. You sicko. 4. More than once? +3. That’s fortune telling AKA witchcraft! +5. You just don’t know when to stop, do you? 8. Are you a witch? Yes you are. +8.

Witch Hunts Men and (especially) women were both hunted during these “trials”, although women were thought to be responsible for original sin (i.e. that time Eve disobeyed God’s will and got humanity kicked out of the Garden of Eden) and were thus less able to resist temptation than men. These trials happened in England, Scotland, and the new Puritan colonies in the (future) United States (The Salem Witch Trials). Anyone who was considered a social misfit (such as single people AND especially single ladies) or “overly” knowledgeable about subjects such as treating illnesses (AKA “witchcraft”) were treated as witches. This is despite the fact that single people and practicing medicine at home had been happening for at least 1000 years.

Witch Hunting = $$$$ If there’s money to be made with something, there’s a pretty good chance it’s going to stick around longer than it needs to. Witch hunting worked this way as well, with some people claiming to be able to find witches and be smart enough to prove that they’re witches (but at the same time not be TOO knowledgeable about witches, because that might make YOU a witch). One common belief was that you could find a witch by pricking their skin with a needle. All witches, apparently, had a “witch’s mark” that did not feel pain. Some witch hunters had specially designed needles with a sharp end and a blunt end. Through sleight of hand, the sharp end could be used on "normal" flesh, drawing blood and causing pain, a process which appeared to mount further evidence against the accused, while the dull end would be used on a supposed witch's mark.

Legendarily, many witch hunters were either eventually discovered to be frauds or “witches” who failed their own tests. Matthew Hopkins was the most famous witch hunter – he even had the title of “With-Finder General” – but although the school textbook states he was executed, there’s more evidence to suggest that he simply died of tuberculosis in his home at the age of 47.

Do you think people genuinely believed that there was this many witches, or did mob mentality take over? Does anything like this happen today, or has happened in recent history?