Quote by Neil Gaiman

It was the end of the October term of my sophomore year, and everything was petty normal, except for Social Studies, which was no big surprise. Mr. Dimas, who taught the class, had a reputation for unconventional teaching methods. For midterms he had blindfolded us, then had us each stick a pin in a map of the world and we got to write essays on wherever the pin stuck. I got Decatur, Illinois. Some of the guys complained because they drew places like Ulan Bator or Zimbabwe. They were lucky. YOU try writing ten thousand words on Decatur, Illinois.

Summary

This quote highlights the unconventional teaching methods of Mr. Dimas, specifically in the context of a Social Studies midterm. By blindfolding the students and having them randomly select a location on a map to write an essay about, Mr. Dimas creates an unexpected challenge for his students. The speaker's frustration with being assigned Decatur, Illinois, as their topic sheds light on the difficulty they faced, compared to others who may have drawn more exotic or globally recognized locations. It emphasizes the idea that writing extensively about seemingly ordinary or less-known places can be a challenging task.