
CHAPTER 7
䉱
Absolute Honesty Law 5:
Reward the Messenger
‘‘ You can’t handle the TRUTH!’’
— J
ACK
N
ICHOLSON SPEAKING TO
T
OM
C
RUISE IN
AF
EW
G
OOD
M
EN
IN THE SPRING OF 2002, ELIZABETH JOICE, AN ENGLISH TEACHER
in Peoria, Arizona (a suburb of Phoenix), decided to take a
stand. One of her senior students had failed Ms. Joice’s required
course and, consequently, was not going to graduate with her
class. The student’s parents hired a lawyer who threatened to sue
Ms. Joice and the district if she didn’t let the student take a
special makeup exam no one else had been allowed to take. Ms.
Joice stood her ground. She felt that if she made an exception
for this student,