For all the teachers out there

[altariel]

Today's poem from the Wondering Minstrels.

Did I Miss Anything by Tom Wayman
 
Question frequently asked by students after missing a class


Nothing. When we realized you weren't here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours

      Everything. I gave an exam worth
      40 per cent of the grade for this term
      and assigned some reading due today
      on which I'm about to hand out a quiz
      worth 50 per cent

Nothing. None of the content of this course
has value or meaning
Take as many days off as you like:
any activities we undertake as a class
I assure you will not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose

      Everything. A few minutes after we began last time
      a shaft of light descended and an angel
      or other heavenly being appeared
      and revealed to us what each woman or man must do
      to attain divine wisdom in this life and
      the hereafter
      This is the last time the class will meet
      before we disperse to bring this good news to all people on earth

Nothing. When you are not present
how could something significant occur?

      Everything. Contained in this classroom
      is a microcosm of human existence
      assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
      This is not the only place such an opportunity has been gathered

      but it was one place

      And you weren't here

Comments

[altariel.livejournal.com]

;-) Glad you enjoyed!

[applegnat.livejournal.com]

Oh, I read that too! * links pinkies * Way funny. :)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

:-D *enjoys pinkie-linkage*

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

*happy applause*

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I knew my friends list would like it!

Perfect, right down to the lack of question mark...

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe I should point my students towards this poem next semester. I am so very tired of the students who just send their work by e-mail, offer no excuse, and then skip class. Later that day, I see them avoiding my eye as they wander campus, looking perfectly healthy and alert (or they wouldn't be so sprightly in looking elsewhere as soon as eye contact is made).

Little do they know that vengeance lies lurking at the tip of my pen. It's grading season...

Dwim

[habitkicker.livejournal.com]

I want you to know that I'm contemplating printing that out and sticking it on my door. *g*

[hafren.livejournal.com]

Umpteen of my colleagues have emailed this and we are planning to post it on the noticeboard. Even though they know attendance is taken into account when marking, they still stay off with the feeblest excuses.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

Excellent!

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

That's superb!

Thank you for posting it. I love the last stanzas because, to me, the nothing and the everything are both true.

[kendokamel.livejournal.com]

Heehee!

[communicator.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I showed it to my daughter who laughed out loud (as opposed to saying 'lol' in a sarcastic voice which is her normal response to humour)

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Love it.

[aervir.livejournal.com]

God, that was exactly the poem I needed today.

Two of the (three to five) first-years I'm trying to explain literary stuff to on Friday mornings decided to send me an e-mail less than 90 minutes before the class started, telling me that, after completing their first graded assignment (interpretation of a poem), they could see no further use for me talking about how to analyse poetry.

Mind you, those very same first-years had also told me in earnest that Wilfred Owen's "Futility" was a nature poem about a farmer dreaming about the growth of plants. And looked a bit wide-eyed and surprised when I pointed out that there was a war in 1918.

Um, sorry for boring you with my ramblings; it's just that students can sometimes be rather frustrating, although I'm not even a proper teacher or anything.

[trixieleitz]

Yep, I read that and thought of posting it for the teachers on my flist :)

And, hurray, Minstrels might just be back from the dead this time! Until a couple of days ago, I hadn't anything from them for over a month.

[(Anonymous)]

This is just brilliant. I'm going to print this out for my husband, who somehow manages to remain sane while teaching seventh-graders (12-13 year olds). I love the angel image in particular!
Denise

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I'm pleased to see Minstrels up and running again, I was worried it was going for good. I quite like the slower pace of poetry, but not so slow that it winds down.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

who somehow manages to remain sane while teaching seventh-graders (12-13 year olds)

Kudos to him - my students are at a much more socialized age!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

:-)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Urgh, sounds like a rough teaching day. It does surprise me that people can get to university without knowing the dates of the world wars, but then I have to remember that not everyone is as geeky about dates as I am. Still, though - you'd think that keeping children in full-time education for fourteen years would be long enough to get them to memorize the dates of two wars, even if they managed nothing else.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

;-) I'm tempted to get it printed on a t-shirt.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

:-D

[altariel.livejournal.com]

:-D

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Good, I'm glad she enjoyed it! :-)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Strange how it's chimed with just about all the teachers of my acquaintance...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

:-) The last stanza was my favourite bit.

Re: Perfect, right down to the lack of question mark...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It's very tempting to include it in the course material...

Re: Perfect, right down to the lack of question mark...

[(Anonymous)]

Indeed. I could have this quoted in the attendence section and Hegel's rant about what the phenomenon of cheating in an academic setting means for the spirit of the age.

All this, and I'd be teaching them about proper citation, too.

Dwim

Re: Perfect, right down to the lack of question mark...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

They'll appreciate it in years to come.

Re: Perfect, right down to the lack of question mark...

[(Anonymous)]

That must be my hope.

Did you have a nice weekend?

Dwim

Re: Perfect, right down to the lack of question mark...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Brilliant weekend, thank you. Watched hours of Doctor Who with good friends, ate a great deal and came back thoroughly relaxed. Hope you had a good weekend too.

Re: Perfect, right down to the lack of question mark...

[(Anonymous)]

Not nearly so good.

But I'm glad your weekend went well!

Dwim

Re: Perfect, right down to the lack of question mark...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

:-( I hope it was the kind of stress that holiday will solve.

[aervir.livejournal.com]

till, though - you'd think that keeping children in full-time education for fourteen years would be long enough to get them to memorize the dates of two wars, even if they managed nothing else.

Heh, my thoughts exactly. Although I'm not very good with dates myself (very embarassing for a modern history minor), I think there are some relevant bits from 20th-century history which you should just know. How much more important than a world war can it get?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I loved memorizing dates as a kid, which certainly helped with my history degree! Even when my memory became less good at fixing dates in my head, you still keep the habit of instantly contextualizing any piece of information. It's weird to have to, first, recognize that's what I'm doing then, second, realize other people don't do it, and then, third, explain why they need to!