Now I can just send them this poem and let them work it out for themselves. I found it here.
DID I MISS ANYTHING?
Tom Wayman
From: The Astonishing Weight of the Dead. Vancouver: Polestar, 1994.
From: The Astonishing Weight of the Dead. Vancouver: Polestar, 1994.
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
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
6 comments:
I have this poem on my office door.
I find this too sarcastic/futile and would never send it to a student.
So many students miss classes and, in my many years of teaching, don't bother to email. Surely those who do are perhaps a little concerned?
I see elements of sarcasm in there as the narrator's voice swings between annoyance and disappointment - it ends on a note of sadness as the narrator's better side overcomes his sarcastic impulse - something with which I can empathise.
Yes - a student who emails is always better than those who just don't care.
I meant the 'sarcastic' action of the academic who sends the poem rather than the poet/poetical content of which I appreciate and fully understand.
Oh OK, I didn't quite get that.
Sorry Vole,
I'm not critical of you in particular. Your blog inspires me to think further politically and what you write is overtly interesting. So, no more of said poem and (annoying) students who send emails but often don't really care!
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