Did I Miss Anything Poem
It'due south dorsum to school week in northern Arizona, but not every student is in class nevertheless. Plenty of kids miss the kickoff day – or more than – because they're even so on family vacations. When they return, comes the obligatory question for their teachers, "Did I miss anything?" Information technology's a question Terry Wilson has heard countless times during her 25 years teaching English and poetry at Coconino Loftier School in Flagstaff. Her response? 'That's not the right question.' In this calendar week's Poetry Friday segment, she shares an amusing verse form by Tom Wayman about absenteeism.
TW: On the first couple of days of school I tell kids, 'Hither'south the protocol for using the pass to go to the bathroom. Hither'southward the protocol for turning in belatedly piece of work. Here'southward how you practice your vocabulary assignment. Here is the protocol for coming back after you've been absent-minded to ask for what happened while you were gone.' And I make the whole class chime back to me these words: 'Hither's what you say, class. You say, 'Ms. Wilson, what did I miss?' instead of proverb, 'Ms. Wilson, did I miss anything?' And inevitably after we do this sort of phone call and response, students come to me and say, 'Did I miss annihilation? Did I miss anything?' And sometimes I say back to them, 'No, you didn't miss annihilation.' And they go, 'Oh, good!' And I go, 'No, no, no, no. Expect, wait, wait. Practice y'all remember what the question is that you're supposed to enquire? The question is: What did I miss?'
And so, I'thou but going to repeat this once more because this is important, what the students are asking – considering the students have been trained to remember this mode – is, I am hither to get points in the gradebook. And the way I go points in a gradebook – it happens different ways in unlike classes – sometimes in that location'south a worksheet to fill up out. Sometimes, if they bring in iv cans of corn at Christmas time, they get points in the gradebook. So, what they're asking me is, 'Did I miss an opportunity to become points in the gradebook?'
And my whole problem with that is that'due south not how my classroom happens. Of course there are objectives, and there'southward a programme every day for meeting those objectives. Just inevitably, something happens – I'm going to say daily – that I didn't program and I didn't know. And it happens considering some student knows some political issue I don't know well-nigh, or some country I've never heard of, or they've read something that connects to what we're talking about that I haven't read, and I tin can't do all of that! I can't plan it because I don't know what'southward in everyone'due south heads. So, yes! For sure if you weren't here, you missed something, and I might not even be able to tell you lot what it was.
Information technology doesn't brand me angry. Information technology does not make me angry! It makes me disappointed that kids have been trained to call back that way.
So this is Did I Miss Anything, by Tom Wayman:
Did I Miss Anything?
Cypher. When we realized you weren't here
we saturday with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the total ii hours
Everything. I gave an examination worth
xl percent 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 centum
Credit Gillian Ferris / KNAU
/
KNAU
Nothing. None of the content of this grade
has value or meaning
Have as many days off every bit y'all like:
whatsoever activities we undertake equally a course
I assure yous volition not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose
Everything. A few minutes after nosotros began last fourth dimension
a shaft of light suddenly descended and an angel
or other heavenly being appeared
and revealed to usa what each woman or man must practise
to attain divine wisdom in this life and
the time to come
This is the last time the course will meet
earlier we disperse to bring the good news to all people on earth.
Cipher. When you are not present
how could something significant occur?
Everything. Contained in this classroom
is a microcosm of human experience
assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
This is not the only place such an opportunity has been gathered
simply it was i place
And you weren't here
Poetry Friday is produced by KNAU's Gillian Ferris. If y'all have an idea for a segment, drop her an email at Gillian.Ferris@nau.edu.
Did I Miss Anything Poem,
Source: https://www.knau.org/knau-and-arizona-news/2019-08-09/poetry-friday-did-i-miss-anything
Posted by: mcelfreshvies1948.blogspot.com
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