Ai

I just heard from the third student (out of 15 students) in my summer HEL class who wants to let me know that he or she is going to miss about a week (this one is missing four days) of a five week class.

This one is "on vacation." I'm on vacation, this student tells me, cheerily, and I expect missing four days of class not to hurt my grade in any way. (The first four days of class, btw.)

The other two students are missing class for like reasons -- one is going to youth camp for her church and has to miss the last week of class; the other is getting married and going on her honeymoon in the middle of the session and will miss three days. That one at least did beg me nicely and say she would accept any appropriate penalty. She didn't sternly tell me, as the other two did, that she expected this to have no effect on her grade.

What is it with these students? Education is something they do in their spare time?

It's hard enough to teach History of the English Language in five weeks in the first place -- if they plan to miss a fifth of the class to go to Disney Fucking World, it's gone to be flat impossible.

Which I can't even tell them that, of course, because I need them to stay in the class, because I need the money.

Thank you, Mr. Bush.

(I blame Bush for everything.)