I'm tempted to write a screed caviling about all the different words my students didn't know in the poem we discussed this morning, including cavil and coven and covenant (from Amit Majmudar's wonderful poem "Covid-19"), and I would mention that I'd told my students on Wednesday to go home and read the poem out loud and listen for the sound repetitions and make sure they understood all the words and so this morning when no one could identify the meaning of the second word in the poem I stood there silently in front of class while they looked it up on their handy little electronic devices, which made me feel useless because why, at the end of the 14th week of the semester, do I still have to tell intelligent adults that they can't hope to understand the poem if they don't know the words? But then I reminded myself: it's the last day of classes. We've all had a long, exhausting semester in a long, exhausting pandemic. Give 'em a break.
I still made them look up the words, but I'm not going to complain about it. Life is too short, and this semester has been too long.
The end is near--
it's here! We can
begin again--
amen! We're done!
A ton of tests
(the best!) to grade,
we'll wade through piles
(for miles!) until
(Be still my soul!)
we toll the bell
that tells us all
to call it off.
Don't scoff! The end,
my friend, is near.
Three cheers!
Now on to finals week! Who's with me?
3 comments:
That's so very frustrating! I tend to feel that not looking up words I don't know is profoundly disrespectful to a writer, but I don't think my students feel that. Some seem overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of words they don't know, like it's overwhelming to think about looking them up.
I've had some express a sort of anger at being made to feel "stupid."
(To be sung to the tune of the 1917 WWI song: “Over There”)
Over here, over here
Send the word, send the word, it’s all done
The year’s all over
The year’s all over
The drums rum tumming everywhere.
Don’t despair, say a prayer
Send the word, send the word, there is glee
It’s all over, the grading is over
And we won't come back till the cure.
Hoist the flag and let her fly
Yankee Doodle do or die
Throw your cap, in the air
Show your grit, do your bit
Cause it’s now over, over here
Yes, right here, it’s now over just right here.
Oh this is fun! Well done!
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