Act I
Coach,
Sorry I wasn't present for the game today. The babysitter for my son fell through. I'll make up the game whenever you want me to.
Thanks,
Jock
Act II
Dear Jock,
Thank you for your email. No, you didn't write it to your coach, you wrote it to me, your professor. And, no, it wasn't about your game, it was about the test we had in class today.
But if you had sent such a note to your coach, you would have been laughed out of the locker room. Consider yourself laughed out of my classroom. I don't require much, but I do require notification BEFORE the event.
Better luck next time,
Your Prof
True, Jock would have known in advance and should have emailed. Still, I'm home with a sick child myself today and feel a certain sympathy.
ReplyDeleteI don't get it.
ReplyDeleteGladys, obviously the OP thinks that a jock playing a sport and missing a game is the equivalent of a parent missing a test because of a sick child.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the vast majority of jocks in higher ed are young, unmarried, and childless, the analogy falls apart and the OP just ends up looking like a heartless, childless jerk.
I am guessing male, too.
Of all times to show mercy, one would think a story involving a child might spark a little bit of leniency (with the necessary documentation, of course...perhaps a vomit stain might work in lieu of a doctor's note).
Friends:
ReplyDeleteYour assumptions may be unfounded. Let me clarify:
The student in question is, in fact, a jock, and does, in fact, have a kid. The kid was not sick -- that was Merely's problem -- but there was a babysitter problem. The excuse email to the proffie was written well after the event (a test) had taken place.
Suppose Jock had written the same note to the team coach...
Sympathy I can have, but I require notification in advance, not after the fact. No boss would expect any less.