So I've noticed, on a long time basis, that the backside of Fall Semester takes a toll on the campus flora and fauna - students, faculty, staff, .. everybody. It may well be a mix of the usual semester-related karma, shift in standard time, shift to Winter, abbreviated sunshine and the like, but I've taken to attempts at pedagogical prophylaxis.
For real, a student convo yesterday...she DID come to the office, but then...
ReplyDelete"Soooo I've been having a really hard time lately? My sister's best friend...well, my sister and I? We're both here, and she's a year younger than me, her best friend died in [Midwest City] this week? And she has bronchitis so she's been sleeping in my bed and I think I'm getting it too and we're both really upset. And this is the anniversary of my dad's death? So I'm going to miss class, is that okay?"
Wow. Play that backwards...she gets her dad, her lungs, and her little sister's best friend back. Say what?
Perhaps it's just me channeling my inner ten-year-old, but the phrase "pedagogical prophylaxis" calls to mind the image of teaching from inside a giant condom.
ReplyDelete@ BlackDog
ReplyDeleteKeep a lead-weighted pool cue in your office for questions like this....No I don't sell them....Well, it's either that or a rubber truncheon, and "lead-weighted pool cue" sounds more menacing.