Last week was the first week of classes. I genuinely missed my students all summer. I was delighted to issue a book to each one as part of our first assignment: A class book club.
Six students not only missed the first class but also the chance to get their books to read before class the next week. One student called me to collect a book and I marched to campus on Sunday morning (a work day) at 8:30 am to deliver it to him. The assignment is due tomorrow. Only this evening I received a call from one of my students who politely asked if we had class this week. My first response was a resounding, "YES, of course we have class!!!" Then I remembered. T.I.A.: This is Africa. I retracted my statement, and returned the question to my student. "Do we have class tomorrow?"
My student then explained that they had all gone to campus this morning and saw a notice announcing that all classes were cancelled due to some reason or another. I thanked my student for this valuable information and told him I would find out and get back to him. I called the head of the department and learned that classes are cancelled. Oh students, I would be lost without you!!! At least in this case, my thoughtful student's courtesy-call saved me time and money. Our book club will have to wait until next week!
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