Same Old Stupid Students Song

Well the stupid students are starting to come out of the woodwork, all the same. Yesterday in my office, working, knock at the door… Female student, not one of mine…

“Dr. S. told me to see someone about my courses but I don’t know who.”

Um… ok… I understandably was puzzled and decided instead of answering I would simply show my puzzlement by raising my eyebrows and looking at her questioningly.

She reiterated, “I’m supposed to be on the France program this summer and Dr. S. told me someone had to sign off on my courses.”

"I don't know what to tell you; I am not connected to the France program," I said. In answer to the continued dead stare she was giving me, I finally offered, “Dr. M. probably, he is in charge of the France program this year.”

“It started with ‘B,’” she replied.

“We don’t have anyone with ‘B’ in the department,” I answered.

More dead stare, with a touch of frustration mixed in (I felt for her frustration, really - it must be very frustrating to be too stupid to write someone's name down, especially involving such an important step in getting ready to go study abroad).

Finally sympathy got the best of me, besides I was beginning to see that she really could not have exerted her thought processes any more on this by herself and I might have her standing there in the doorway all afternoon if I didn't come up with an incredible brainstorm like, “I think you’ll simply have to see Dr. S. again and ask her who it was you were supposed to see.”

Silence and more staring, followed with, “But…”

“I don’t know anything about this. You need to see Dr. S. again.”

I decided I Wasn't Going To Give Her Anything Further. She continued to look at me kind of incredulously for a pair of long moments til she realized I ... um ... uh... Wasn't Going To Give Her Anything Further, changed the look to one of slight injustice, mumbled a “Thank you” and wandered off.

I realize I’m the center of the universe in my own mind but truly, I do admit that I don't know everything. Certainly I can’t read minds anyway, much less that of Dr. S. Even if I could, geemony christmas I’m tired of students who can’t even be bothered to write something important like that down. Huff. And the France program students are supposedly the cream of the crop… Yikes.