StudentsbyTomWayman

Thefreshmanclasslistprintouts
showedbirthdatessorecent
Waymanwassurethecomputerwasinerror.
Oneyoungman,however,wascurious
aboutWayman'smentionnearthestartofterm
ofhisoldcollegenewspaper:
"Youwereaneditorwhen?Wow,
that'stheyearIwasborn."
Thewisdomofthestudents
hadn'taltered,though.
Waymanobservedmanyclungto
TheVaccinationTheoryofEducation
heremembered:onceyouhavehadasubject
youareimmune
andneverhavetoconsideritagain.
Otherstudentscontinuetoendorse
TheDipstickTheoryofEducation:
aswithacarengine,whereaslongastheoillevel
isabovetheaddline
thereisnoneedtoputinmoreoil,
soifyoureceiveapassorhigher
whyputanymoreintolearning?
Atthefrontoftheroom,Waymansweated
torevealhisalternative.
"AdoptTheKungFuTheoryofEducation,"
hebegged.
"Learningasselfdefence.Themoreyouunderstand
aboutwhat'soccurringaroundyou
thebetterpreparedyouaretodealwithdifficulties."
Thestudentsremainedskeptical.
Ayoungwomanwasapioneer
ofTheEasyListeningTheoryofLearning:
spendingherhoursinclass
withhertaperecorderearphoneson,
silentlyenjoyingapleasanterworld.
"Don'tworry,Icanhearyou,"
shereassuredWayman
whenaftersomedayshewasmovetoinquire.
Finally,atterms'end
Waymaninscribedaftereachnowfamiliarnameonthelist
thetraditionalsingleletter.
Andwhateverpedagogicalapproach
heorthestudentsespouse,
Waymanknewthisnotationwould beporedover
withmoreintensity
thananythingelseWaymantaught.

Students
byTomWayman
1.

Annotatethepoem.

2.

IdentifywhatseparatesWaymanfromthestudentsinhisclass.

3.

Waymandescribestwooldtheoriesofeducationandtwonewtheories.What
connotationsmighttheselabelshavebeyondthoseinhisowndescription?

4.

Thepoetreferstohimselfinthethirdpersonthroughoutthepoem.What
effectdoesthispointofviewcreate?

5.

Analyzetheironyofthelaststanza.Howdoestheironyincludeboth
Waymanandthestudents?

6.

Waymanfrequentlywritesabouttheworkplaceusingordinarylanguageand
workrelateddiction.DescribeyourownresponseasastudenttoWaymans
perspectiveonhisjobandonhisstudents.

7.

TakeWaymansideaofpoetryonthejobasamodelforapoemofyourown
conveyingapointofviewonajobyouhaveheld.