Count to a Thousand by Caroline Goldberg Igra

Author:Caroline Goldberg Igra [Igra, Caroline Goldberg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mandolin Publishing
Published: 2018-07-01T05:00:00+00:00

Celia packed up her briefcase, glancing up occasionally to watch her students file out of the room. One made his way toward her.

“How can I help you?” She swung her purse over her shoulder, grabbed her case and stepped out from behind the desk.

“I was wondering if I can have an extension on the deadline for the final paper.”

They started walking toward the door. Celia glanced over at him once and then faced forward, continuing out into the main reading room.

“What’s up? Does it conflict with another deadline?”

“No. Not really. It’s simply that my relatives from England will be in that week and I think it’s going to be hard to concentrate in the house.”

Celia was always amazed at exactly how many of her students, most post-army, aged twenty-two and up, still lived at home. For most it was an economic consideration, staying home in order to save money on accommodations. But since part of going to college for those she knew back in the States was the actual “going,” leaving their parents and living their own life, she was convinced that this detracted from the experience. College in Israel, in effect, was just one more step – not the huge, life-transforming one it was for her generation back home. Maybe that wasn’t bad, but it was definitely different.

“I don’t really understand the problem. I assigned the paper the first week of class. This is something you’ve known about.”

“True, but it kind of dawned on me this morning. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to turn it in on time in any case. An extension would really help.”

Celia sighed. This was such an old story. Every other week she came across one or another instance of how her students’ lives weren’t necessarily about attending school. The excuses for missed classes ranged from the legitimate – illness, traffic caused by a sudden storm, reserve military duty – to the inane – the previous evening’s late wedding, a broken printer. The litany of excuses was endless and tiresome and gave her a headache. She continually wondered how they weren’t embarrassed to come up with one reason after another to explain why they couldn’t uphold their commitments.

“How much of an extension do you need?” They were walking down the stairs of the library toward the exit and she was eager to move on.

“Another week.”

She stopped short. “Another week? Listen.” She started out in her head: Despite the fact that I find your reason lame, at best… She daren’t say that. “I have no problem giving you the extension. That being said, I think you need to organize your time better so that you can honor your commitments. I assigned the paper three months ago and we’ve talked about it off and on almost every week since. Leave it in my box by noon on Sunday.”

The young man shifted his book bag from one shoulder to the other and smiled. “Terrific. Thanks a lot. L’hit.” He turned tail and exited the library ahead of her.

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