Et Cetera--Use Sparingly, Please
A student wrote an essay for my class,
explaining how he felt about the school.
“The rules are dumb,” was followed by one point:
“Y’all tell us how to dress. That’s SO un-cool!”
The next word made me seethe: “et cetera”!*
The kid moved on to accusation 2:
“For lotsa reasons, I get really bored.
Like, classes are so long I wanna sue!”
He thought that one example should suffice.
“Et cetera,” he scrawled, and forged ahead
to his next grievance. Here comes insult 3:
“SOME of the meals are yucky.” Then he said,
“Et cetera”! and slung down number 4:
“Your class needs LOTS of changes. Homework stinks!”
Then, feeling he had made his point quite clear,
he said “et cetera.” Here’s what he thinks
about class schedules. I present point 5:
“Like, man, SO many changes should be made.
We need more time to get from class to class.”
“Et cetera” continued to abrade
my nerves. His closing paragraph, I SWEAR,
declared, “Like I explained above, y’all need
to change some stuff, et cetera. The END”!
Thank God, “et cetera” can’t make eyes bleed.
The rewrite I required would give support,
specific reasons, three per point. “Complain
if you so choose," I said, “but if you use
"'et cetera' one time, I’ll go insane!"
*Note: The student used the abbreviation "etc.," of course!
January 8, 2022
entered in the Latin Lessons Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Margarita Lillico
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