There is nothing more interesting than your kids...

... or less interesting than someone else's.

Are we going to do anything important?

Ah, one of the classics. In the clumsy attempt to solicit a justification to miss class, the "student" drops the mother of all insults in inquiring as to whether anything of import will occur during the upcoming class. This instantly demeans not only the class, but the entire career and raison d'etre of the instructor. What prompts such a monumentally insensitive queery? It is tempting to infer that this is a ruthlessly cunning strategem to mess with the instructor's head, but we've seen the test scores, and a more appropriate conclusion is to never underestimate the stunning stupidity of unenlightened self-interest. Is it worth an hour of your time to listen to what took the instructor half a lifetime to learn? Who knows; it's your life and your call. But don't ask the question as it makes you look like you have the mental agility of a small soap dish.