Why I sometimes hate being a professor

One of the classes I teach is statistics. As part of that class, I require the students to learn how to use Microsoft Excel...you know, acquire a marketable job skill. But I don't assume any prior knowledge of Excel. For the first problem set of the semester, the students need to collect a data set - 30 observations and 5 variables. All they have to do for this assignment is turn in a printed speadsheet with this data.

I have a handout on how to open Excel, save your work, enter data, print in Excel, etc. It explains what a spreadsheet is, what a row is, a column, etc. When I hand out the assignment, I give the students this handout. I also draw a spreadsheet on the board, explaining that they need 30 rows and 5 columns of data. I did this last Thursday.

Today:

A student comes up to me after class. He points to his assignment.

Student: What's this Excel stuff?

Me: It's a software program by Microsoft office that uses spreadsheets, like the one I drew on the board on Thursday.

Student gives me a blank look.

Me: Do you have the handout I gave you on how to use Excel?

Student: I don't know.

Grrr!!!