undergraduate education

Let me start by saying that I love my upper-level undergraduate students. They are engaged, enthusiastic, willing to try anything, hard-working, and asking great questions. I have near perfect attendance in my class, and when a student misses class, I usually hear a pretty legitimate excuse, often with documentation. Our students have complicated lives. But it pains me when students miss hands-on labs or field trips. I want them to get the educational experience of the lab/field, and I don't want to penalize them because they were prostrate over the toilet with the stomach flu. (Boy, has…