This could be true because of the answers and continuous respond with questions and answers to combat. The language used is also quite sarcastic often coinciding with the attitude of young adults.
There are some very clear viewpoints within the poem that the poet has made very clear to understand. The point of "Nothing" is the sort of sarcastic view of the student thinking that nothing of much importance could have happened in the students absence. That if the student was not there the student could easily catch up. As the poem continues the student begins to worry that he/she may have missed something important and ensues in trying to reassure him/herself that nothing would have happened. Then there is the view of the teacher whom tries to explain to the student that in fact he/she did actually miss something of importance, "exam worth 40 percent". The teacher does not actually mean the thing he/she says but is referring to the fact that he/she may have decided to hold an exam that day or give out a piece of homework and the student would be none the wiser due to the fact that they were not there. This is the teacher putting over the viewpoint that every day in class is important as the next due to the fact that you are learning everyday and you may miss