Before you start reading, please know that this is based off my observations over the last few years of teaching and observing people. I know that it doesn't apply to everyone out there, so don't think this is a collective slam on all kids and all parents because it totally isn't. I know that most of us are doing the best we can, but some are not and those people are the ones I worry about.
I have been teaching high school for seven years now and one thing I can say for certain is that the kids I have now are COMPLETELY different from the kids I had when I started. The kids I had last year were the laziest, most apathetic and (for the most part) rude and manipulative bunch I have ever seen. They were, hands down, the worst group of kids that I have ever taught.
And it wasn't just one or two kids--it was them as a collective group. And it wasn't just me who felt that way--all the freshman teachers agreed. They wanted to be rewarded for everything, they thought that no rules should apply to them, and they also thought that we were the most unfair people ever to make them live up to any expectations at all. They were also the biggest group of cheaters I have ever had and they had ZERO interpersonal skills--they didn't care how they talked to people and they had no problem with words like "gay" "retarded" "queer" "fag" and the like. They hated to write anything over a paragraph (and that was even pushing it). As I think about all the reasons that this could be happening, I realize that there are many things I could blame (and I am not going to include the parents).
Video games: Sure, they are fun, but talk about not realistic. You get instant gratification, you are rewarded for every right thing you do and, if you screw up, you can simply turn on the console and start over. There are no actual penalties for doing things wrong and, if you can't get passed a certain level, boss, etc. guess what? You can get online and get CHEAT CODES and that is perfectly okay.
MP3 players: Again, nifty little invention, but it has made it possible for you to never have to actually talk to anyone. Kids walk around EVERYWHERE with headphones jammed on their heads and the music blaring so loudly that they couldn't hold a conversation if they wanted to. I see families out to dinner and one kid has his MP3 player going while the other has his head buried in a portable video game. Meanwhile, Dad is on his cell phone (I'll get to those in a minute) and Mom is checking her Blackberry. What happened to family time? Togetherness? Actually TALKING to your kids?
Cell phones: Oh, goodness--I could go on about this forever. Kids don't use them as cell phones--they use them as messaging devices, and it has gotten out of hand. I know that some kids are thinking: "OMG, BFD..." but what has happened is that this text messaging phenomenon has created a generation of kids who can't spell, write, read or even talk the right way. The "text speak" has appeared in formal writing and my students don't understand why I make them do it again. "Why do I have to write out the word because? You know what b/c means, right? Why isn't that as good?" Are you kidding me? There seems to be no clear cut line between where friend behavior stops and school behavior begins in relation to this type of stuff. Also, students use text messaging to aide in cheating in class--great use of technology.
Designer Stuff: Okay, so this is a general thing and I really don't think it has anything to do with what I am talking about, but I had to share this. I was wandering around QVC's site and came across the Dooney and Bourke purses. First of all, I would NEVER spend that much money on a purse (if any of you have, that is okay by me, but I just can't bring myself to do it). Anywho, I was reading the reviews written about a $130.00 bag and one said that she bought it for her TWELVE YEAR OLD daughter for Christmas...uh, what? 12? Really? First of all, I don't know if I was even carrying a purse at 12. Second of all, if I was it probably was plastic or something and cost like five dollars. When did a $130 purse become a gift for a 6th grader? I have girls who carry these kind of bags to school--one of my class rules is that all belongings have to be on the floor or in the basket under the desk (to cut down on text messaging during class). One girl said, "Uh, you want me to put my purse on the floor? It's Dooney and Bourke and cost like $150!" I told her I did indeed want her to get her purse off her lap--she was furious.
Miscellaneous Stuff that Baffles Me: Yesterday I was flipping through a K-Mart Back to School ad and I saw something that makes ZERO sense to me. Five Star (the maker of the binders, notebooks, etc.) has come up with the newest thing that every student has to have: The binder with built in MP3 speakers. All you have to do it hook up your MP3 player and you can listen to your music anywhere. You know, anywhere--like class when you are supposed to be listening to the teacher...
when you aren't busy text messaging test answers to your friend...
So, I worry about kids today. Anyone else?
5 rambled with me...:
When my second son was in elementary school, he told me about the foul language someone had used on him during recess.
I called the principal about it. He told me that the kids hear it at home and think it's ok, so there was nothing he could do. ARG!
Shhh.. me and hubby download walkthroughs for our games.
Mp3 players and cell phone are ridiculous. Disney has a line of cells targeted for the preteens. WTF?
$130??? For a PURSE??? For a twelve year old?????
That binder is just stupid!
LOL.
I have bought startegy guides for games, too, so I am not completely innocent...the difference is that you completely understand that just because you may do it for a video game doesn't mean that it is okay elsewhere.
I couldn't tell you how much foul language I hear in a day. Mostly the big "F" bomb--I guess kids think it makes them sound cool.
Bravo! Wonderful post!
It's sad to say that the kids aren't getting any better. I work in an elementary school and they are just as bad...maybe even worse.
So many kids have cell phones...10 years old and I see them walking around with phones. Probably 10 game thingies were taken away last year. Why are they even taking them to school?
The foul language is just as bad in our school. I have been told to "shut the F up and mind my own damn business".
I've been kicked and it left a bruise on my leg, I've also been told "Who the hell do you think you are? You're not my mom". I've even had a girl say "I'm gonna go home and tell my momma." To which my reply was "Go home and tell your momma... and I hope she wants to have a word with me because I've got a few things I'd like to tell your momma!" Oh, I forgot, I was almost stabbed by a pencil too.
I blame it all on the kids parents. Every single problem I had this past year was never handled properly by the parents. Either they just dont care or it wasn't their kids fault.
I've actually had parents say "go ahead and suspend my child, I'm not coming to pick them up".
I could go on and on!
aj: Thanks for the Bravo.
I feel you! I, too, have had kids say "Lady, I don't listen to my mom, why should I listen to you?" I have had things thrown at me (I have never, however, been almost stabbed with a pencil--how horrible!)
And, to answer your question of "who would have thought to bring it to school anyway?" The binder company who is making it possible to smuggle electronics into school--that's who.
And I agree with you that parents are much of the problem...I was just trying to think of other things that contribute. I could go on and on about crazy parents all day--I have had my share. :-)
Wow, not many can bring themselves to make those remarks but they have to be made - great post!
You know what I think is most alarming: when I was 12, I can positively say that my friends and I had no clue on the whereabouts of fashion. We knew we had to take a bath and put on clean clothes every morning but that was about it.
That cellphone thing drives me crazy! 8-9 year-olds saying things I would never say in the privacy of my own home. "Hey B***h, how about some spankin' after school?"
Where are the parents in all of this??! I know I'd have to ride a blind donkey around the world before they'd buy me a 130$ purse...
So much to say, so little space.
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