Monday, November 16, 2009
So a student club (Teens Agains Drugs and Alcohol) sponsored an activity in which students would write Christmas cards to young people who are in rehab, basically. She was telling us about this at dinner. A couple of the kids thought they were writing to our troops and wrote things like, "Thanks for what you're doing for our country!" Also, she very clearly explained that they couldn't use a lot of red or blue because these are gang colors. Of course, a couple kids drew big red ornaments and blue bows and things on their cards. I think she has a career as a teacher ahead of her, now that she understands what it's like to tell kids very clearly exactly what to do or not do and then have those same kids completely space on it and do exactly what they're not supposed to do.
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I have a couple of pals who are retired teachers; professors, who have had to return to work secondary to the recession and stock crash of late--devastating their retirement funds. They both tell me that many young people today are so insular, so lethargic, so vague, so plugged into technology, that there is no spark in their eyes, no discussions about anything, no real listening or learning that
seems to be happening. Damned shame it seems to me. My daughters are all in their twenties now, and through college. Their study habits improved vastly when they had to finance their own education.
I would have to say it's the fault of the parents. Helicopter parents--you've heard of this? They hover over their children and don't allow them to do anything for themselves, which means the kids have no life skills, no personalities, no critical thinking skills, etc. The kids don't HAVE to develop any of these skills so they don't. As a teacher, if you try to break the kids out of the death-grip of the parents, the parents fight tooth and nail. It's kind of pitiful.
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