.little worries.

Some recent events have had me a little worried about becoming a parent - and no the recent events do NOT include finding out that we're pregnant.  Mostly, it's been my growing agitation with young people and their lack of disrespect and creativity (and yes, I realize how old and "crotchety" I sound).

It all started when we were discussing in our TA meeting this week how we're all going to be those "mean" parents that don't let our kids have cell phones (or texting abilities at least) until they're much older.  It blows my mind to see children younger than 10 years old, staring into a cell phone screen and not looking up to see others around them.  How are they going to develop their imagination and creativity if they don't allow themselves to get bored every now and then?  Creativity is born in moments of pure boredom.  When you're left to find some way of occupying yourself, you dream, imagine, explore.  When there's always some way of occupying yourself, however, creativity does not grow and thrive.  Now, I know a lot of people will argue that technology allows children to grow and explore in new ways, but sometimes I think the best time can be spent doing something "hands on" and technology-free.

Another growing problem is with children not talking out loud.  It's as if they've become so accustomed to texting and replying with non-verbal answers, that they no longer possess the ability to vocalize their thoughts, opinions, or appreciation for that matter.

I have to say that I've felt pretty lucky so far with the class I was given this quarter.  For the most part my students are conscientious, polite, and respectful to me, but I've had a growing problem trying to get them to discuss and converse with each other.  Scott has expressed similar complaints about his freshmen, and it's caused me to wonder whether they're just nervous or scared, or whether they are becoming less prone to verbalizing their ideas.  They're growing up in a world where vocalizing is not the first means of communication; but rather, a type of written word has become the dominating form (I say type because it's definitely not the written word in its traditional sense).

I guess as an English teacher I should find this a hopeful development, but as I have seen in emails that my students send me, there is a total disregard for complete sentences, complete words (which probably blows my mind the most), and no longer do they capitalize "i."  I know it comes from the practice of texting, but I just wish they would learn to "code-switch;" different settings call for different types of communication.

This all comes back to my worries of becoming a parent - I promise.  It was hard enough growing up and being able to partake in most of the things my friends had.  Back then, though, it was Tamagotchi pets and "Hello Kitty" notebooks.  I can't imagine trying to raise a child and not allowing them to take part in something that has become such a large part of our culture.  I have a feeling that telling them it's for their own good won't really convince them - it didn't convince me.  Maybe it's up to our generation - those who are and will soon be having children - to restore sanity and the importance of vocalized communication together.  I'm all for the written word, but when our children no longer possess the abilities to verbalize their thoughts and feel comfortable doing so, there's something very wrong...

SplendidMarbles