Rant the First
Ironically, ever since I did that rant meme, I've come up with real life subjects for ranting--my colleagues, the weather, static electricity, regular electricity, the university, the universe... well, you can see where this is going.
Anyway, se_parsons wanted to know what's wrong with kids today, and specifically, with my students.
Here's the thing I don't get. When I watch a show like Veronica Mars, I'm struck by the complicated concepts and decisions that teenagers are capable of handling in their personal lives, and by their ability to enunciate what they think and feel. Toss them into a classroom, and what happens? It's like they suddenly become zombies: mouths half-open, drooling everywhere, heads lolling, blank stares into the distance. Ask them a simple question--just a comprehension question, nothing that would require actual thought--and there's no response. Seriously, sometimes I just want to open their skulls with a spoon to see if there's anything in there. I mean, I understand that the collapse of the Roman republic is not more interesting than your own social life (although I hope it has a higher mortality rate) but couldn't you at least make the effort to appear engaged? And what part of "I'm speaking now, stop your private conversation" is not clear to you? This is not a TV show. I am actually standing in the front of the room. I can hear that you're speaking, if not what you're saying.
And don't get me started on what happens when you ask them to try something new--students now are absolute cowards when it comes to anything challenging. They just want to sit there and have me tell them what to think, and whereas it's a little gratifying to have your own opinions parroted back to you as the revealed truth, it's not what education is really about. It's also really boring: after all, I already know what I think. In fact, now that I think about it, the real problem with most of my students is that they're boring and predictable. There's a famous Oxford story about a tutor who sent a couple students away and told them to "come back when [they were] less boring." And this brings me back to the first point--I have the feeling that many of my students are capable of being interesting--they just don't care to, in the classroom. It drives me up a wall.
(In my defense, this is a rant. I'm very fond of many of my current and former students, even some of the boring ones.)
ETA: At the moment, I'm about to teach and don't have time to read or respond to comments. Let me clarify one thing: this is a rant. It's only half the story. I also believe that it's my job to get students to the point at which they can read, think, write and talk, and that classroom atmosphere is a shared responsibility. There's no need to justify yourselves to me, if that's what's going on in these comments, which as I say I've only had time to glance at.
ETA 2: I understand that there are reasons that so many young people turn into drooling idiots the minute they walk into a classroom; that said, whether or not one gets anything from one's years in higher education is ultimately up to the student. They're the ones who have to do the heavy lifting, in the end. There's a limit to what we, as teachers, can and should do.
Anyway, se_parsons wanted to know what's wrong with kids today, and specifically, with my students.
Here's the thing I don't get. When I watch a show like Veronica Mars, I'm struck by the complicated concepts and decisions that teenagers are capable of handling in their personal lives, and by their ability to enunciate what they think and feel. Toss them into a classroom, and what happens? It's like they suddenly become zombies: mouths half-open, drooling everywhere, heads lolling, blank stares into the distance. Ask them a simple question--just a comprehension question, nothing that would require actual thought--and there's no response. Seriously, sometimes I just want to open their skulls with a spoon to see if there's anything in there. I mean, I understand that the collapse of the Roman republic is not more interesting than your own social life (although I hope it has a higher mortality rate) but couldn't you at least make the effort to appear engaged? And what part of "I'm speaking now, stop your private conversation" is not clear to you? This is not a TV show. I am actually standing in the front of the room. I can hear that you're speaking, if not what you're saying.
And don't get me started on what happens when you ask them to try something new--students now are absolute cowards when it comes to anything challenging. They just want to sit there and have me tell them what to think, and whereas it's a little gratifying to have your own opinions parroted back to you as the revealed truth, it's not what education is really about. It's also really boring: after all, I already know what I think. In fact, now that I think about it, the real problem with most of my students is that they're boring and predictable. There's a famous Oxford story about a tutor who sent a couple students away and told them to "come back when [they were] less boring." And this brings me back to the first point--I have the feeling that many of my students are capable of being interesting--they just don't care to, in the classroom. It drives me up a wall.
(In my defense, this is a rant. I'm very fond of many of my current and former students, even some of the boring ones.)
ETA: At the moment, I'm about to teach and don't have time to read or respond to comments. Let me clarify one thing: this is a rant. It's only half the story. I also believe that it's my job to get students to the point at which they can read, think, write and talk, and that classroom atmosphere is a shared responsibility. There's no need to justify yourselves to me, if that's what's going on in these comments, which as I say I've only had time to glance at.
ETA 2: I understand that there are reasons that so many young people turn into drooling idiots the minute they walk into a classroom; that said, whether or not one gets anything from one's years in higher education is ultimately up to the student. They're the ones who have to do the heavy lifting, in the end. There's a limit to what we, as teachers, can and should do.