A colleague's comment sums up the day yesterday:  "I only had one kid fall asleep in class today."  And that is shocking.  I had one nodding off and he admitted he was exhausted.  So not bad for the first day back from vacation.

The students responded positively to my hand made thank you cards.  I was happy with that.  I have become increasingly frustrated with the quality of people I meet in my general age group.  There is a lack of maturity and respect for each other.  There is a selfishness of opinion reflected in a lack of ability to see another person't viewpoint or side of things.  People also do not realize that being self-absorbed is very close to being selfish.  People like the idea of being able to say they care about others, ask each other how they are doing, make frequent contact in an attempt at friendship.  However, when you scratch the surface, you come to realize the the intentions behind these actions are done with the hopeful end result of self congratulatory attitude.  "Haven't I done this for you?"  "Haven't I always asked about you?"  Well, the thing is that we have lost the ability to show this through real, meaningful actions.  People do not realize that subsequent, unrelated actions either support or negate those claims of caring and respect.  It is not merely what we say and how often we say it, but also how we treat the people in our lives.  How quickly does one lose patience with another?  How often do you look to put effort into seeing that person?

I think people are more focused on how their friendship performance benefits them and makes them look to others.  Resentment and impatience are abundant.  There is little real understanding of how to relate with and deal with others.  Personal connections are very surface, not deep at all.  Once a difficulty shows up, tempers flare, cruelty abounds, and there is little opportunity to give the other party any defense.  The person on the receiving end?  Most likely the one is truly the most giving, emotionally.

How does this relate to class?

All the kids care about is the end grade.  Did they get an A?  How does that end grade make them look?  Are they looking smart?  Will that get them bonus points at home or with prospective colleges?  The process, the learned lessons, all the incidentals - they mean nothing.  If there is a stumbling block in the learning, they want someone to come and fix it immediately.  They have no patience to work through that difficulty.  If they ask a question, there is no patience to hear the reasoning that accompanies the answer.  All that matters is what is on the surface.  They do not see themselves as beings that are part of a whole world with various experiences and beliefs.  They do not understand that all the incidentals in our lives matter to how we relate to each other.  There is no attempt to try any understanding.

The way we run our classrooms - how we interact with each other as teachers and students, how we present the information and processes to the students, how we want our students to go through the process of learning and connecting - all contributes to how they develop as people.  If all they care about it being able to say they got the A but there is no other experience or feeling to accompany that, will they move on to be those people who can regurgitate the correct phrases but not back it up with anything substantial?  How will anyone make any real interpersonal connections in life?