Tuesday

A little bit more on students...

I am lucky to have a few students who make me smile on a daily basis. They work hard. They are smart and want to learn. These students keep me coming back to teach each semester. The few who ruin it, the ones who ultimately drop out, exist only for the moment, and I never remember their names. I remember instances but not the student. I do remember the good student's names. And, most of the time, we stay in touch after class has ended. It's wonderful to have that connection.

On another note...
What is up with people living with their parents well into their late 30s? It's disgusting to me. In America, we are expected to live on our own, when we turn 18, possibly having roommates, until marriage or some other sustainable career. But today, it appears that many people are choosing to stay at home forever. The parents are also responsible for this, since they allow it. I call this enabling. Look if you are 35 and can't handle being on your own, there is something wrong with you. It may be that you've had a rough patch; I get that. But if you do need to return home, for whatever reason, make sure that you don't stay there for over a year. Actively try to get out. Otherwise, you look like a loser, in our society.

Another issue I have with this is that parents tend to coddle their kids. They need to stop. I know a 20 year old who doesn't even know how to pay her car insurance. How is this possible? Her mother pays for it all. Does it all. For her. Sad, really. When we produce young people who can't even set up an electric bill, what are we producing for the future of the U.S.? Laziness. Scared people. Fear based ignorance. Great, just what we need.

I saw a woman on Larry King Live the other night. She was yelling at us that we need to educate all our kids to be afraid of anyone they meet outside the family. They need to scream if someone they don't know talks to them. This is exactly the wrong thing to teach. Kids need to learn how to distinguish between what is OK and what is not. In order to do that, we should have some films to show them what we mean. We also should do more role playing with them. So, they can figure out what is OK and not. But to make them afraid of everyone? Well, that's going to make them paranoid, and eventually, they will have to go on klonopin for anxiety issues, later in life. I just heard the pharmaceutical companies cry out with joy.

We need to step up our game with our kids. What I mean is, we need to teach them independence and responsibility. We need to make them work for their toys and gadgets. If we don't, we, as parents, are promoting laziness, neediness, and irresponsible behavior. In real life, they will fail, and ultimately, they will end up living at home forever.

I am off. Time to grade some papers.