FROM A TEACHER: Yesterday, I shut down class about 5 minutes early and told my students I wanted them to just sit and talk to one another. Several of them immediately opened their laptops and began navigating to their favorite computer game.
I said, "No, no laptops. I want you to have face-to-face conversations right now."
After a collective groan went up, I observed something both wonderful and alarming. For the next few minutes, a couple of tables came alive with conversation. They looked at each other in the eyes and talked with great enthusiasm and interest. It was beautiful to watch and listen to.
However, many students were deflated. They did not know what to do without some sort of entertainment from a device. A couple of them put their heads down and avoided eye contact with anyone. I went around the room to those students and tried to engage with them. Some of them mustered a few words, but most didn't know what to do.
I share this story as a wakeup call for parents, grandparents, and guardians. It's tragic to me that a large percentage of today's youth do not know how to have real conversation, but it's not their fault. It is our responsibility as adults to lead by example and hold our kids accountable. Unplug every day, talk, and listen to your children. Getting lost in a device does not help them cope with and overcome the things they're going through mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. All it causes is isolation and depression. They need relationships; they need you.
I actually enjoyed my conversations earlier w/Luke and Jester. No bickering. Just some honest dialogue and exchanging of ideas. There is no need to be in agreement, but respectful conversation is productive. I feel that you are reasonable, as well. Tired of guys hammering their own particular bias down other's throats.
I mentioned a holistic approach when talking to Luke. This takes time and money. That is something that folks don't want to hear, but we must think of our future as a society. That is why we need to do a deep dive into research. I think we need to put more effort into "profiling," just like the FBI has done w/serial killers. I think Luke was dead-on about European countries and their lack of mass murders and their gun laws. We must consider that. Just don't stop there. I do not know the answers to these questions, but we should look into political and social discord w/in those countries. Do they argue like we do about one party or another? Do their children spend as much time playing video games, on social media, watching TV, etc as our children do? What about home life? More single parent homes or not? How do our countries view education? Are class problems as wide spread as ours? What about sense of community? Stronger there or not? Do these countries have more or less separation than we do on social and political issues? What about religious beliefs. Hell, we have posters on this board who constantly paint religious people in a negative light. Do they do that in Europe? I could go on and on and on, but the point is that we need to explore as much information as we possibly can. We need to look at all the factors that we can. There is no simple answer that will solve the problem. Hell, even w/that..........will we ever solve the problem? I know that the things I am hoping for will cost untold dollars. Do we want to commit to that? Or, do we want to offer prayers and point fingers as more and more of our children are slaughtered?
