Apathy and children

I have a big problem with apathetic children. I try to remember back to my childhood for signs of apathy and laziness. It might be because I choose not to remember, or it might be because I was a decent kid, but I can never remember the level of apathy that I currently see in the schools. Countless times every week a student forgets something at home and when I confront them about it the excuse is "my bus was late" or "I got up really early this morning and forgot". It is never their fault. No student has come to me this year saying "I'm sorry, I forgot." Then the same student proceeds to sulk in my class as if it was my fault they forgot their stuff.

Maybe the problem isn't the children...

Maybe it's the parents. In defense of parents I do have many parents who come to school and drop off forgotten supplies. I have had plenty great conversations and interactions with successful parents. A good deal of parents that I talk with are really great parents. In conversation with a colleague this morning I asked him/her about apathetic children. S/he said s/he would like to round up a select group of parents simply look them in the eye and tell them "you should be embarrassed." Upon asking further upon this, it was stated that most parents essentially feel guilt for being "bad" parents. This guilt turns into hostility when a teacher confronts them. Now this makes sense. Of course this is only one view, but the logic s/he used was frankly compelling.

So what is the solution? Be tough on the kids? More confrontation with parents? I have no idea. The overlying concern I have is the concern for both society and the work force. What happens when the apathetic child with the enabling parent grows up and becomes your doctor or your neighbor?

Many people won't believe it, but...

I'm not sure many people will believe this, but the guy who never communicates via computer has set up a blog. Perhaps this action is more of a comment on the current educational system in the United States rather than an actual long term trend since I'm at conferences and I have seen a total of zero parents in the past three hours. I'm sure I'll have more to say on that later in future blogs. If you make it to my site and know who I am add me to your lists. I'll try to make the blog informative on the views I normally abstain from when in a larger group of friends. Hopefully everyone will learn more about the real me. More than likely I'll learn more about the real me than I ever anticipated.

Enjoy!