Teenagers…just the very words provokes a vast difference of emotions and reactions from all people.  I work in a school that has roughly 1000 of them aged 14-18.  Today we had a parent in to pick up an ipod that was confiscated in class.  Seems that he was using it to text in class.  All students are very clear on the no cell phones in class however this young man decided that texting on an ipod would be an acceptable solution.  He actually told his mother, who also works at this same school, that he didn’t realize that he couldn’t text on an ipod in class.  He thought the rule only applied to cell phones.  Now this brought up an interesting discussion.  Is he really that stupid?  Or does he think that we are that stupid that we would think he is that stupid?

I fear for the future sometimes.  Teens are growing up texting, iming, facebooking, twittering, and communicating in any way that seems easiest.  At lunch time I see students sitting at the same table texting each other, not talking.  We have a new generation growing up without some basic communication skills.  They can’t carry on a conversation.  My own teenaged daughter talks so fast and mumbles so badly that having a converstion with her is painful.  If I ask her to speak clearly and repeat herself she gets pissed, accuses me of not listening and storms off.  I see the same at the school I work at all the time.  Students come to the office asking for something and mumbling to their shoes so that we have to stand up right beside them and have them repeat it numerous times.

Somehow knowing that this considered normal teenager behaviour now doesn’t ease my worries any.  Is the day coming when phones will be obsolete unless it’s a cell for texting?  Will there be a  future where all communications are done by e-mail and texting?  I sincerely hope not.

Shelley