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MmkLucario said:
The juniors were better disciplined than the seniors? Wow. It is sad that people's attention span, especially teenagers, have plummeted. People are so attached to their phones, and not in a good way.
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Blame the parents. Kids allowed to be on their phone or iPads at the restaurant is now a common sight. Or when they are at a grocery store. Or worse of all - the one that truly pisses me off - when the sibling is participating at an event (band, football etc) and the kid doesn’t watch anything because he’s allowed to be on the phone.

Focus and respect are muscles that are trained. I complained of this topic on this very thread multiple Times.
 
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MmkLucario said:
The juniors were better disciplined than the seniors? Wow. It is sad that people's attention span, especially teenagers, have plummeted. People are so attached to their phones, and not in a good way.
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I mean everyone's as badly disciplined IMO - freshmen through seniors.
 
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yaxomoxay said:
Blame the parents. Kids allowed to be on their phone or iPads at the restaurant is now a common sight. Or when they are at a grocery store. Or worse of all - the one that truly pisses me off - when the sibling is participating at an event (band, football etc) and the kid doesn’t watch anything because he’s allowed to be on the phone.

Focus and respect are muscles that are trained. I complained of this topic on this very thread multiple Times.
Click to expand...
Oh my god, you'd have no idea how bad it is at some school events...

I just heard about someone (completely unrelated) the other day, who not only had this problem at school, but also at home, too, because his parents just were (are) not strict enough. Apparently the kid, who I think is like 13 years old, is so addicted to his Xbox or whatever that when the gateway/router went offline for a few hours because of an outage, he threw a crazy tantrum. And guess what—his parents were like, "Well, can't you just play the Xbox downstairs [that works offline]?" God, what's he gonna do when he's at a job and can't use his Nintendo Switch or whatever? Also, just to top it off, the kid also was (is) able to buy stuff right off his parents' credit card, because they "trust him." That's some bad parenting right there (coming from me who's not even a parent, but I just know.)

Anyway, just a story someone told me, which I'd assume is true.
 
yaxomoxay said:
Blame the parents. Kids allowed to be on their phone or iPads at the restaurant is now a common sight. Or when they are at a grocery store. Or worse of all - the one that truly pisses me off - when the sibling is participating at an event (band, football etc) and the kid doesn’t watch anything because he’s allowed to be on the phone.

Focus and respect are muscles that are trained. I complained of this topic on this very thread multiple Times.
Click to expand...
Yes. The parents are mostly to blame, especially at a younger age, though when the kids get older, they carry some of the responsibility as well. Though you could say that if they don’t handle responsibility well, that’s the parents fault.
 
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rm5 said:
Oh my god, you'd have no idea how bad it is at some school events...

I just heard about someone (completely unrelated) the other day, who not only had this problem at school, but also at home, too, because his parents just were (are) not strict enough. Apparently the kid, who I think is like 13 years old, is so addicted to his Xbox or whatever that when the gateway/router went offline for a few hours because of an outage, he threw a crazy tantrum. And guess what—his parents were like, "Well, can't you just play the Xbox downstairs [that works offline]?" God, what's he gonna do when he's at a job and can't use his Nintendo Switch or whatever? Also, just to top it off, the kid also was (is) able to buy stuff right off his parents' credit card, because they "trust him." That's some bad parenting right there (coming from me who's not even a parent, but I just know.)

Anyway, just a story someone told me, which I'd assume is true.
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Sheesh. That’s bad. I’ve heard stories where kids bought so much stuff on games on their devices because their parents left their credit card information and didn’t put a password on purchases. And I also read a story where a kid punched his teacher because she took his Nintendo Switch away. *Sigh*
 
MmkLucario said:
Yes. The parents are mostly to blame, especially at a younger age, though when the kids get older, they carry some of the responsibility as well. Though you could say that if they don’t handle responsibility well, that’s the parents fault.
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Very true—I know I've brought this up here before, but I think there are two reasons why some teenagers seem a little "immature" or unprofessional:
  1. Lack of "good parenting" - i.e. what I was explaining before
  2. Lack of self-awareness
I mean I'm definitely guilty of doing this kind of stuff, too—I think it probably happens to everyone at some point where they just go through that kind of phase. But what I think is rather unacceptable, is the fact that many of these students are going off to college next year, so if they're acting like that, ain't no way that's gonna suffice in college.
 
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MmkLucario said:
Sheesh. That’s bad. I’ve heard stories where kids bought so much stuff on games on their devices because their parents left their credit card information and didn’t put a password on purchases. And I also read a story where a kid punched his teacher because she took his Nintendo Switch away. *Sigh*
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Just awful, isn't it? At that point, anyone, including the parents, could get scammed, or worse... and then it essentially damages the kid's reputation, you know what I mean?
 
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rm5 said:
Just awful, isn't it? At that point, anyone, including the parents, could get scammed, or worse... and then it essentially damages the kid's reputation, you know what I mean?
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Yeah, I know. It’s just not very prudent to leave credit card information on a device that mostly the child uses, let alone not enabling Screen Time to block off in app purchases.
 
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rm5 said:
Oh my god, you'd have no idea how bad it is at some school events...

I just heard about someone (completely unrelated) the other day, who not only had this problem at school, but also at home, too, because his parents just were (are) not strict enough. Apparently the kid, who I think is like 13 years old, is so addicted to his Xbox or whatever that when the gateway/router went offline for a few hours because of an outage, he threw a crazy tantrum. And guess what—his parents were like, "Well, can't you just play the Xbox downstairs [that works offline]?" God, what's he gonna do when he's at a job and can't use his Nintendo Switch or whatever? Also, just to top it off, the kid also was (is) able to buy stuff right off his parents' credit card, because they "trust him." That's some bad parenting right there (coming from me who's not even a parent, but I just know.)

Anyway, just a story someone told me, which I'd assume is true.
Click to expand...


rm5 said:
Very true—I know I've brought this up here before, but I think there are two reasons why some teenagers seem a little "immature" or unprofessional:
  1. Lack of "good parenting" - i.e. what I was explaining before
  2. Lack of self-awareness
I mean I'm definitely guilty of doing this kind of stuff, too—I think it probably happens to everyone at some point where they just go through that kind of phase. But what I think is rather unacceptable, is the fact that many of these students are going off to college next year, so if they're acting like that, ain't no way that's gonna suffice in college.
Click to expand...

I think that parents need to bring kids up to accept that there are places (such as the dinner table, for example) where electronic devices are simply not permitted until the meal is well and truly over, and that your attention is on the meal, and the people you are dining with.

This is where communication and conversation occur, and where families can chat things over.

MmkLucario said:
Sheesh. That’s bad. I’ve heard stories where kids bought so much stuff on games on their devices because their parents left their credit card information and didn’t put a password on purchases. And I also read a story where a kid punched his teacher because she took his Nintendo Switch away. *Sigh*
Click to expand...
Ouch.

Not good.
 
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@yaxomoxay might like this vignette.

Earlier this afternoon, while waiting at a bus stop for the bus from the city, it was just beginning to spit rain, thus, I was congratulating myself on timing my departure well - I had paid a fleeting visit to the farmers' market, (Gorgonzola, Roquefort and wild garlic pesto were purchased), had a coffee in a favourite coffee shop and replenished supplies of coffee, picked up my bread - that has been put aside for me - at the French bakery, dashed into the library to collect books that awaited me (and return some I had finished and renew those I had yet to finish) - a charming middle aged gentleman struck up a conversation with me.

Now, as I am quite clearly to be found in a category best (and most eloquently) described as une femme d'un certain âge, thus, these days, it is not a usual experience for me for a complete (and perfectly charming and engaging) gentleman stranger to strike up a conversation out of the proverbial blue while awaiting the arrival of a bus as the rain I had forecast threatened to begin to fall.

It transpired he was (is) Italian, and - quite rapidly - for, we continued our conversation on the bus - we had passed from the weather ("be optimistic" he beamed at me when I (correctly) predicted that rain would commence very shortly), through politics ("corrupt"), a little Italian history, onto discussing recipes (carbonara was explored in delightful detail, and others were also touched upon - anything to do with gorgonzola or aubergines), and the best places locally to buy eggs and guanciale (the farmers' market, for the most part).

I have to say that it was not just a pleasant (and wholly unexpected) encounter, but a perfectly charming one too.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
@yaxomoxay might like this vignette.

Earlier this afternoon, while waiting at a bus sop for the bus from the city, it was just beginning to spit rain, thus, I was congratulating myself on timing my departure well - I had paid a fleeting visit to the farmers' market, (Gorgonzola, Roquefort and wild garlic pesto were purchased), had a coffee in a favourite coffee shop and replenished supplies of coffee, picked up my bread - that has been put aside for me - at the French bakery, dashed into the library to collect books that awaited me (and return some I had finished and renew those I had yet to finish) - a charming middle aged gentleman struck up a conversation with me.

Now, as I am quite clearly to be found in a category best (and most eloquently) described as une femme d'un certain âge, thus, these days, it is not a usual experience for me for a complete (and perfectly charming and engaging) gentleman stranger to strike up a conversation out of the proverbial blue while awaiting the arrival of a bus as the rain I had forecast threatened to begin to fall.

It transpired he was (is) Italian, and - quite rapidly - for, we continued our conversation on the bus - we had passed from the weather ("be optimistic" he beamed at me when I (correctly) predicted that rain would commence very shortly), through politics ("corrupt"), a little Italian history, onto discussing recipes (carbonara was explored in delightful detail, and others were also touched upon - anything to do with gorgonzola or aubergines), and the best places locally to buy eggs and guanciale (the farmers' market, for the most part).

I have to say that it was not just a pleasant (and wholly unexpected) encounter, but a perfectly charming one too.
Click to expand...
Hopefully you now know whether he was just passing through your town as a tourist or has just relocated from elsewhere. No harm in arranging a second perfectly charming encounter.
 
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rm5 said:
Oh my god, you'd have no idea how bad it is at some school events...

I just heard about someone (completely unrelated) the other day, who not only had this problem at school, but also at home, too, because his parents just were (are) not strict enough. Apparently the kid, who I think is like 13 years old, is so addicted to his Xbox or whatever that when the gateway/router went offline for a few hours because of an outage, he threw a crazy tantrum. And guess what—his parents were like, "Well, can't you just play the Xbox downstairs [that works offline]?" God, what's he gonna do when he's at a job and can't use his Nintendo Switch or whatever? Also, just to top it off, the kid also was (is) able to buy stuff right off his parents' credit card, because they "trust him." That's some bad parenting right there (coming from me who's not even a parent, but I just know.)

Anyway, just a story someone told me, which I'd assume is true.
Click to expand...

I guess you never heard the term when I was child" Latchkey Kids" because both our Parents had to work to keep us Middle Class!
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
I think that parents need to bring kids up to accept that there are places (such as the dinner table, for example) where electronic devices are simply not permitted until the meal is well and truly over, and that your attention is on the meal, and the people you are dining with.
Click to expand...
I certainly was raised on that principle, and it's helped a great deal in different situations. I just don't understand how and why some parents do what they do, that's for sure.

The other thing (slightly off-topic) that annoys me is when students take advantage of the fact that "the class is easy" - and thus, they "shouldn't be doing anything." I've noticed that happen on several occasions. And then they're very passive, and of course, on their phones.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
@yaxomoxay might like this vignette.

Earlier this afternoon, while waiting at a bus stop for the bus from the city, it was just beginning to spit rain, thus, I was congratulating myself on timing my departure well - I had paid a fleeting visit to the farmers' market, (Gorgonzola, Roquefort and wild garlic pesto were purchased), had a coffee in a favourite coffee shop and replenished supplies of coffee, picked up my bread - that has been put aside for me - at the French bakery, dashed into the library to collect books that awaited me (and return some I had finished and renew those I had yet to finish) - a charming middle aged gentleman struck up a conversation with me.

Now, as I am quite clearly to be found in a category best (and most eloquently) described as une femme d'un certain âge, thus, these days, it is not a usual experience for me for a complete (and perfectly charming and engaging) gentleman stranger to strike up a conversation out of the proverbial blue while awaiting the arrival of a bus as the rain I had forecast threatened to begin to fall.

It transpired he was (is) Italian, and - quite rapidly - for, we continued our conversation on the bus - we had passed from the weather ("be optimistic" he beamed at me when I (correctly) predicted that rain would commence very shortly), through politics ("corrupt"), a little Italian history, onto discussing recipes (carbonara was explored in delightful detail, and others were also touched upon - anything to do with gorgonzola or aubergines), and the best places locally to buy eggs and guanciale (the farmers' market, for the most part).

I have to say that it was not just a pleasant (and wholly unexpected) encounter, but a perfectly charming one too.
Click to expand...
I love this!! I am pretty sure he was pleasantly surprised to find someone so knowledgeable of Italian history, culture, and politics in general.

Sometimes the best encounters are with totally random strangers.
 
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rm5 said:
I certainly was raised on that principle, and it's helped a great deal in different situations. I just don't understand how and why some parents do what they do, that's for sure.

The other thing (slightly off-topic) that annoys me is when students take advantage of the fact that "the class is easy" - and thus, they "shouldn't be doing anything." I've noticed that happen on several occasions. And then they're very passive, and of course, on their phones.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately many parents are content to let their kids constantly stare at screens because it keeps them quiet. I've encountered parents who seem aware that their young children are addicted to the iPad, but shrug it off with "hey, it keeps them quiet". Yes, let's be sure that all our children are tech addicted zombies by the age of 5 so we don't have to deal with any energetic or noisy childhood behavior. :rolleyes: Some people don't seem to appreciate the extent to which these devices and the content consumed on them is designed to be addictive, even content aimed at toddlers. It's all quite shameless. Part of the reason I'm reluctant to have children is that I know it would be very difficult to keep my kids away from this stuff.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
@yaxomoxay might like this vignette.

Earlier this afternoon, while waiting at a bus stop for the bus from the city, it was just beginning to spit rain, thus, I was congratulating myself on timing my departure well - I had paid a fleeting visit to the farmers' market, (Gorgonzola, Roquefort and wild garlic pesto were purchased), had a coffee in a favourite coffee shop and replenished supplies of coffee, picked up my bread - that has been put aside for me - at the French bakery, dashed into the library to collect books that awaited me (and return some I had finished and renew those I had yet to finish) - a charming middle aged gentleman struck up a conversation with me.

Now, as I am quite clearly to be found in a category best (and most eloquently) described as une femme d'un certain âge, thus, these days, it is not a usual experience for me for a complete (and perfectly charming and engaging) gentleman stranger to strike up a conversation out of the proverbial blue while awaiting the arrival of a bus as the rain I had forecast threatened to begin to fall.

It transpired he was (is) Italian, and - quite rapidly - for, we continued our conversation on the bus - we had passed from the weather ("be optimistic" he beamed at me when I (correctly) predicted that rain would commence very shortly), through politics ("corrupt"), a little Italian history, onto discussing recipes (carbonara was explored in delightful detail, and others were also touched upon - anything to do with gorgonzola or aubergines), and the best places locally to buy eggs and guanciale (the farmers' market, for the most part).

I have to say that it was not just a pleasant (and wholly unexpected) encounter, but a perfectly charming one too.
Click to expand...
I hope you got his number!
 
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DaveFromCampbelltown said:
I don't know about students, but I have found that some recent non-fiction books have been just terribly hard to read. The authors can't stick to the point, spend up to two thirds of the book discussing background or distantly related points and rarely actually writing about the topic the book is supposed to be about.

Some excellent non-fiction books -
  1. Animals without Backbones - Ralph Buchsbaum (the original two-volume skinny paperback, before it got re-written into a massive tome)
  2. The Sea Around Us - Rachel Carson
  3. The Dinosaur Heresies - Robert Bakker (the guy with the fancy hat in Jurassic Park)
Some really bad fiction books -
  1. Anything I have read recently about medieval (light/dark ages) science and mathematics.
I think that at least some authors have fallen into the trap of quantity over quality, because it is so easy to spew forth vast quantities of prolix* verbiage when you are writing on a computer. Make them sit down and write the first drafts of their books by hand with pen and/or pencil. It makes you think.


* I do love that word...
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IMG_20230416_0002.jpg


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