Before It’s Too Late

3 thoughts on “Before It’s Too Late”

1. Tina

   August 24, 2016 at 6:47 am

   Amen to that Ben.
   I like what you mention about their screened-off lives. That is why I avoid technology in my classes. That and the fact that I am kinda inept at it. But I make a conscious choice to use more hand-made and hand-written and free-form input, not movie talk or other things that require us to stare at yet another screen. (Sub days with Sr. Wooly, on the other hand…c’mon people. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel. So easy. Cannot resist…)

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2. Ben Slavic

   August 24, 2016 at 12:56 pm

   For clarity I would add to the above that I am not advocating talking to the kids about raw real life things – that is a lawsuit waiting to happen – but rather about anything that praises them and leads to the life of the imagination and lightheartedness and happiness. The kids deserve such messages from their teachers. Gone are the days when the teacher used to be all-knowing deliverers of instructional services. Now the internet can out-teach any teacher, perhaps, except for us. Teachers who get into discussions with their kids in a kind of wanna be therapist mode are always walking on the thinnest ice possible. It’s something I have seen in younger teachers. Don’t forget this year or any year, y’all – they have phones and they use them.

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3. Steven

   August 24, 2016 at 7:38 pm

   “Teachers who get into discussions with their kids in a kind of wanna be therapist mode are always walking on the thinnest ice possible. ”

   Yes. Boundaries are important. We are the adult that cares but we can’t replace a guardian, parent or therapist.

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