Rainy day in Connecticut. I decided to stop at a Starbucks for lunch. I got my regular caramel apple cider, and a slice of lemon pound cake. I am not a huge Starbucks fan. I will stop once-in-a-while and enjoy a drink. So I put my order in, then went to stand by the bar where the person passes you the drink when it is done. As I made my way over there, I quickly realized the bar was blocked. There stood two teenagers (probably 18). They were chatting about someone they went to school with. One of them was standing at the bar, with her whole arm resting on it. She was completely oblivious to the three other people standing there waiting on their drinks. She continued with her dramatic story, flailing her free arm around. I am standing there, wondering if someone will say something to her (since she is using the busy counter as her personal armrest). The woman behind the counter finished a drink and attempted to set it on the bar. An older woman moved around and stretched to reach her drink...the dramatic teen still oblivious to the world outside her own. The next drink was the teens. She turned around, grabbed a straw, pulled it out of the wrapper, and left her straw wrapper behind as she grabbed her drink and headed for the door. I think my jaw must have fallen off their hinges.
Let me say this. The Chiefs BFF is an avid Starbucks customer. That is an understatement. You go to any Starbucks in the country, and not only do they know her, but they know her drink. Before the Chief settled in the Connecticut division, he used to travel with her. First stop every morning, Starbucks. He would tell me stories of them walking into a Starbucks in another state, and they would call her name out when they saw her come in...no joke. So I am thinking, as I stand here appalled by the brat that has just left the building: What would the Chiefs BFF do? She says what I don’t have the guts to say. She would have said...LOUDLY, “Ummm, excuse me, you left your trash on the counter.”
This just eats my skin! Teenagers are so different today then they were when I was a teenager. They think they are entitled. They think they don’t have to EARN respect. They think we owe it to them. This is where I am VERY old fashioned. Kids don’t EARN respect. An adult is an adult. You treat an adult with respect whether they are respectful or not. Teens think when they turn 16, they should be given a car. They think that they should be given money to spend. They think they should be given a cell phone, ipod, and any other electronic that is out there to have. They don’t have to pay their own car insurance because mommy and daddy pay it. They don’t know what it is like to earn their own money.
What are we teaching our kids? We are raising them to depend on others for money. We are teaching them they don’t have to earn the things they want. We are teaching them they don’t need to try hard in school, they will still get to have the things they want without trying. They don’t know consequences. They don’t know punishments. They don’t know what life is like without a cell phone and internet. We are losing communication with them. We send them texts and emails to find out when they will be home and who they are with. We consider a job well done if they respond.
There is no more “go outside and play.” Kids are now entertained by video games, and televisions. Its no wonder obesity has skyrocketed in our country. Kids don’t have to exercise anymore. We have invented these things that keep them in the house. Kids no longer use their imaginations and legs to run. I want to smack some sense into these teens. I know teaching is going to be a challenge for me, but teaching is so much more than out of the book. I know I can’t change the world. I know that technology is going to trump any book in their eyes. I want to teach them that there is just as much entertainment in reading and writing than in their music and video games. The teens that don’t know “playing outside” are the ones I will be teaching. I pray that I will find a way to reach them despite the different views we have. I am excited about the challenge I will face. I am excited about making a difference.
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