Canary.
I have worked with children for a long time in a lot of different circumstances, however most of the time my job has been to engage them in some kind of physical or outdoor learning experience.In the last three or so years I have made some generalizations and formed some thoughts about this new batch of children, those younger than 18. Many of them are good. This is about the rest of them. Based on entirely anecdotal evidence and presented in full knowledge of the fact that I may well just be getting old and witnessing my own generation gap;
They seem to be highly medicated. They are lethargic, disinterested, and overweight. They are all going to have neck problems from never looking up. They drink caffeinated beverages. They have a high rate of autism (I mean high in comparison to my grade school, which I am pretty sure was zero). They do not play outside. They are really hard to engage in focused activity.
Sometimes I feel like this is a real phenomenon, sometimes I wonder if this is how kids have always been just now we have names, diagnoses, and medications for it. I notice also that parents seem to be somehow both more intrusive and ever-present in their children's lives, and also pretty checked out. There are children I know who I rarely see look up from their phone or gaming device as they meander behind their parent.
Perhaps these are just unfounded generalizations.
Perhaps I am just witnessing the adjustment to rapid, technology-driven social change.
Perhaps environmental quality and economic depression have taken their toll.
Perhaps children are like canaries and if they are, perhaps we should attend to their condition.
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I wonder/worry about this too, and granted I don't have kids, and don't work with kids, but a majority of the young generation that I see around can be summarized like this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the validation...I think. :-)
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