June 2024

  It has been a long time...

I started teaching in 1998.  The world has changed.

2024:  Students do not know how to tear tape of a tape dispenser  (It is horrible to watch-- they pull straight out and straight down, sometimes cutting their fingers on the cerated edge of the dispenser.  I know this is not their fault, but it is a real deficiency.)

Also, many students do not know how to use land-line phones.  They can dial them, often know they should say hello, and then it gets dicey ( most have to be prompted to tell the person on the other end of the call who they are.) Once they are finished talking many do not know what to do with the phone receiver.

Example (true story):

Call has ended.

Student: what do I do with this now?

Me: <not understanding and looking confused> What?

Student: How do you hang it up?

Me: Just put it down.

Student (eyeing me skeptically): On the desk?

Me: On the receiver.

Student looks confused.

Me: ... where you picked it up.

Student (slowly putting the phone on the receiver): Like that?

((Yes, this was a painful as it sounds.))

~ You're welcome