I just wanted to break their fingers. I was dumbstruck and angry
about the behavior. Every one of my students when I taught basic
college skills at the Southwest Early College was completely glued to
their cellphones. And this was in the good ol' days before ipads,
tablets, iphones, smartphones and the dumb look everyone has when
plugged into one. Most of my students learned very early on that I
was not, under any circumstance, going to tolerate thumbs on phones
during my class. Most complied. I suspect that some were relieved.
And the ones who didn't got this question directly at them: “What
are you going to do when the power goes out?” No response. No
response from who received this question and no response from any
classmates. In the silence that ensued I'd ask, “What can
you do when the power goes out?” Only once did a student say: “Go
outside and play.” It broke the spell. Outside it was a beautiful
autumn day. “Good answer,” I said. “Let's get out of here,
we're done for the day.”
I am not a Luddite. There is no way I would exist as a writer as a
Luddite. But I also think there is a time and place for gadgets,
devices and hell, the phone. In many ways I think technology is
great. Bright shiny things are cool. The down side of it is that I
do think it is way to easy to become anesthetized by it; perhaps
that's the point.
