Troll Food!

I recently commented on a Castro Valley Patch blog regarding raising class size.  Looking back, I should have put more ‘thought’ into my comment and proofread my statement before positing, but I did not, it was Spring Break and I just wrote down my thoughts.  Within moments, I had a ‘troller’ respond, stating that it was a good thing I was a math teacher because my grammar was lacking.  He made additional comments about my teaching (which surprised me since I’ve never seen this troll in my classroom), and spouted a few problems with my experiences as a teacher. 

As I’ve moved from my twenties to my thirties, one character defect I’ve been trying to control is shooting from the hip.  I’m working on thinking about my responses first, before saying or typing something that I will soon regret.  As I focused on my breathing and allowed the temperature of my blood to cool, I saw that he had responded to just about everyone’s responses on this particular blog, many of which in the same impolite manner as mine. 

It got me thinking about how my students respond.  Many of them lack a ‘filter’, mostly due to their age.  Today, in particular, a student was being disruptive in class, after I addressed his behavior and asked him to correct it for the remainder of the period, he responded with some Jersey Shore impression, obviously trying to gather laughter from his classmates..   A short conversation ensued about the level of teacher student respect and classroom appropriateness, when his classmate chimed in “it’s just our generation”.  That comment might as well have been written on a piece of straw, because the camel just broke it’s back! 

I refuse to believe that these attention getting actions, whether it be ripping apart someone’s personal comments on a specific issues, while hiding behind a phony internet name, or a puppet statement scripted by popular media, are just a sign of the changing times.  As the 20 something well behaved students starred at me with wonder of what my next move would be, I thought about my response, make sure I breathe and turn my filter on heavy duty.  “No, it’s not a generation thing, it is simply bad behavior.  The majority of this class understands the importance of respect and realizes they are here to learn!” And at that I began teaching the mathematics curriculum designated by the State of California.

Kids are spending too much time on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, watching TV, and not enough time interacting with others. It is more than just losing sight of how to be functioning members of society; many are not being given the glasses in the first place.  I agree that most answers can be easily found when Googled, or by watching a quick How To on YouTube, but what about just using our brains, or asking others questions, discussing a problem and coming to a fair solution? I surely hope this is not a sign of the changing times; technology is great, until a time comes when you can’t access it!

Whatever comes of the Jersey Shore impersonator and the Grammar Police, I am quite proud of myself for maintaining my calm and collective nature. Now, if I could only find an unsuspecting driver to unleash the build up in my filter!