The Student of 2010

So here is where I take a step towards being an old fogey. The college student of today is a literalist. Nuance in language is beyond him. If everything is not explained down to the last iota (that's letter for you youngsters) the student of today does not understand. When giving a test to a class you must explain on the test that they will respond in ink. It does not matter how many times you have told them in the previous week that it will be in ink or they will be penalized, there will be at least one student writing in pencil. One might think that for an hour test it is understood you do not leave to go to the bathroom. No, you have to explain this as well. You write on the test do five identifications. Sure enough someone does six. You have spent the whole semester in the same class, you have taken every test there. A student will contact you after the final saying he missed it because he thought it was in another room. For the uninitiated one might wonder where teachers get there laughs. I'll tell you a little secret: go to the faculty lounge and hear them swap tales of the most outlandish excuses they've heard. Our students today are very creative storytellers, but most of them want to go into business. Many could be good storytellers, writers of creative fiction, movie screenplays and so forth: the raw talent is there. On second thought, maybe business is a good place for them.