awkward

I had just about given up on the whole blogging thing, but I've decided to see if I can get back in the habit as I miss writing and this is as good a place as any to record a few thoughts that are rattling around in my head these days.

This week, my students gave persuasive speeches about our school uniform policy and cell phone usage in school. The students took this assignment very seriously and presented some compelling research and logic for both sides of these arguments. One student told us that studies show that teenagers send an average of 80 texts a day! I was stunned by this number and my amazement lad to a very interesting conversation with my kids. I asked them why they didn't just call a person if they were going to have a conversation. The overwhelming answer was that by texting, they could routinely avoid "awkward" moments. One boy asked, "Miss Mathis, how many awkward moments have you had in your life?" I answered that I've found myself in too many awkward moments to count and that really, isn't life just one big awkward moment? The kids laughed and then said that they significantly cut down on these moments by texting instead of calling. They can preview their words before they send them and they can type things to people they would be embarassed to say in person and if they do not get a favorable response to the words they send, they feel it is easier to play it off as a joke over text instead of on a phone call. Another boy explained that when you are texting someone, you don't have awkward silences like you do over the phone because you can simply quit texting. When I told him that you could just as easily hang up the phone, he said it just wasn't the same.

I have been mulling over this conversation for the latter part of this week because I wonder what this means in the grand scheme of things. How are my students learning to deal with interpersonal relationships if they conduct most of their communications through electronic text messages? Is this a modern take on writing letters? Aren't the awkward uncomfortable moments in life where we learn the most- about ourselves and others? Don't those moments create our character as much as the easy times? And surely when looking back it is those moments that provide laughter and a little cringing! The English teacher in me wonders if these kiddos are texting all the time why they complain so much about writing papers for me!?!

I understand the desire as a teenager to avoid all rejection/awkwardness/uncomfortableness/confrontation, but I value those times for what they teach me. I'm going to keep talking on my phone because sometimes I need to hear the voice on the other end- even when we have an awkward silence!