Dear Editor,
It is so good to write to you another letter. I am finally able to do this because Reading Week is just around the corner! I do not have a letter to reply to but I do have something to say that I hope everyone will read.
Today I want to write about participation in class. First is technology. Every year I notice more. Classmates with laptops, classmates with smartphones, classmates with cellphones. And so few are using it to take notes. To those who are: they have my respect. To the girl who has Facebook up, always, in front of me in my psychology class: please stop, it is distracting me. Besides, this is the third year in a four-year program. Do they still not care enough to pay attention to the professor?
I do not want anyone to understand me wrong, though. It is perfectly okay to be on Facebook and to own smartphones and other devices. In fact, I am on Facebook myself. But why would someone bring it to class? Is class so boring that they need to bring extra entertainment? But they are paying for this! They are paying money for that time. And then it distracts me and I am paying money also.
Another thing that I am noticing lately. Please, you tell me why this is. When students are not using their technology they become very quiet. The professor asks a question and nobody answers, and still nobody answers. Then the professor becomes nervous and then she talks to the class like to real people, not students. But still everyone does not want to even show that they are listening. Maybe they are not! Maybe they all have Bluetooths in their ears. I do not know how that works, that could be it.
Anyway I do not want to be a depression to anyone’s day, so that will be all I will say now. But in summary, participation all around is going down. Sometimes, technology. Sometimes, just shy. Why is it? You could write an article on this question or an editorial. I am sure it is not just me!
P.S. The newspaper is better and better every week.
—Aleksi Zloczewksi
