APATHY

Teaching a High School English class, yesterday, I asked the students to give their honest feelings on "apathy". (A study group of teachers were interested in approaching this issue and wanted some student feedback.)

"Ms. Minns, what's 'a path ee' ?"

"I know, I know! It's like when you are late for school, right?"

"No, Stupid! It's like when you don't give--"

"Don't give? Don't give what?"

" A f-----"

"Stop, please. Let's not use all our energy in talking...write what you think the word means. Then, write what you think makes people apathetic--full of apathy. Or, write ways you think might help cure apathy--ways you've gotten yourself out of an apathetic frame of mind. This is an opinion challenge, so, please, work by yourself."  I print the word on the board, noticing how strange words can sometimes look, just floating there, alone.  I sit at the "teacher's desk", pretending to busy myself in reading papers. Really, I am listening to the not-so-quiet discussions surrounding me.

"I had apathy once. I took some vitamins..."

"It's just, like, you know, something you go through..."

"Why do they think adults can do anything about it? Shit. It's just there. Period. Hashtag. Hashtag."

"I think, it's, you know, contagious. Really. If someone in class doesn't do his homework and it bugs the teacher, then, like, you know, everyone stops doing it--"

"Except for the Nerds--"

"Or the Crackheads--"

"Shut up! What do you know, Pigman?"

"You're being apathetic!"

"Not right now, he isn't! It means you don't give a crap--he obviously does give a crap--"

"My parents put me in therapy because they say I'm apathetic.  How is therapy gonna change that? It's just who I am. It's just how I am supposed to be--like my personality."

"Yeah! Exactly. You are an apathy-type person. I know lots of people like that--"

"No, you're mixing it up with depression. She's a depressed person--"

"That's what my shrink told my parents, too!  Then they gave me medications--which didn't work--then they changed therapists--which didn't work--"

"Then they sent you here, which didn't work!"

"Hahhahahahhahahahaha!"

"Stop laughing. It isn't funny. Wait until you're apathetic AND depressed; then you'll see what it's like..."

"Depression is bad, really bad. Like, people kill themselves over being depressed. I know some people who tried to kill themselves, for reals..."

"I know some people who said they were going to kill themselves if the Red Sox lost the World Series!"

"Yeah, so, like, they're safe!  Hahahhahhaa."

"You guys aren't funny."

"We're APATHETIC!"

"Shut up! I'm trying to think...Great, now you made me pissed off and I can't write! Thanks a lot!!"

"Ms. Minns...this assignment...is it going to be collected?"

"Ms. Minns...are you gonna grade these?"

"What about spelling?  Does it count?"

"What about handwriting?  I don't do cursive..."

"I print better than I write..."

"Can I do this on the computer?  I'm supposed to be allowed to use the class computer whenever I want to--"

"You are not! Don't listen to her, Ms. Minns. She's lying! "

"I am not! It's in my IEP..."

"How do you know what's in there? You aren't suppose to know!"

"How do you know what I'm supposed to know? You don't know me!"

"I have an IEP and I KNOW!
"Do we have to punctutate...like, use capitals?"

"How long does it have to be? I mean, it's too early to ask us to write an essay--"

"Yeah, it's not fair!"

"Does this count as a quiz?  I couldn't study last night cuz we went to the mall and I didn't get home till after midnight--"

"People are apathetic because they don't like learning, Ms. Minns."

"Yeah, Ms. Minns. When are teachers going to get that?"


(When, indeed?)