Member-only story
The Curious Case of a Young Teacher
Empty words in the classroom
The young teacher stands at the front of the lecture hall, frozen. His face flushes red, creeping up his neck like a bad rash. Under his arms, his shirt darkens with sweat. He must feel it rolling down the back of his neck.
Fortunately, most of the students — about three hundred of them — are sitting high up in the back rows. They certainly don’t notice it. The first rows are empty, and the few students in the front shift uncomfortably like they’re already considering leaving.
He was warned, if not prepared. The old guard had told him.
“It’s not like it used to be. They don’t listen. They don’t care. You’ll be talking to yourself while they hide behind their screens — phones, laptops. Some of them will even sit there wearing earbuds. You’re just background noise — to be canceled.”
He brushed it off. Naively.
“I’ll make it interactive,” he’d said. “I’ll get them involved.”
He thought he could beat back the tide.
“I’ll engage them. Make it worth their time. Get them to use their phones for something other than doomscrolling or group chats about weekend plans.”
