Today I received a text message from the daughter of a family friend that I think deserves a wider read. To demonstrate a trend in education, sometimes anecdotal evidence can shed light on an issue in ways that thousands of pages of hard evidence can't. Although I read tons of articles on service learning, it's a conversation with a student that really gets my attention.

We'll call her "EM." EM is ten years old and attends a charter school in West Michigan. Most of the interaction is purely to make conversation. Since it's the end of August, school is on the brain.

I'm starting work on my second master's degree and taking a piano class, so I am reveling in the nostalgia of walking into a room of strangers and starting in on a new topic. My conversation with EM inevitably evoked those emotions. Here's an excerpt from our text conversation (with "grammar" intact - as much as I loathe texting language, I am sometimes compelled to comply with the parlance of our times).

Me: So are you back in school yet?

EM: noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Me: Oh. I started today.

EM: Your [sic] in school?

Me: Yeah! If I can, I want to be in school forever.

EM: Why in the world would u want to be in school forever????!!!!

Me: Why? Because it's fun and interesting and you get to learn something you never knew before every day. I even loved it when I was your age. [Yes, I used the "when I was your age" line. So?]

EM: OMG!!!!!!!

Me: OMG? Why? Don't you like school?

EM: Course not. It's not fun sitting in a chair for 7 hours.

Me: You must do more than that!

EM: Umm, not really.

Me: But you're right. If you just sit there for too long it can be hard to concentrate.

EM: Oh yah it is :)

The conversation continues from there, but I can't help but feel for poor EM! Of course, it's important for her to be able to concentrate for extended periods of time, but her perception that school (and, potentially, learning) is just about "sitting in a chair for 7 hours" is truly heartbreaking. These young students who don't value formal education (a formal education, consequently, that they see as not valuing them) may be the disengaged and disempowered adults of the future.

Speaking of which, a Facebook friend of mine (an adult in college) posted the following update today: "Back to school?" The replies from her (adult) friends were consistent: "ick" and "no thank you" were two highlights.

Let's think about that as we engage with students of all ages - as teachers, friends, parents, and caring adults. And as lifelong learners!