Patience at Jury Duty

As I was sitting at Jury Duty and completely bored, I noticed that people were doing a variety of things! Some brought their laptops, cell phones, books, magazines, newspapers, notes, paper, and pens. It was a group that did not know each other and had never met before. We all had one thing in common…to be here for Jury Duty.

How much technology was used this day was at a low obviously because of where we were and not knowing exactly what to bring with us. However, people were busy reading, reading, and reading. It was basically a quiet day with everyone involved in whatever they had brought with them to read. There were three televisions on so some of the people watched the latest game shows.

Technology today was TV, cell phones, and laptops used to communicate information to people. I only say one person with a ipod.

As I sat and watched people, I thought of the younger generation of students that are growing up and wondering if they have been learning patience. Can they sit, watch, and just notice the world around them without text messaging, cell phones going constantly, and ipods running? Are they able to read newspapers and books for hours at a time and amuse themselves without a lot of technology? Are they able to communicate in-person and make new friends or acquaintances at a strange place like this?

There is a skill to communicating in-person and we need, as educators and parents, to teach our students the importance of communication in social gatherings. Interpersonal skills are valuable and need to be practiced. It is also interesting that now I must clarify communication as “in-person” versus virtual, cell phones, emails, skype, and through social networks. Not only do our students and children need to know how to communicate safely in social networks but they also need to learn to communicate with their peers and adults.

As humans we still need real-time communication!