Digital World

I was away from my computer for a couple of days and when I returned, there was, among numerous emails, one from a young "friend", obviously on the Face Book game of Truth (or whatever it's called): Is Molly retarded? I do not go to Face Book very often, but I was intrigued and I followed the link and the thread. I am old and beloved by hundreds, maybe thousands of kids I have known. Of course they know I am not 'retarded', but they want to play this on line game with me. And The Queen is NOT amused.
I looked at the loop of questions asked in this game. They are not extremely hurtful, but I think that if a vulnerable young teen was judged by them it could be devastating! (Does X eat boogers? Is Y hot? etc.) They are being judged by their peers.
What are we thinking to let our children do this? So close to bullying, so far from kindness and generosity and responsible behavior.
Read the front page story in the New York Times about sexting. This is just a small step away from the Face Book truth game. The kids mean to be anonymous but they do not know that everything on line comes back to bite them forever.
Of course, I wrote on Face Book my thoughts about this disgusting and hateful 'game'. Got many comments, many of them clueless and wanting to tell me that they do not think I am retarded! They don't get the point. Others got it.
What a strange world I have found myself in!
Meanwhile, I am tracking a red shouldered hawk nest out back of my studio. The parents come and go, screaming at each other. Below that there are containers of tender lettuces and some flowers that in a few day will be a wild riot of color. The oaks overhead are mostly shed of their evil catkins that cause us to sneeze.
The antidote to the digital world is this place where tender greens of leaves and vegetables grow immensely by the day. I see that the fireflies are starting to light up the palmettos.
And also there are the several kids at the Boys and Girls Club who begged me to come in tomorrow to teach an extra algebra class. Who could have predicted they would have this hunger to learn some math? Even the ones who are so behind on math skills always appear. I give them problems they can solve with calculators, and I think they are getting something. The advanced ones come early,hunker down and check their answers with each other. I rejoice in this. It is supposed to be like this! These huge kids, who initially terrified me, come and come back again because they have found an interesting thing to do (and a crazy old lady who is willing to teach them)
The algebra kids know what to do! The others, who are still hanging in there, know that I will help them from wherever they are. This is so different from the Face Book truth game. These kids, from ages 10 to 14, come from different schools, they are different colors and ethnicities. They know that I will never ask anything embarrassing. They know I will always be there as promised.
And who am I? This is what I really love : these kids do not thank me, and they are not especially polite. But I see by the light in their eyes and their eagerness to come to do math that I am effective in their lives, and maybe can make a difference. For this I am not rewarded with certificates and plaques. And this is the best!
Hard to think about the disconnect between real life and the digital world of teenagers.