Change of the times

I have spent my spring break enjoying my break. I have stayed busy, but have truly enjoyed the week for the most part. I spent a few days doing a job, a job that required me to do the same thing over and over again for hours. I would quit around noon for lunch then late afternoon for dinner, but otherwise I continued to do my job. This job, to me, is a wonderful job that I truly do enjoy. I worked eight to ten hours straight and while doing this job I realized a few things, a few things that showed a change of the times. This job I was doing, this job that I truly enjoy doing, is a job that my father does even better than I do. My father is the man that taught me to do this job and he was/is a great teacher, he is patience, calm, and yet demanding of the situation. Maybe this is where I got a few of my teaching traits. But back to the point, my father can do this job longer and better than I can. I can do this job for hours without quitting and do a good job at it. Now, the main idea is this change of the times I want to talk about. With all the instant feedback and instant gratification that society is tuned into I do not see how children can focus on doing one job for days, let alone hours without quitting or getting bored. I feel the teenagers and young adults are missing out on a vital part of life. The idea of starting a project that is not finish before dinner, but that takes multiple days to complete or months to complete and yet sustaining the drive to stay focused and committed to the project. America's youth are missing this idea and they are suffering because of it. "Oh, homework is too hard." I hear students say this often, and yet they have only spend 20 minutes or less on it. I remember in middle school as well as high school staying up well into the night to finish my homework. I studied for hours. I am not out of date, as high school is a mere five years pass now. What happened to working on a math assignment for hours or working on an English paper for days? The idea of 10 minutes of homework per grade level, so a 7th grade student should have an average of 70 minutes of homework a night, some nights more some nights less. Students of today are okay with doing little homework at home and then complaining at school when they do not have their homework done. Do students know how to ask questions or find out information? Students have more resources today than ever before. Students do not seem to understand that in a math class they have their book available to them for examples as well as, their siblings, their parents, the internet, and their teacher via email or phone. I hope that students learn how to stay committed to a project before they leave high school. College is much harder than high school and not learning a concept or not doing homework results in failing classes. The real world is about being able to do multiple tasks for long periods of time without losing focus. I hope the youth of today can figure out that this is an important concept to learn before they are ready for the real world.