The Chitter Chatter of College Teens

Have you ever had the pleasure of sitting in a classroom with 40 teenagers? It’s quite an experience.

My husband is a student at a local community college. Most of the students in his night classes are other thirty- and forty-year-olds. They are usually pretty quiet. They all understand the importance of being respectful to their teacher. They also do not have a BFF in class who they can giggle with or discuss last Friday’s drunken party. Or maybe they are just too tired because it’s way past their old person’s bedtime (at least that’s what my kids keep telling me).

I, however, am a student at a state university. There are very few non-traditional students at my school. My classes are filled with plenty of young people from 18- to 21-years-olds. The beginning of the class is always a big roar of chatter as the youngin’s catch up after the weekend. It’s enough to give an old lady like me a headache.

Then the teacher starts to speak and the commotion dies down. But it’s only temporary.

After roll call is taken the teacher usually has some more preparation to do; trying to find his Powerpoint presentation on the computer, looking for his notes, pulling up his socks or whatever. Within seconds the teenagers seize on to that opportunity to continue their previous conversations. Like a sports car zooming off from a stop sign, the room goes from silent to rock concert in 1.2 seconds.

How do teens have so much to talk about?