If you were a teacher, what would your response be to a student who said they had no motivation to succeed because the world is going to end in 2012, before they even graduate high school?
by 
Miss Awesome
ANSWERS: 23
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I would set a day aside to discuss Y2K and explain it.
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I am a teacher. I would ask him how he KNEW this. Of course, he would recite the prophecies. I would say that most intelligent people did not believe this--that perhaps he ought to get a little more knowledge in order to make an informed opinion and not be such a blind follower. Then, I'd tell him that was a nice try. Now get back to work. (please note that I use "he" in the general sense. It could also be a she.
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I would explain that when we were young, during the Cold War, the Doomsday Clock hit less than a minute to midnight and many of OUR generation were absolutely convinced a nuclear war was imminent. In the Middle Ages, in Ancient Times, one belief system or another has always held people hostage believing it was the end of the world. Prophesies have come and gone. Thinking the world is going to end soon is nothing new under the sun. But we're all still here. And even if it ends soon, living as if it will is no life at all.
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I would be a teacher to do my job and do it well. It is not my responsiblity to try to change the mind of anyone, just educate. If they have no motivation, they should just jump off the nearest bridge and not take up valuable space, water, air and food.
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"You know what? You're right! Screw it all! I quit!" and then walk out and never return. ;)
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i would say to them, and im completely honest, as mean as it sounds. "if you don't have the motivation to succeed, you might as well die right now since we are all going to die anyways". yes i know that sounds awful, but thats what i would say. its like someone saying, i don't need to work or buy a house, im gonna die in maybe another 60 or 70 years, its pointless.
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Respond: "and what happens if the world does not end in 2012? Then what? You live your life as a hobo? Remember they also said the world would end in 2000 and it didnt, so they can be wrong about this date as well."
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I would tell him/her about some of the previous times the world was supposed to end, (like the generation after Israel became independent, which some considered 40 years as a generation, hence Christ's return was thought to possibly be 1989 ... then the Y2K was a possible end ... and now 2012). Then I would just tell your students that people have been predicting the end since the beginning, and not to take a chance. We should always plan as if we're going to be here, then if we're not, it's no big deal.
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I would start really rolling and laughing at him or her? Ask him: "Since you know the world is going to end in 2012, could you tell me how and when so I could start packing. :)
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enjoy being homeless for the next four years, and thanks for reducing the competition for jobs. actually i would spend sometime comparing it to some other doomsday scenarios. the hale bopp comet suicides are a good example. i think most doomsday hobbyists are just board to tears with their own lives.
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Tell them to do a little research and they'll find man has been predicting ''Doomsday'' for as long as man has been predicting yo...:)
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Well, don't you want to go out with a bang?! (no pun intended)
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I would tell Him/Her to keep studying for as long as he/she can. keep enjoying the sunlight and more drops of rain. Some of us get lost in our daily activities and forget to enjoy the Nature.
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I'd ask them why aren't they at home then?!
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Wow... that would make me wish corporal punishment were politically correct, 'cause I'd be holding back the urge to slap 'em upside the haid.
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There is no reason for them to eat, then.
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they might as well drop out now. because they obviously dont know how to research and find out that 2012 is a spiritual ending, not a physical one. and they mihgt as well learn to clean...
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I'd tell them if they could offer definitive proof then they would receive an A in your class. Watch them learn how to study then! That, or let them know how happy you are that you can start giving slapping students and will only have to deal with society for 3 years before no one is around to care any more.
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You can try discussing how this is the third or fourth time in the last sixteen years that that prediction has been made. You can talk to him or her about how the media feeds on that type of hysteria for ratings. You can then talk about all of the falsehoods of our media and how you really can't sell a damned thing unless you lie about it at least a little bit. Good luck.
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...are those your legs teach =D?
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What if you're wrong?
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I think I'd probably start by telling him I was going to call home and see if his parents felt the same way. If they did, I talk to the counselor next.
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It would depend on whether that student was serious. I do know at least one person who truly believes that the world will end in 2012, and I know I would get into a great deal of trouble for calling my student's spritual beliefs stupid. Assuming he is serious, I would remind him that until then, he is stuck in school anyway, and that it will be that much more pleasant for him if he simply gets his work done and moves on than it would be if I'm constantly on the phone with his parents and sending him to the principal's office. If he's clearly being sarcastic, I'd ask him if he really wanted to spend the last three years of his life in my class.
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