I hate to say misery loves company... but... What you and are are
experiencing seems to point out what John D, and others, are saying: we
are reaping the
fruit, even with physics majors, of a decline in general education system.
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I'm really not so sure about the above. I would re-emphasize my post. We
are seeing a cultural change that is taking more and more TIME away from
student's academic work. We should not be surprised by this since we are
immersed in the same culture. How much time do each of us spend each day
reading these messages, and then responding? How much time did we spend
doing this 10-15 years ago? Is there anyone out there that really has found
that technology has decreased their work load--decreased the time necessary
to prepare classes? I suspect that some of the student attitudes we are
seeing are defense mechanisms to lower the stress level caused by their own
poor time management skills.