what are any of us doing

They can’t fucking think for themselves (or rather, they’re losing the ability). This is not “ooooh technology scary” -- this is a fundamental, they can't fucking answer questions when I ask them to their faces. I fucking HATE when my colleagues roll their eyes and say, "Well, this is how we felt about phones! Just accept it!" First of all, it's different. And TWO! We're FUCKING FIGHTING PHONES every day! We've literally banned all cell phone use during class in my district because letting kids use their phones and not fighting their use in class FUCKED US OVER, and now we have to FIX IT.

I asked my students if it's nice/helpful/good/acceptable/normal to help someone else lift something really heavy they were struggling with. Of course they agree! Then I asked them if it would still be (or explain to them that it isn't) nice/helpful/good/acceptable/normal to help someone lift heavy weights if they are working out at the gym. The answer is no! Because the POINT is that it's hard to do alone! That's why it makes you stronger! (Plus it gives the kids a very funny and therefore memorable visual for the concept. You can play into it and have a laugh with the kids at how weird someone would be if they did that!)

I often used "Don't lift their weights!" as a shorthand when a student was trying to give another kid the right answer.