Barb,
It's got to be so frustrating when a student is texting, etc. while you're trying to do your job. The great thing about university teaching is that it's all up to the student...you can call her on it, but those types of students seem to be lost...disconnected from what they should be attentive to.

It's so sad...too many distractions for these young people. You, as a professor, can only do so much...then it's up to the student to apply his or herself, or fail.

I pray that you can reach her somehow. But I wouldn't put my hopes on it...so many kids aren't ready for college life until they're in their mid to late 20s.

Sometimes I think that public service for a few years is a way to get these young people to mature. They do, as Gail Sheehy states in her updated book "Passages", mature much later...most into their 30s.

Again, good luck, Barb. I guess talking to her after class might help, but she'll probably roll her eyes and smile...then go on her merry, texting way