The wanderers

My classroom has a good view of a "quad"-type area, where students gather and walk between classes. I can often see students walking around the campus during classes, too, and there are a group of students that are often wandering around the campus during classes. I've had a few of them in my room and have noticed how they operate: they come in, take a long time to get "settled" in their seats, then remember they have to talk to their counselor/go to the restroom/get a band-aid/etc. They'll get distracted by this simple errand and the whole affair ends up taking 20 minutes or more.

As unproductive as they are, I really want these kids to graduate high school, go to college, and eventually take up their destined places as future Bill Lumbergh-type middle managers, wandering around all day long and doing nothing. It's really amazing how these children have that same attitude of importance that a manager has, even down to how they gather at the soda machines and reflectively sip their Powerade. Hey, why should they go to college for that? Why should learning and grades come between them and their destiny?