Yes, I think I did reach a few kids over the years, but, as I said, students have changed so much. So many of them are narcissistic and lacking in intellectual curiosity. Again, products of faulty upbringing by lazy, self-absorbed parents.
I was just astounded in my later years by the number of students that I encountered who thought that that they should get credit just for being in the seat and that they should never fail a test or a quiz as long as they "tried", especially since their definition of trying was showing up and putting pen to paper. The truly frightening aspect in all of this was that so many parents enabled this sort of behavior.
The most frustrating part of it all was having weak administrators who would not back me up. I am a person who truly despises being involved in conflicts, and I am very big on positive reinforcement and profuse praise when it it earned, but I was willing to stare down a student and hold him accountable when he cheated or did not do an assignment because I felt that it was part of my job to help build the kid's character. On more than one occasion, I was made to look like I just enjoyed "picking on" students. Basically, administrators wanted me to look the other way so that they would not have to deal with the whining of the kid or the parents. I truly felt morally compromised.