Do Children Listen Nowadays?

Really... after teaching in a primary school for 6 months, at times I wonder to myself whether children really listen nowadays. Or maybe this is just happening to a general minority of schools. Most of the time, it appears that children are in their own world... just wanting to do what they want to do, without heeding what others say is important. They are in constant need for 'entertainment' by humans, objects or multimedia. What happened to the good old days when children are given a box of Lego bricks & they can spend like hours being creative in making something out of it? Or just watching a decent cartoon show without bringing the noise up?

I admit that times have changed, but are we making this change better or worse, noting its current state? Has anyone ever wondered how these children will grow up after they leave school? Or whether they are even able to pass out from school?

I was recently told of 2 jokes which apparently saddened me:

1) Teachers are afraid of Principal; Principal is afraid of Parents; Parents are afraid of Children. So who are Children afraid of? It seems that what is left is - the Police.

2) Someone described schools nowadays as becoming like a Community Centre... more focused on running activities than actual down-to-earth solid classroom teaching. I mean, they try to call us 'educators' instead of 'teachers' nowadays, but the hard truth is that both are important, yet can't be torn apart.

Oh well...