A few days ago I had the new and novel experience of lecturing to a large group of aerospace engineering undergraduates.
They turned up on time, came in quietly, took notes throughout the lecture. More unusually, they didn't heckle, interrupt, mutter that I was talking rubbish and the questions at the end were very few and presented as if they were almost ashamed to be asking questions.
Then without ceremony, they quietly filed out at the end. Not one of them turned the lecture notes into a paper aeroplane.
I'm sure in 6 years the successful ones will have turned into Engineers - but they're far too quiet and retiring at the moment
I blame the modern school system.
G