03-23-2013, 03:14 PM
Ombligo wrote:
I was curious and had a slow day in my IB class (International Baccalaureate Class) today. These students are among the brightest and the program emphasizes both creative thinking and not taking anything at face value.
So with about 20 minutes left in class, I read the column to them and asked for feedback.
To my surprise they essentially said it was right. They did fault some of it, but all said it was generally correct and was a fair assessment of their generation.
I'm still not sure whether to be proud or dismayed by that response.
I know what you mean. Hal is simply wrong in his assessment of me. I deal with this generation on a daily basis, and while there are some elements of truth in the column I posted, I also see a lot of promise in the current generation, and am not embittered as Hal claims. (Though I will say that any teacher/instructor who is 100% convinced at all times that they are in the right vocation, isn't doing their job... there is a reason why teachers have a greater than 50% attrition rate after five years.)
Rather, I see this issue as something they need to overcome. It's precisely that I'm thinking about these things, and seeing what the issues are, that makes me in touch with their generation. Like Ombligo, I've actually asked some of them about these issues, and the surprising thing is that they agree that it is a problem with their generation and needs to be addressed. One of them even said to me that, in her opinion, social media will be the death of their generation.