Regular updates and musings on curriculum and technology in the Salisbury Township School District in Allentown, PA.
The “Millennials” Are Coming
Hmmm....this should get some good conversation going…
The “Millennials” Are Coming, a segment from 60 Minutes this past November reports on the generation currently entering the workforce.
My questions: Hasn’t every generation criticized those before and after them? Is that all this is? Or is the “older” generation not willing to shift their paradigm of work? Does the “younger” generation need to shift their paradigm? Has the concept of “work” changed from one generation to another?
Thanks to Jen Brinson for sharing this video!
Randy
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Comments
I can certainly relate to this video. The generation in question has a great deal to learn, and we need to guide them. I can only imagine how our teaching force will suffer when the Millennials attempt to enter the educational field where the focus is NOT on them....
I echo Cheryl’s comment. Her thoughts were mine when I first viewed this video, and subsequent revisits haven’t changed that concern. Slippage happens from generation to generation, and something is lost in the transition. You need only to read the ancients to realize that what we are watching now occurs throughout millennia. Each significant historical period has a “greatest generation” mindset. I doubt that will ever change. Do I see a difference in students? teachers? student teachers? Of course, and sometimes that difference profoundly worries me.
I think it comes down to perceptions of work ethics and selflessness. This generation does have much to learn, and no matter how we deliver the technology-infused content, the message has not changed throughout the ages. The question is will the millennials rise to the future’s challenges. My vote says yes.
This topic echoes a conversation that I had with family over Thanksgiving. The conversation topic began by discussing children receiving trophies for participation in a sport. The conversation quickly turned to a dialogue about the differences between the generations. I have difficulty understanding the productivity of a generation with decreased expectations and work ethic. I am concerned about a generation of workers that refuses to settle for a “(job)” What research has been done on the productivity of environments such as Zappos in the video? What slice of reality are we preparing students for? What was wrong with the way we grew up? When your mother scolded you when you got a bad grade, when you only got a trophy when you won something? I think we (as a culture) are doing a disservice to children if we expect less from them.