Generation iY

Archive - Generation iY RSS Feed

Monday, May 17, 2010

A Superficial World

Below is word number four in my series of six words that describe the world in which our kids are growing up. I am hopeful we, adults, can lead them well, but there’ll be changes we must make to prepare them to enter the world of adults. Below is my latest entry. See what you think…

Their world is superficial.
Kids today have access to a lot of information, and they can get it at the touch of a finger. However, they are rarely encouraged — and often lack the interest — to delve deeply into a subject or go below the surface. They’re often fuzzy, not focused.

Our organization, “Growing Leaders,” teaches what we call Habitudes® to students. Habitudes® are images that form leadership habits and attitudes. One of them is: “Rivers and Floods.” For the most part, this generation is a flood, not a river, seeping out in every direction but not going far in any one direction. They are flooding, not flowing; just skimming the surface.

Their reading skills are low in fact; only half of the high school graduates met the benchmark for reading. In general, their study time is low as well. According to a U.S. Department of Education study, when asked how many hours they’d spent on homework the day before, about 40 percent of students said they had no homework or they didn’t do the homework that had been assigned.

According to WordSmart, Inc., the vocabulary of a middle school student has dropped measurably over the last sixty years. The average middle school student in 1950 possessed a vocabulary of twenty-five hundred words. Today, with more English words available than ever, they possess ten thousand words.

One author suggested today’s students are made of Teflon — nothing seems to stick. One of our focus groups unveiled that their attention spans are about the same as their age — sixteen-years-old, sixteen minutes. And when they’re bored, they quit. Nationwide, about 30 percent don’t even finish high school.

One college dean told me that a student asked if he could “try out” being a resident advisor in the dormitory. When the dean responded that the commitment was for one year, the student asked if he could try it for two weeks. This is the question that prompts adults to wonder: Are these kids going to change the world or just keep changing their mind?

This is a critical issue. What are your thoughts? What can be done?

Tim

In: Culture, Generation iY, Parenting

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Shooting for the Right Goals

Keeping students satisfied is not the same as helping them succeed
Written by: Jerry Pattengale

As I swished my long jump shot, the packed gym roared. Suddenly I was very alone. They were the wrong fans, and that was the wrong basket.

There was nowhere to hide.

In the celebrated Indiana state basketball tournament, I had earned legendary status in an instant, for all the wrong reasons. My team lost. I retired as a freshman.

Throughout my Buck Creek youth, I pretended to hit the winning shot — to reenact Rick Mount’s corner fade-away, buzzer-beater against Marquette. To dribble like Billy Keller, glide like Oscar Robinson, spin like Pistol Pete.

I hit the long jumper at the buzzer. I basked in the applause. For a few euphoric moments, I lived a dream.

For a lifetime, I’ve relived the nightmare.

With a few seconds left, the coach inserted two new players.

They immediately ran to the wrong basket and yelled, “We’re open!”

As the shooting guard, I shot. The only consolation, in retrospect, is that there was no three-point line.

The throbbing noise of laughing, foreign fans somehow became muted. An out-of-body experience ensued.

I wanted to pull my knee-high gold-striped tube socks over my shaggy head and disappear. All three of us — the majority of our team — had run to the wrong end. I had taken the shot.

I spent a decade on the court that day. It seemed never ending.

The consolation game was miserable. Throwing up was always an option.

Every defensive rebound brought chants of “Shoot!”

It’s a disheartening feeling to discover you’ve shot at the wrong goal.

While speaking at various national educational conferences, I discovered many well-meaning educators running in the wrong direction.

Unlike my rogue jump shot, their efforts are not all for naught — but with consequences.

In an effort to help students succeed — to graduate — many college programs are not focused on motivating students, but on moving them through the system.

I surveyed educators from over 400 institutions and discovered their programs focused on addressing student dissatisfaction. Many colleges survey students and determine what is most important to them, and in what areas they’re most satisfied or dissatisfied.

The co-developer of one of these surveys, the Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI), was co-editor of my recent text — Visible Solutions for Invisible Students.

It’s helpful and necessary to have a pulse on student perceptions. The SSI’s theory seems logical: Determine what students deem as most important, ascertain which of those areas are the most dissatisfying, and then address those areas in an effort to retain students.

In other words, goes the theory, happy customers are more likely to stay — to graduate.

This approach may be helpful in determining student perceptions, but it’s inherently flawed in helping educators to help students succeed.

I’ve postulated in other writings that colleges have established an office of “Student Non-Dissatisfaction” instead of “Student Success.”

Fredrick Herzberg’s research shows that removing dissatisfaction does not mean that one is satisfied and that areas of dissatisfaction have little to do with true motivation.

The movie Stand and Deliver aptly illustrates true student success.

Jamie Escalante’s urban Hispanic students excelled amidst numerous dissatisfactions in an abysmal Los Angeles educational situation. They committed to a cause and were motivated to succeed. He addressed what educators call the student core.

He shot at the right basket while the majority of his colleagues screamed from the other end. Students are capable and deserving of learning noble causes and their underpinning values.

It’s usually easier to see the game from the bleachers, and it’s obvious when a bushy-haired high-socked shooter and his teammates are off course. But in the fast pace of the game, standing amidst the court’s rapid decisions, it can get confusing.

While having dinner at the Escalante’s Pasadena home, I was again reminded of his success at student success. Domino-like stacks of award plaques were in the garage and others in the living room corner. Few were mounted.

Jamie understood the applause. It wasn’t about him, but them, and pursuing the right goals.

While the majority of his colleagues yelled for him to get with the program, he stayed focused on a different goal — true student success and not student non-dissatisfaction.

In: Culture, Generation iY, Leadership

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Why Every Parent Needs to Know About BPA

I’ve been using a metaphor to describe what’s happening to kids today. It’s the story of Peter Pan and Neverland. Do you remember the story? Neverland was a place where kids refused to grow up. Our young people, however, may have a good excuse.

Since 2006, scientists have been discovering that many species of wildlife, from fish to mammals, are experiencing a hormone imbalance — they are being emasculated or feminized. In some species of fish, males are actually producing eggs instead of sperm. Researchers have learned that the leading cause of these disturbances is the presence of synthetic chemicals in their environment — and they’ve shown the same chemicals affect humans as well.

What are these chemicals? One popular one is Bisphenol A (BPA). It’s a controversial issue, but Canada and some European nations have banned it as harmful. Some refer to it as a “gender bender.” It’s found in chemicals from plastic bottles, baby bottles, canned food linings, and some shampoos. Under certain conditions, the chemical can migrate into food and water. It has been found in the bodies of over 90 percent of people. When ingested, it mimics natural estrogen, the female hormone, with disturbing effects on human development and behavior. As Dr. Sax reports, “Scientists have just begun to recognize the pernicious effects these chemicals have on the brain — particularly the brains of boys — in ways not previously imagined.”

For example, the soaring rates of ADHD among North American boys in the last twenty years may be linked to these chemicals. Nations like China and India, where bottled water is far less common, have a far lower incidence of ADHD. And childhood obesity, one our country’s most serious health problems, may be linked to endocrine disrupters as well. Dr Sax reports not only that “teenagers today (both girls and boys) are four times more likely to be obese and overweight compared to teens in the 1960s, and that environmental estrogens may contribute to this reality.

But the most disturbing effects of endocrine disruptors on young people have to do with sexual development — and they affect males and females differently. They are almost certainly a contributor in causing females to experience puberty earlier than they did thirty years ago. (In the 1970s, females went through puberty at thirteen or fourteen-years-old. Today, it’s nine to eleven.) These chemicals, however, seem to have the opposite effect on males.

According to Dr. Leonard Sax, “the overwhelming majority of modern chemicals that mimic the action of human sex hormones, curiously, mimic the action of only female hormones,” — which means they actually hinder sexual development in boys. Boys’ testosterone levels are half of what they were in their grandparents’ day. This may explain some of the gender confusion we see today, as well as the lack of motivation in young men. “In boys,” Dr. Sax explains, “testosterone fuels more than just sexual interest; it fuels the drive to achieve, to be the best, to compete. Successful, high-achieving boys have higher testosterone levels than boys who are content to come in last.”

What is most frightening is this: Scientists have discovered that exposure to environmental estrogens early in life tends to blunt or eliminates behavioral sex differences. Females become less feminine. Males become less masculine. Sexual identity becomes fuzzy and confused. And the resulting gender confusion helps explain why so many iY boys (and girls, too) seem confused about their identity. Minimally, the chemical imbalance seems to postpone their readiness for adult responsibility. Like Peter Pan, they opt for an extended stay in Neverland.

If you’re like me, you’re probably asking: What can I do? Here are a few suggestions:

1.    Check the labels of plastic bottles or plastic wrapped packages for BPA content.
2.    Talk this over with your child/student. Make them aware of what they consume.
3.    Help them discover their gifts, and develop a clear sense of purpose and identity.
4.    Provide appropriate responsibilities to help them mature into young adulthood.

Your thoughts?

Tim

In: Culture, Generation iY, Parenting

Monday, May 10, 2010

A Guaranteed World

I believe we’ll lead the next generation more effectively if we understand their world better. Below is blog post #3 on the six words I think summarize the world they live in today. Word number one was: Artificial. Word two was: Homogeneous. Word three is below. Let me know what you think, and what you believe we must do to lead them…

Their world is guaranteed.
Much of their time is spent in a protected, failure-proof environment in which they are never given the chance to lose. Many of today’s children and teens are never challenged to take a risk. Their entire lives have been full of safety devices, from safety seats to safety belts, and they have been discouraged from going anywhere alone. They also receive ribbons and trophies just for participating in activities; for many, they rarely have to earn anything.

Now, please understand. I am not advocating for parental neglect. Nor am I opposed to safety. I love my kids and want them to be safe. I care about the thousands of students I meet each year. But there’s a difference between common-sense measures and overprotection. Being perennially protected and provided for not only tends to foster a prolonged childhood; it also nurtures a sense of entitlement.

In a survey of corporate recruiters by the Wall Street Journal and Harris Interactive, students were told that there was an “E-word” that described them, then were asked to guess what that word was. The young people guessed a lot of words — excellent, entrepreneur, energetic, enterprising — but none of them guessed the right one: Entitled.

Where does this sense of entitlement come from? The National Institute on Media and the Family and the Minnesota PTA have even launched a statewide campaign encouraging parents and teachers to start saying “no” to young people more often. They are begging parents to read David Walsh’s book, No: Why Kids — of All Ages — Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It. The campaign blames DDD (Discipline Deficit Disorder) for this generation’s inflated expectations and feelings of entitlement.

Hmmm. I realize this isn’t true for every adolescent, but far too often it’s true. What do you think?

Tim

In: Culture, Generation iY, Parenting

Monday, May 3, 2010

A Homogeneous World

This is a second blog post in a series of six on how we must understand and diagnose the world of the emerging generation, if we’re going to lead them well. Below is a second word I’ve chosen to define one of the challenges they face that we’ll need to help resolve.

2. Their world is homogeneous. My research tells me kids spend too much time with peers, getting guidance from the unprepared. Teens typically spend over 50 percent of their day with peers and only 15 percent with adults, including parents. In fact, 30 percent of their day is spent without any adult supervision. As a result, many don’t learn how to interface with folks from a different generation. Life is like an isolated compartment of mostly peers.

This reality is more troublesome than you might imagine. This narrow world hinders kids’ ability to make their way in the adult world. Powerful forces in society distance many adolescents from adults, prompting kids to choose each other instead of grown-ups as role models. UNC professor, Dr. Mel Levine, asks, “How can you emerge as a productive adult when you’ve hardly ever cared to observe one very closely? How can you preview and prepare for grown-up life when you keep modeling yourself after other kids?”

Interaction outside of class between a student and his college instructor is at an all-time low. As Emory professor, Mark Bauerlein, puts it, “Young people have never been so intensely mindful of and present to one another, so enabled in adolescent contact. It… wraps them up in a generation cocoon reaching all the way into their bedrooms. The autonomy has a cost. The more they attend to themselves, the less they remember the past and envision the future.”

In essence, these students who used to seek out adults and read the classics are now seeking more time with peers and watching videos on the Internet. They are no longer interacting with Hemingway or Emerson, or seeking wisdom from Socrates, but from each other. Sadly, their peers are seldom ready to furnish them with a healthy worldview.

Your thoughts?

Tim

In: Culture, Generation iY, Leadership

Page 54 of 59« First...30 40 50 «52 535455 56 »...Last »