"When I was a kid, I never would have been able to get away with that!"
"When I was in school, if I got paddled at school, I'd get the same when I got home!"
"When I went to school, we learned important stuff, not the stuff kids learn today!"
"Kids today don't know anything!"
Any of the above sound familiar?
I am running a risk, but as an educator my view of kids today may run contrary to many of my generation or those slightly older than I. My take is quite simple: Kids today are so much smarter than we ever were . . .we don't like to hear that, I know, but I must stress a key point: They are much smarter in different ways, ones that are important to their world, not the world we planted roots. Now let me add a second part to that statement: Kids today are not overly focused on what "we" think they should be, therefore creating the mentality that kids are not like us . . . and in that I find considerable validity.
Three obvious examples help make my point:
*Penmanship--the teaching of cursive writing is fading. With the exception of our signatures, we seldom cursively write today, so why should we spend time teaching it? It is a dying art.
*Simple Math--who among us does not rely upon calculators and phone apps to do our math for us? I, too, still like to mentally calculate, but I rely upon the calculator to verify my figures. Kids' addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills do not carry the importance that they did when we were students. Yes, practical application of those skills (such as understanding how to read a ruler/tape measure) are so crucial in certain lines of work, but times have changed--we rely on technology to do our work for us.
*Map Reading--we rely upon GPS systems, whether they be Garmins or Googles--we hit a button, and, good lord, the GPS even talks to us. What happens if it doesn't work? Of all the times I am on the road, it is a rare occasion when it doesn't; if it does fail, I resort to the old way: I stop at a gas station and ask directions!
My claim is quite obvious: Kids do not need the same intelligence that we did in our era. Simply stated, they are wired differently. However, we love to compare the way we were raised with the way kids are raised today, and we continually conclude that our intelligence supersedes theirs . . . I do not agree. To continue my argument, allow me to focus on the educational system then and now.
*In my day, teachers and students truly were not overly accountable--teachers were not monitored and evaluated dependent upon how their kids did on standardized tests. Yesteryear's teachers did their jobs as they were trained, but they did not have the pressures of meeting state and national standards; likewise, they did not have the added burden of comparison with neighboring schools or other schools within the state. Schools did their educating and went on their merry way. I look back at my education, and even though I was quite pleased with most of my teachers, I still recall the lackadaisical attitude that was allowed to flourish: a teacher making an assignment and retreating to the coaches' room to smoke a pipe, the repeated study halls because a teacher did not want to teach that day, the distribution of worksheets and instructions to complete them . . .I could go on, but my point should be clear: what we remember as being quality education would clearly lead to many of yesteryear's teachers being fired today--again, today, teachers' accountability is paramount. If a teacher does not consistently produce, then that teacher had better re-evaluate and double down on teaching strategies because the end could be approaching.
*Does anyone really remember how important the ACT test was when we went to school? My recollection is that I showed up at New Philadelphia High School on a Saturday morning, took a test, went home, ultimately got my scores, and didn't really care too much about how I had scored. Truthfully, I do not recall a teacher even stressing anything about the test; today, the ACT is a major determiner of college acceptance and financial qualifying. Therefore, students take and retake the test with the hope of scoring higher each time. Classes are devoted to assisting those students, tutors are hired to prep kids in weak areas, and teachers study the test so they can help their students in learning what is on the test. Back in the day, so little attention was devoted to those tests--today's parents expect their kids to score well; when the students fail to do so, it is not unusual for the fingerpointing game to begin: They must not have been taught well. Again, accountability becomes the central issue.
More examples could be made, but I would hope my point has been made: Teachers' accountability is vastly different than it was in my era as a student and as a young teacher.
Another point that must be made involves parenting. Yes, in the day, perhaps our parents were more intimidating and demanding, and I am fairly confident in saying that the onus for learning was on the kid, not the school. Today's world is a bit different simply because today's parents are in many cases extremely vigilant about their kids' education. That has pluses and minuses, but that overseeing does create other issues, most notably kids often relying on their parents stepping to the plate and defending them. One offshoot of that oversight is grade inflation; as stated in my initial blog a few weeks ago, students' main objective is to get "good" grades. My generation likes to think we "were all about learning." Revealing my weakness, I don't remember that--I just wanted a high grade so my parents would stay off my hind end! I don't think that much has changed from the students' perspectives: "Give me a good grade, so my parents are happy." In truth, I do not remember parents rushing to their kids' defense if a grade was not what they desired; today, that often is the first reaction.
My second point is this: Teachers today are under pressure for kids to get "good" grades; as a result, grading scales have been relaxed to ensure that more kids get an "A" (or at least a higher grade) so those students can have a "more positive feeling about themselves," as I have heard many a parent express. I will say this: More kids are getting higher grades than they deserve . . . changing times. As stated, pluses and minuses are part of that, but my experience tells me that parents are much more protective of their kids in today's world. If the kids are getting the grades the parents desire, then all is well with the world. Grade inflation? I guarantee that most parents will say it might happen, "but it hasn't happened with my child." OK, as we like to say today, whatever. We often wonder why children are defensive about so many issues they confront; perhaps it has something to do with the way we are raising them. Let me make this point: One reason the ACT has such added importance is because the same (or similar) test is being taken by all--yes, I understand that test anxiety, time limitation, and so on do play roles. As a result of the test's commonality, though, scores can be legitimately compared, much more convincingly than a student's GPA, which varies from school to school and can be unfairly influenced by lax grading scales and the dreaded "extra credit." In many cases, a kid's ACT score may be a better indicator of the student's skills than his or her GPA. My point: Perhaps we place way too much emphasis on grades than we do actual learning.
Another observation I have made is that somewhere, somehow, sometime, we became convinced that we were stellar, high-achieving, dedicated students during our time. My response is quite simple: How did that happen? If I recall correctly, many of my peers and I did not "set the world on fire" when it came to academic excellence--solid students, yes, but certainly not the highest of achievers. Dedicated? Soul-search for a moment--were we really? I know the boy writing this wasn't. Just as our memory often clouds our past athletic glory, we sometimes misrepresent our own academic strengths. Translated, many of us, including me, were not the students then that we might want to remember ourselves as being.
Now, in regard to one other point: Kids are not overly focused on what we think they should be. I expect kids to be avid readers and skilled writers--most are not. I expect kids to be more productive than just sitting and playing video games--most are not. I expect kids to take their headsets off and verbally communicate--many do not. I expect kids to dress properly and treat others respectfully--many do not. I expect kids to have a strong work ethic--few do. So, let's agree that back in the day our parents might have stepped in and made kids be more compatible with the parents' expectations. Today we are much more lenient with kids because we allow them to "be themselves." Our parents in the day could have cared less about that; for the most part, they wanted us to be like them, so they sometimes demanded, smacked, paddled us into submission. In 2014, parents' control is a bit more limited; translated, many kids get away with a whole bunch more disrespect than "we" would have ever tolerated . . .but please look at our society. Isn't that simply the way it has evolved? Society has forced us to adapt with it whether we want to or not! An additional insight: Review my points in this paragraph--each of the aforementioned is related to how these kids are raised. Pointing our fingers at the schools for not developing the mindset we desire is a cop-out; schools re-enforce, but the character issues are all on the home environment.
As I pull all this together, here is my perspective:
*Kids know more than "we" did;
*"We" like to hang on to the idea that "we" were raised better; instead, I think "we" were raised differently, in a society that was less protective, less promiscuous, and less tolerant;
*"We" might not have been quite as academically dedicated in high school as "we" might like to remember!
*"We" oftentimes judge kids unfairly, but oftentimes it is quite deserved;
*"We" frequently hang on to our convictions because "we" fear what is becoming of this world!
Borrowing a songline from Bye, Bye Birdie, "What's the matter with these kids these days?". . . the kids are different in certain ways, but the real point is it's a different world!
