Millennials in the Classroom

I’ve read Jean Twenge’s book Generation Me three times and cited it in three different research studies. Twenge, a sociologist who garnered major media attention with a large-scale study of Generation Y, paints a disparaging picture of today’s youth whom she describes as entitled, narcissistic, sexually indiscreet, and lazy. Her work has become the gospel regarding the characteristics of a generation that is far removed from its predecessors. She also won favor in the academic community which cites her work repeatedly in studies for education, business, and psychology. Twenge is not the sole expert on Gen Y. Strauss and Howe conducted a study years prior that prophesied that Millennials would be the promise of a new, enlightened society. They emphasized a positive, team-oriented, entrepreneurial version of Gen Y that inspired the dot-com boom and produced young billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg. Unfortunately, Strauss and Howe don’t receive as much press time for their observations.

How popular has Twenge’s study become? Whenever college students perform below our expectations, the general response is “that’s Generation Me for you.” I think this perspective is a little narrow and disconcerting. Is an entire generation worthless? Are they academically and socially damned from birth?

I never intentionally set out to focus on Generation Y in my research. I’m a communication nerd by occupation and a sociology nerd by nature. I have 15 nieces and nephews, 2 stepchildren, and hundreds of students. I have observed Gen Y officially and unofficially and have come to a few conclusions about Millennials in college:

It’s too early to make a determination. I’m a Gen-Xer and so are many of their professors. Remember, fellow Gen X-ers, what the media and our elders said about us? We were the apathetic, lost generation that would amount to nothing, bring down society, and need years of therapy to overcome our latch-key kid neurosis. As Gen X enters their forties, I would like to think we’ve proven everyone wrong.

There’s nothing like a recession and mass unemployment to dampen an entitled spirit. The elder statesmen of Gen Y are entering their mid- to late-twenties. They can’t find employment. In fact, they are having the hardest time finding employment. They are defaulting on student loans at an alarming rate. They are moving back into their parents’ homes. They have been affected by a post-9/11 world. It should be interesting to revisit Gen Y in ten years and see if they have changed.

There are more outliers than we acknowledge. Few Millennials exhibit all the negative characteristics all the time. For example, I have mentioned that I have two stepchildren. One is Gen Y all the way down to the core. The other child is completely the opposite. I personally hated being judged by my peers. Just because my peers are irresponsible doesn’t mean I will skip out on my responsibilities as well. Blanketing a group of people for perceived idiosyncrasies is dangerous. It is the root of discrimination. It should not be the practice of scholars.

We are seeing the consequences of No Child Left Behind. The first group of students who were elementary students when No Child Left Behind took effect is enrolling in our colleges. Want to verify this assertion? Tell your students that you are not giving them a multiple-choice test or a detailed study guide. Watch them squirm and complain. They don’t know how to think critically or write a research paper. It’s not their fault. No one ever taught them how. For the record, I am not blaming teachers. They are doing what they are told to do by the state and federal governments.  Teachers have bosses too. Recently, a school district in Georgia provided false information about their school’s progress. This is not an isolated incident. When this behavior becomes the norm, our students suffer. Then, they come to college expecting the same treatment. Many flunk out or leave. They’ve been sold a bill of goods by taking college-prep courses that never lead to actual college preparation.

We are seeing the consequences of the consumer culture. If it involves a monetary transaction, it can be bought. If one buys a service, the customer is always right. Students are looking for a return on their investment. They pay us and expect us to give them the grade of their choice. Their parents bought houses they couldn’t afford, bought trinkets with credit cards, and bought goods with no deposit down. Many students have never observed delayed gratification or earned their way. If I had a dollar for every time an adult (my fellow Gen X-ers, always) tell me that giving my teenage stepchildren chores was cruel and selfish, I could pay for some lucky student to go to college. College is seen as nothing more than a transaction.

Generation X is partially to blame. I have a theory that helicopter parents (those parents who never let their child do anything on their own) were latch-key kids. In an effort to be better than our own hard-working Baby Boomer parents, we became permissive and smothering. We have created the American Idol syndrome. Children honestly believe they possess certain abilities that they really don’t have.

No, dear, you are not Mariah; you are tone deaf. No, dear, you will not be President; you are not disciplined enough to clean your room. But, you are good in this area.

We give merit badges for everything. Nothing is earned. Stop telling your child he or she is going to be a doctor when you are always doing their science homework for them.

By the way, showing up for class and turning in the minimum requirements does not earn you a merit badge or an A. You will earn a D, and that’s only if I decide to be lenient.

College is becoming a norm. I asked my students one semester why they chose to come to college. Overwhelmingly, they answered “because you’re supposed to.” They have been told the lie that a college education automatically guarantees a good-paying career. So, next time a college graduate refuses to work for slightly above minimum wage, they are not acting entitled. They are collecting what is due them.

They differ than their professors on matters related to creative works. I conducted a study on Gen Y and music piracy. I had two conclusions: they don’t understand what intellectual property is nor do they consider creative works something that should be bought and sold. Remember this next time you bust a student for plagiarism. Let me be clear. I do not, under any circumstance, tolerate copyright infringement or academic dishonesty in my classes, period. But next time you surf the web looking for a MySpace layout, realize that the freely shared layout was most likely created by a Millennial. To them, piracy is not a sin. Not sharing your work freely for the world to use is a sin.

Each generation denigrates the generation that follows. No one will ever be as smart, intuitive, socially responsible, and hard-working as we are. Next time you shake your head and proclaim that you don’t understand kids nowadays ask your parents to recall key moments in your childhood. And stop sounding so, well, narcissistic.