Generational Studies

So it's been too long since I've posted - but don't worry, my brain hasn't gone stale! So much is going on right now...where to start...

Well, I did talk a bit about Kolb's theory in my last post. It's a shame I didn't talk more about typology theory, like the always fun MBTI. Talking about it in class still hasn't helped me settle my J and P battle. That's okay. It was fun that Kiana and I demonstrated to the class some differences between her S and my N. :)

As each week of class passes by we're seeing more and more of the complexities of development and what the implications are for colleges and universities. This week's readings on generational studies added even more food for thought!

In some ways I think the generational readings explain more about how students behave and think, the values they have, and the issues they face than some of the other theories we've read in class. (Though be forewarned that I was a sociology major and my take might be a little biased since I do tend to see the world as a series of interacting social systems....)

Generation = social & historical context! All these readings got my mind ticking so let me share with you some main points from the readings as well as my two cents here and there.....

In Go to College, Howe & Strauss discusses some characteristics of the "Millennials" including their focus on teamwork, achievement, modesty, and good conduct. There was much talk about historical context in relation to different generations (i.e. World War II, the assassination of JFK, 911, etc.) as well as the differences between generations. Serving the Millennial Generation by Coomes and DeBard added even more to this, describing the Millennials as ambitious, sheltered, optimistic, and pressured to perform. I think this article provides a good amount of background that would help not only student affairs practitioners and professors but also anyone at all in the world that works with Millennials. This article made me thinking about how politicians could use their knowledge of different generations to craft their messages differently depending on whether they're addressing a group of college students or the senior population!

Go figure that right after I get to thinking about how to use knowledge of generations for political campaigns, here comes Generation Me by Jean M. Twenge (by the way, DrM was right, you should seriously read this one if you haven't) which even discusses marketing towards this generation! I thought this article had a great discussion about the whole self-esteem movement and how it can lead to anxiety and depression once GenMe hits adulthood. I completely agree with some of her recommendations including the following:
-Ditch the self-esteem movement to encourage students to deal with criticism and learn empathy and self control
-Avoid overthinking (who am I to talk though, right???)
I semi-agree with a couple of her other points which are:
-Ditch the love yourself before you love others movement
-Not everyone should go to college so improve options and the stigma against those that choose not to
The reason why I only semi-agree with these are because yes, while we do learn about ourselves from our relationships with others, I think we still need to have a certain level of awareness. (How many of you know someone who just keeps dating the exact same type of person and have their relationships end the same way every time? It sounds like perhaps someone in this predicament could stand some more personal time than continually dating...just saying...)
As for the not everyone should go to college argument, yes, I agree with that - and yes, I support efforts to improve opportunities for young people to learn other career skills (i.e. carpentry, electricity, etc.). I just want to make sure that I preface this to say that not everyone has the same access to or opportunity for education. I think it would be best to give students the best education possible in their younger years so they can find what their strengths are - and you know, if that leads to becoming a skilled laborer, that's great. I just don't think it's right that these career paths seem to fall along socioeconomic divisions. Okay. I'm getting off my soapbox now. *steps down*

Students and Their Parents by Karen J. Forbes was definitely interesting and it gave us a nice history of in loco parentis and how (perhaps) parent/student relationships while at college may be particularly reflective of the generations that the parents come from! The parent/student relationship while in college is definitely a difficult one to navigate and I'm sure as time goes by, this will only get more and more complex!!!